Byron Forbes: Chit Chat

Byron Forbes listened despite his better Judgment to Madison’s rambling dialog concerning that technological albatross, her phone. From her description it could do anything from right the wrongs of society to fly the space shuttle. What was worse was she was actually proud of the device. It was your basic status symbol form of happiness. The pathetic primate within humankind crying out to say to others, I am better than you. My banana tree is taller and bears more fruit. Byron found it a pathetic display on Madison’s part. For Byron, hear this was the mental equal of having bamboo shoved under his fingertips. Did she honestly think he cared? He replied in a sarcastic tone

“Well I must say I am impressed. You talk to all those important people. Does your phone back talk you, and fetch the morning paper? Why I bet it takes pictures and everything. Should I comb my hair while you get the shot of me. And I assume it links up with computers so you can send pictures to your friends. I’m highly impressed, Madison. I’m sure the girls down at the local high school would find you and your phone, how do they say it these days???? ‘Like totally rad’.”

He stopped long for a breath and then continued.

“You are of course correct. I could not pay to repair such a handsome item as this super phone of yours. You see….my current boss shameless underpays me for my highly successful writing efforts. I guess I have a soft spot for her…..always have.”

She shifted conversational gears on to improvements to his basement. Finally she was making sense.

“Very good my dear. I think I’ll look into them. And your ideas for the place are inspiring. Perhaps you would like to take over the development on the place. Interior design has always been your forte.

Madison Daniels update: 15th December: ahhhhh FREAKOUT!

Madison chuckled. “Come now. I did clean your apartment from time to time. And quite frankly I wasn’t expecting money but rather other.. magazines under your mattress” She stated with an exaggerated shrug. “I’m not bothered. But it is good to surprise you once in a while Byron. Turn the tables as it were” another easy shrug, and a hint of a smirk, her eyes twinkling as she rose to the occasion.

 Then the penny fell. Or rather, her phone fell. 

Madison looked in dismay as Byron deliberately didn’t attempt to catch it, and it clattered to the floor. Ignoring it for the moment, her eyebrow raised.”I very much doubt you WOULD be able to replace that telephone, should it be broken Byron.” Madison found herself commenting dryly. “I know how much you make, and roughly how much your property is worth. Let’s just say you’d probably have to take a sizeable bank loan out to cover the phone.” A slow, cat’s grin spread across her face.

 “It doesn’t look like much, does it? Hmm? But that phone is worth more then some cars that are brand new over here.”

 

“Fifteen thousand pounds to be precise” she yawned. “And working that from pounds sterling into dollars at the exchange rate of one to two, that works out to just over thirty thousand dollars you dropped. It’s.. special”

 

“Not only is it custom made, but  I had a special mould taken to ensure it exactly fit my palm, in my choice of colours, was made by Swiss master craftsman, in the same way as fine Swiss watches are put together. It runs off of kinetic energy, solar power and alternatively, special rechargeable batteries.”

 

Madison wasn’t finished yet, and continued on..

 

“It has a built in worldwide concierge service, so at a touch of the button, I can order something, anything, anywhere” Her eyes rolled at the thought. “You want caviar brought to you right now, even in the middle of the snow? I push this button and in just over an hour’s time some will arrive. You want some obscure thing, it will of course take longer to source, but it will arrive.”

 

“Oh.. and my  phone is Quad band, it will work in any country, and anyone else having a model in this particular line, it will double up as a two-way walkie-talkie. Integrates with MP3 players and ‘pods, has around 5 gig of storage, ability to playback music, video, and even a pencil-projector attachment for it. It can receive email and integrate with my appliances at home, so if I boot it up, and check, it can tell you exactly what food is in all of my fridges in my various flats in London. It has GPS so I can be located anywhere in the world within one meter of my actual location.  Simple. Easy. Smart.”

 

Her eyes flickered down to the phone, inert on the ground. “You see Byron, not only is it a custom range for the elite of society, but the numbers that it contains within are just as precious and invaluable as well.. I have a direct line to different supermodels, actors and actresses, fashion houses, perfumeries, makeup artists, film makers, great authors, and other assortment of glitterati. Oh. And royalty” she added belated and bemusedly. “Names that I am sure even you have heard of Byron.”

Another small, but effective riposte and parry. She did sometimes enjoy verbal sparring. A small smile tugged at her lips as she bent to retrieve the telephone.

“It’s got my initials, carefully etched here” She showed him the cover of the phone, where a beautiful artisan had engraved the initials M.D.  “And yes. Those ~are~ diamonds for the points.” She couldn’t help it, she was being sarky now.

“Oh. And there is a built in shock absorbers, and titanium casing, so should it get dropped..” She flicked it open, where it came to life again with a whirrrrr and a bing! “It wont dent, scratch, or break.” Madison couldn’t suppress the smirk now. She then changed the subject, having ~firmly~ won that round. ”I think, quite honestly it is brilliant. You’ve done a thorough job of addressing most of the needs. I noted a few small failings however, that only a woman’s eye might get, or a reporter’s mind might capture. We are currently below ground, yet when that is sealed off, there is no oxygen filtration and buffering. If there were to be a chemi or bio then there would be of course problems with air quality. You should consider adding a special air purifier / buffer for that purpose. Alternatively, if everything does go to heck and a hand basket, then you can bet that sewage facilities will also go unmaintained. In which case, so many people create so much waste by-products that your stack might not e able to cope with. You should consider an alternative tank or process.”Chewing on her lips thoughtfully she had a few more ideas. “Also, do not forget the importance of sunlight. You should have an artificial sunlight lamp somewhere. Humans require sunlight, and if they are kept from it for long periods of time, then their immune systems break down, they become depressed and disorientated. Adding in a lamp that people can sit under a couple of times a week would greatly improve morale and health of your inhabitants.”“There is of course also the idea of communication with whatever is left of the outside world; what will happen after the food starts to run out? You will need to obtain more. You should also have ways of monitoring the outside world, just in case. Perhaps disaster becomes averted. Do you really wish to lock yourself away for seven years, to come back to find your house has been demolished and your now on a parking lot above you? Or if something goes wrong and you need emergency services. And finally, what about waste storage? Ie Cans, wrappers, tissues, just the general detrius that we as humans tend to discard on a daily basis? What happens to that? And..” She added thoughtfully, but slightly shamedly for thinking along that line “what happens if someone actually.. you know.. doesn’t make it? How will you store them?”

Byron Forbes: The third degree

Byron felt like a hunter who had tracked down a feral beast. He had Madison cornered and like such a creature, she lashed out albeit verbally. With typical rancor and lack of style. He eyed her nonplus for a long moment before replying to her rambling retort.

“Who told you about the money in the mattress?” He said in a suspicious tone. “I deliberately keep my money separated in case thieves find the safe. If they find some there, they won’t check the mattress. A simple ploy to be used against the mostly simple-minded louts that populate this world. Criminals being the lowest of that order I might add.”

Byron leaned against the door, cleverly if nonchalantly cutting off her only escape route out of the room and away from the conversation. He did not mind her finding the cellar shelter. He intended on showing her anyway. He was proud of what he built. His little haven. His place to flee from carnage on the day the fools finally brought their mad society to its logical conclusion, its inevitable end. But for now he simply had to make her squirm a bit. He owed her for that whimpering performance she put on after the little joke he and Melissa played on her. Payment was his due and pay she would right this very moment.

He nimbly avoided the cell phone and observed as it struck the steps behind him. She never did have good aim. Even when they dated she never was capable of connecting with thrown objects. Major league baseball pitchers and National football league quarterbacks need not fear losing their jobs to Madison. She threw like a girl, as it were.

“Sorry, I should have caught that. Force of habit. You did have penchant for aiming objects at me during or previous Liaision. If it’s broken, I shall replace it.”

He grinned impishly and continued, ignoring her crass commentary about the silver.

“What you have found is my sanctuary. What they quaintly use to call a bomb shelter. It’s stocked with enough food, water and entertainment to keep those I deem worthy of continued exsitence after whatever disaster that befalls society befalls,it, for sometime.

I would show you around but it seems you have taken, what my grandfather might describe as the ‘nickel tour’ already. I assume you’ve seen the movie collection and the video game collection, the food, drinks and what have you. I assume you have formed an opinion. A crass and negative one more than likely but please tell me, I’m dying to hear it. Your opinions I have long held in highest regard.”

Madison Daniels 11th December update: Caught.. er.. up in the act?

“The silver is in the utensil drawer and the money is in the safe behind the picture of Niagara Falls. Please, help yourself.”

Madison was terrified. Her tounge clucked the top of her mouth as her mind gibbered for an appropriate response. She’d had a chocolate enema before, so why exactly, was facing Byron so difficult?

“Silver tarnishes. And I’ve already checked. You keep your money shoved under a mattress, in an old sock.” Madison found herself retorting. Obviously she had no clue, and never ever checked under his matteress. Goodness only knew what lived under there. She was sure he had quite a “gentleman’s collection” of nude and pornographic magazines. It would not surprise Madison in the least.

Instead, she bit the comment back and looked at him with genuine curiosity. “I went to call my PA” She chucked the cell phone at him “simply hit redial. Came down here for a bit of quiet. No idea what I’d find. What DID I find exactly Byron?” She pressed, wanting to know.

“Its a bomb shelter of some kind.. but why?” A small flush creeped on her face “And thank you.. for putting my name on one of the doors.”

Byron Forbes: The search for Madison

Byron Forbes went to Madison’s room hoping she had pulled herself together enough to listen to reason. He liked the odds of this occurring. She could be willful and overly sensitive, but she was intelligent. Given time to allow the unfortunately effect of her occasional emotional upheavals to wear off, Madison could usually be reasoned with.  He knocked on the bedroom door again, calling out.

“Madison, can we speak? I did not invite you here to fight. It was only a joke. In poor taste perhaps, but a joke none the less. There is no need to carry things this far.”

No answer was forthcoming. He shook his head in dismay thinking they had progressed to the second plateau of female guilt trips, the silent treatment. It was nearly as annoying as her opening barrage, the tear laden tantrum. She could be such a tiresome tigress. But, as the saying went, enough was enough. He cracked the open the door and peeked inside.

“Madison?” She was no place in sight. Good lord, she had not taken to hiding under the bed or in the closest? Even Madison would not stoop to such childish lengths, would she? He pondered a moment then decided to check. He knelt down and pulled the blankets back staring under the queen sized bed he saw nothing. Not even dust or a stray scrap of paper. Melissa’s handiwork. The woman was an insufferable neat freak. He doubted a germ lived within 50 paces of the house.

He rose and made his way to the closet. Slowly he opened it and glanced inside. Nothing but coats, suits and pants, neatly pressed and folded. Melissa again. The woman was wonder of nature. If he could figure out a way to mass produce her, he would make a fortune, he mused.

Where else would Madison be? The bathroom door off the bedroom was ajar, not in there. He stepped back out into the living room, Melissa was clearing off the dishes and heading into the kitchen. The second bathroom off the living room was open as well. She never could have got out here anyway. She would have been seen. She lack the ghostly stealth of Melissa. So where could she have gotten too.

“Good lord! The Shelter!” Would even Madison go down there without asking first? A stupid question. Of course she would. Madison was a bigger snoop than miss Marple. He made his way downstairs quickly praying she had not touched anything. He had everything in order.

Downstairs as he stepped to the shelter doorway sure enough, he came across Madison. His eyes narrowed dangerously even as he spoke.

“The silver is in the utensil drawer and the money is in the safe behind the picture of Niagara Falls. Please, help yourself.”

Madison: Discoveries (posted by Linz)

Madison was dumbfounded.

She had expected a quiet telephone conversation.. but instead, she mumbled something into the mobile phone, gaping at the massive door. Taking a moment to open it, she stepped inside, and continued her investigation, something prickling at the back of her neck.The first room when she entered was obviously a store room of some sorts; carefully organized, but absolutely massive.Half of the room was complete with food; dried rations, tinned fruits and vegetables, soups, meats, long-life foods that could last up to ten years in storage, and there were LOTS of it, the other half containing…water???

Madison’s eyes scanned the contents and noted with slight amusement that there was a full plethora of choices on offer. Stepping forward she decided to investigate closer.

Tinned peaches, pears, fruit salads, pie filling,, tinned asparagus, spinach, “boiled” potatoes, beans, lentils, chili, tomatoes.. Pasteurized egg whites, Pasteurized egg yolks, Pasteurized mixed eggs… the list went on, and on and on.

Cheeses was a bit more difficult, but this was solved with some tinned “Easy cheese” her face grimacing when she saw it. Cheese it may be, but mostly chemicals it was certainly.

Baking kits (For making “fresh” muffins, cookies, cakes etc), bread mixtures for making fresh bread, rice, Bisquick for pancakes and waffles. Jello, cool-aide, and a variety of other mixtures were also there, waiting to be prepared. There were carefully preserved cereals; some packaged so carefully that they could survive long past their sell-by date in a vacuum canister. Amongst those she noted cookie crisp, Special K, Wheaties, Chex, Count Chocula, Booberry and various other brands of fibre or sugar rich cereal she did not recognize off-hand.

Freeze-dried and dried meats were carefully preserved in vacuum sealed pouches, simply waiting to be eaten as a “portion” like beef jerky or hard salami-like sausages. Other meats were carefully preserved in tins, Spam included in on this spectacle, Madison noted with a groan.

As for drinks, the selection was similarly cared for; large and small cartons of long-life juices in several varieties including the routine apple, orange, and more exotic mixes like pineapple / grapefruit and watermelon / kiwifruit. Obviously, getting the rickets was not an option, with a hefty selection of Vitamin-C rich juice. Similarly, there was also condensed milk, long-life milk, soy milk, and powder to flavour the milk either chocolate, strawberry or a few other more hideous sounding concoctions. Also amongst the drinks were freeze-dried instant coffee, tea bags, many branded bottles of soft drinks, and a few crates of champagne – must be for the really special occasions – Madison mused silently.

She knew that Byron didn’t really drink, unless there was a reason to celebrate.
 

A smaller selection of herbs lined one shelf, salt, pepper, and the usual suspects; apparently it wasn’t enough just to have food, but being able to flavour it was just as important too.

Idly, her eyes wandered to the final section; junk foods. Here, carefully behind a locked glass cupboard was a veritable stash for a major party; chips, long-life dips, candy bars of various quantities and brands, candy enough to induce sugar-coma, jams, and more, causing her mouth to water.Her eyes caught something, and looked over to the tinned goods once more, carefully inspecting it. It was a small, but concise tick-sheet which held every single tinned item, along with quantity. The cans, she noticed, were arranged in rows of 10, and then five deep, so it would be easy to tell at a glance just how many items had been used up at any one time. There was no way to hide it; it was all out in the open.

Blinking, she wandered over to the water. This was most curious of all. There were many, many large office-water cooler jugs there, along with bottled water of various sizes, ranging from 5 litres on down to ½ litre. They were stacked shelf upon shelf upon shelf. Madison glanced at one wall, simply full of plastic storage tanks taller then her, going from the ground to the ceiling, with marks down each side, stating how much water there was left in each. There were seven tanks in all. For some reason, it seemed significant.

Moving on towards the door to take her to the next room, she encountered a book hanging off a small cable, bolted to the wall. Pausing for a moment to examine the book, her brows knitted. It was a full suggestion of meal plans, using the stock up from the shelves, so as to provide a healthy-balanced diet.

This was really planned out, Madison found herself thinking with slight awe.

Moving onto the next room, it appeared to be a lot smaller, cosier. Several couches, bean bags, chairs were scattered around the room, with a full entertainment system in place; CDs, records, cassettes, DVD player… it was all there. To Madison’s surprise, she noticed one section of a wall divided into two categories; one for music, and one for movies / entertainment. The music selection was fantastic, a bit of everything, appealing to all tastes, with quite a few slots left blank. Madison assumed these were for any future selections to be added in. The entertainment side of things however left her sorely rubbed the wrong way. It was quite clear from seeing looking that most of the movies were horror films, though a tiny section at the end was left for Disney classics, romance titles, action titles and comedy, though the selection was severely limited, and again, there were a few more empty spaces for future additions. She left the entertainment room, and proceeded to a small room off to her right. An.. exercise room? Blinking, she stepped in. Reading on the wall, she noted that if people were to be in confinement for the maximum duration, it was important to ensure regular exercise for health and welfare of those inside. It suggested a routine repeated two to three times a week, using a small treadmill, a bicycle, rowing machine, punch bag, a mat for stretching and other exercises, and a weight bench. Madison was taken aback by this, but shrugged it off as she began to explore the compound further.

Stepping out of that room, she went into another small series of rooms, or more adequately described; pods. Byron was inscribed on the door. Stepping inside, she noted it was an extremely basic room. A queen-sized bed, a closet, a chest of drawers, a side table, and a lamp dotted the room, which was carpeted. It was plain to the point of almost being a movie set generic.Stepping out of the room, she noted several other names on doors. Her name was on the door directly next to Byrons. Melissa was there as well. Sadly, Byron’s mother and father had a room, and their names were scratched out and a sticker placed over them, blank, but it couldn’t hide fully what it had said underneath.  Madison ran her fingers over the sticker and sighed softly, sadly.After checking out the various rooms, she went into section: this room was carefully divided into two, not unlike the restaurant male and female bathrooms, with a divider… except this was one side had a bathtub marked on it, the other had a shower. Each would hold one person, and she noted with amusement, that the water was using a special storage tank nearby, that cleaned and recycled the bathing water.She hoped and assumed that the waste water they produced would be carefully removed, and NOT reused. That idea was revolting in the extreme. But then again, if they had to use this, she was sure that a shower was better then having nothing at all.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she went into a third section, obviously three small toilets. Three toilets seemed a reasonable number, considering most houses had at least two.

Moving away, she came to a dining room, where everything was all set out to eat, with plates, cups,
etc being there. Next to the dining room was a kitchen, complete with several tin openers. Byron must have been paranoid that the tin opener would break and they’d all starve she noted with a bit of amusement. Everything seemed in place, and nothing that she wouldn’t expect to find in any kitchen. And, she noted with amusement, there was a pasta maker, a bread maker, and an electric coffee maker.It was a random thought that popped into her head.. if they would have to use this, what guarantee would there be that there would be any electricity at all? That thought unsettled her a bit at first. Moving away from the kitchen, she came into another room, a small library and what appeared to be a desk in the corner child-sized. And a blackboard, like a school house. It didn’t make sense. She’d have to ask Byron about it later on.

Coming to another section, she noted this seemed to be a general provision store; it amazed her. Everything she could possibly think that she might need to run a home was here, carefully packed onto  shelves, awaiting usage. There were all nature of stationary,pens, light bulbs, toiletries, tissue, blankets, clothing repair kits, a sewing machine and thread, extra cloth and stuffing, just in case, matches, it was exceedingly exhaustive. There was a second room, exceedingly small, off of this room, which she also investigated. This room held a medical supply cabinet containing all sorts of things, from antibiotics to a bulk container of daily vitamins, to first aid kits, to pretty much something for every emergency and contingency needed.

It was exceedingly clever.

Along one wall, she noted carefully stored clothing, in a range of sizes and styles, but the bulk being comfortable jeans, tshirts, and jogging suits. It was apparent that this was replacement clothing, to be worn when other clothing wore out. It was almost magnificent in it’s ingenuity.. until Madison’s lips twitched. She’d noticed several of her garments that she’d given up as lost and missing years ago. Her favourite sweater, a comfortable sweatshirt, pyjamas.. stuff that had disappeared from her house over the years.. but still nonetheless fit her. A small smile touched her lips as she realised that Byron had been slowly moving them to this place, in anticipation that she may someday actually need to live down here.. and she’d have clothing that she personally liked, rather then some generic outfit that everyone had to wear, further wearing down their individuality.

Finally, she explored the last, large back door, which was carefully shielded in a sound proof room. This was the “heart” of the complex she noted. Within, there were several generators capable of ensuring there would always be energy, light and warmth in the place. Her eyes scanned along the machines and noted that one was in charge of filtering and cleaning the water system. Another, to purify the air, another, to regulate the waste and carefully / safely disperse of it. Row after row of machines, each a vital part and role within the small self-contained community. Making a mental note of all this, and all the questions she wanted to ask Byron, she made her way back through the complex, getting ready to leave out the “front door” when she noted Byron was there…waiting for her.

Her eyes widened and she stammered slightly.