DCLXVI – The Numeral of the Beast - Part 25

A way to promote my fantasy trilogy - Breaking the Tranquillity of Solitude…

Part 25

You made it where many won’t tread.

Now you know a little bit more of Brody and his ways, let’s move along to see how these and other idiosyncrasies develop over time and affect the complexities of the biggest adventure he has ever had, as he tenuously and unknowingly embarks upon it. Let’s see who chooses to travel the same path with him and where those footsteps will lead.

This is where my story truly starts but where I will now divert back to earlier times again to try to explain a bit more of how, why, where and when…

There are many readers who just skip past the preface, introduction, prologue etc… but I wanted to stay true to how I remembered things as a child. It was always drummed into me from an early age that the author had spent a long time writing these sections, they served a purpose within the story and it was disrespectful not to read the book thoroughly.

So if you either agree with me, don’t agree, but stuck with me anyway or are just still keen to learn more, here we go back in time again.

To further demonstrate the importance of all the build-up, I now draw upon memories of a school test that I once sat and have since took great pleasure by inflicted upon many others since, as a test of their character. This particular test, I’m sure many of you will have seen and if you saw it when I set it for you then please accept my retrospective apology. The test paper was a single sided paper and consisted of about twenty questions each one getting gradually more bizarre as they went. As was the normal practice in any test silence was expected and no conferring was allowed. The teacher or myself dependent on when and where the memory comes from would instruct the class to answer as many questions as possible within the allotted time.

On the right of the page was a box that looked like a place to write your name. Next to this in another box was a statement that read:- Directions: Read this whole paper first then follow the directions given. You have 10 minutes to complete the quiz.

1. Write your name in the upper right corner of the page.

2. Circle the word ‘name’ in sentence 1

3. Draw five small circles in the box to the right.

4. Put an X on each square.

And so on getting weirder and weirder, but relatively simple, giving the student the feeling they were being tested and causing them to keep looking around to see what others were making of it. Then suddenly…

9. Stand up and sit down five times as fast as you can. Record the time it took, here…….

Then things start to get more bizarre, until you reach

Q21. Now that you have finished reading carefully. Do only the direction for sentence 1. Did you read everything on this page before doing anything? Please be quiet and watch the others, “follow directions”!

TBC