February kind of flew by, which isn't actually a big shock since it's a short month anyway. But, man, I kind of wish it went by a little slower. I'm always scrounging around for time and short months make me feel like there's less to be had.
Still had trouble focusing this week but I got a lot accomplished on my work projects despite my distraction. Luckily, I have more than one project going so I can hop around when I start to lose my concentration.
Had an okay week of viewing. I have to figure out what's going on with one of my streamers. That could take another week. But I did get through most of my usual shows.
Started with My Life Is Murder and actually got two episodes watched. I like the pickup with Alexa's brother again. I wondered if we'd see him this season. Also enjoyed both cases Alexa had to solve.
Watched the first part of Agatha Raisin. Poor James. I can't wait to find out who offed his bride. I love the interaction between all the characters, but I'm sad Roy isn't in this one. At least not yet.
Caught another episode of Silent Witness. Kind of enjoyed having another case mixed in with the ongoing saga of Sam Ryan. I'm really not sure what's going on with her and I'm not going to be super surprised if she ends up being in the clear. Also loved Nikki and Jack's date. Nice to get some backstory with Simone, too.
Enjoyed an episode of Death in Paradise. I remember bits of this one and I'm glad I got to see the whole thing from start to finish. Not a bad opening for season six.
Watched another episode of Elementary. I liked seeing Sherlock realize he'd way overstepped with the NYPD. Also loved having the captain kind of take some of his dignity back.
Caught another episode of The Batman. I'm not as fond of this season and I remember feeling this way when I watched originally. The new format grew on me, and I'll settle back in and enjoy, but I really loved the first season of this show the most.
Enjoyed the penultimate episode of The Secret Life of Amy Benson. Everything is coming to a head, and I can't wait to see how this ends.
Also rewatched the Battlestar Galactica resistance webisodes. Groundbreaking at the time, there's a lot of story packed into ten mini-episodes. And twenty years later, I'm still stunned at how prescient the writers were for what's going on in the world today.
And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Consortium of Chaos, a novella in my chaos series.
Here's the miniblurb:
A missing brother, a madman's sinister plot to make a perfect world, and a connection so strong it saves a life hundreds of miles away. Ashton Sylvester and Esme Von Staunton never have a dull moment.
And a preview snippet…
Ash became unsettled as soon as Esme
launched. His weird sixth sense all but screamed a warning that something didn't
feel right.
Smithers picked up on Ash's unease.
"Can I do anything, sir?"
Ash heaved a sigh. "How about
you drive me to the meeting and poke around in the shops, while I try to stay
awake."
Smithers gave him a bland smile.
"You have the shorter end of the stick this time."
Ash couldn't disagree, especially sitting
in on another session of the Consortium of Mining and Minerals. He only
listened with half an ear because he didn't give a damn about any of the drivel
slated for discussion. Sadly, keeping up appearances had become a necessary
evil.
Esme would be the first to remind me
of that.
While the forechair droned on, Ash
let his mind wander. Intelligence reports came in slowly and he needed to
remedy that issue. It might be time to take on a little more risk and use the zeppelins.
He'd held back on that front because piracy was rampant in the skies.
A moment of guilt hit him. If he'd
used them previously, they could've discovered the camps a lot sooner. Maybe
prevented the infestation of the horrible places. Kept good people from being
forced to work in the mines.
Like Esme's brother.
Ash wondered if she'd made contact
with Eric yet. He cast a quick eye to his time piece. He'd know in a few hours.
Grayswander would send a communiqué soon.
The forechair switched the topic
over to the sale of Olympus.
Ash narrowed his eyes in anger. It
was a touchy subject for him. He'd voted against the mining of the mineral
until more research could be done. But the limitless potential for energy
derived from the refined ore had the consortium too lathered up to wait. Once
it had been discovered that in its unrefined state the rock had mind-altering
properties, Ash presented a motion to halt all mining until proper safety
methods could be put in place.
The members got a whiff of how they
could create a new market for usage … and the more dubious members of the consortium
wanted to not only keep the mining of the mineral but also made the decision to
make it available to the masses. Until they understood the complex nature of
the meteor rock, Ash thought it should be used only for medical purposes in its
unrefined state.
Needless to say, he'd been
outvoted.
The damned stuff would be society's
downfall. The desire to turn a profit won out over the potential hazards
Olympus presented. That kind of greed and avarice sickened Ash. Maybe he
couldn't dissuade the trade for the stuff, but he could influence safe
practices in the mining operations and refining processes.
Even though the council would fight
him tooth and nail.
And the man leading the charge
would be Mobride.
It didn't make sense. Why would he
or anyone in consortium object to providing respirators to the workforce?
Olympus had proven dangerous in raw form. Once processed, it lost its unstable
and narcotic effect.
The answer hit Ash like a
hydrohammer.
And he did not like it.
He almost interrupted the
proceedings and demanded confirmation but thought better of it. He should do
some stealthy digging around first.
If Ash had guessed correctly, the contrivance
angered him. He might not be able to dissuade the trade of Olympus, but he
would use influence and demand safe practices in the mining operations and
refining processes. He didn't give a hang how it affected the bottom line and
profits of the society.
He knew in his bones, he'd guessed
correctly. Someone—a very big someone—in the council didn't want safe working
conditions for the workforce. Instead, their preference would lean more toward
fast consumption with minimal output. Hook the workers on the stuff and they
didn't care how dangerous the job would … or if they got paid.
Keep the supply flowing and create
more demand when the wage-earners became addicted to the Olympus. Pay them less—they
wouldn't care—and hell … the plan actually came across as rather brilliant.
And damned evil.
And Ash would find a way to stop
it.
I'm having so much fun writing this series. It's got a steampunk flair but doesn't dive completely into the genre.
That's it for this
week.
Cheers!
Skye
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