Stand back, there's nothing to see here..
(begun Monday 16th June at 4.50am.)

My Controllers have made it plain they wish me to pick up where I left off, and automaton that I've become, I'm keen to oblige.
While we were offline last week, I'd continued to scribble out my update drafts here at the desk, only for one reason or another, I'd not bothered to publish them on Facebook. One of the topics I'd raised had been on the subject of both Agent Balliram and his colleague Freddie Cochrane's partiality in the past, for banned (but easily obtainable) incendiary devices.

My scribbles had apparently been viewed as irresistible, and my Excellent Neighbour had barely returned from their weekend break last night, and had time to shut their two big dogs indoors, before the pyrotechnics began.
Who held the matches? Does it matter? Alas, our reaction to that bit of unpleasantness would've been disappointing to say the least, as neither of us had said a word, animals included. Pfft... After a while, Chi had brought himself inside and Cola had sought refuge in a corner, while Sophie thought she'd make a fuss, but was for the most part ignored until she got the message.
Had each of the nearby quantum Recruits been advised beforehand to shut away their animals at that hour? If so, I'd have to consider that a step in the right direction, and a far cry from the good old days, hey Freddie?

There's a cool damp breeze blowing out in the dark, and as far as I can see we're covered by that thin white cloud again, and once more I get the feeling that there's some sort of deadline looming.
The PTB went overboard last week, and the engineered 'sabotage' to that water pipe had an air of panicked urgency about it. Will the resulting misery and water shortages produce the desired results? A whole bunch more gatvol ratepayers, who'll blindly sign up for the Smart City quantum Project without question?
What about Glenwood and Umbilo?

Did the ridiculous number of blackouts, surges and spikes serve to soften further battered home-owners into believing that spying on their neighbours was the only way forward?
Yesterday, google had thrown up a thread made some years ago on the mybroadband forum, that had denounced the fraud and corruption surrounding Sutcliffe's fibre network, and the part played by Shunnon Tulsiram and Willy Govender of SmartXchange. I'd scrolled down to find our friend Toxic Bunny actually defending the corrupt little ex-City Manager, by saying that he'd achieved some good things for eThekwini in the past.

Like what? Seriously Rabbit, like WHAT? The stunning beachfront promenade, where the air literally hums with so much unregulated wireless it's laughable? The sanctimonious street-name changes that will leave residents and tourists alike, confused forever? The poisoning of the Durban Harbour, and the loss of the Blue Flag status, due to the ongoing contamination of the sea-front, caused by the fibre network?

Did van Zyl come after you early on, BunnyBoy? Did he do his party-piece and flatter you into believing you're a cut above the rest, before letting you in on his secret? I've never doubted that he stroked and patted you before he pounced, and that you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker...
Nary a qualm there, TB? Easily able to shrug off the massive corruption to the waterlines and power supplies as being vital for the magnificent Cause?
Hell, you'd be the first to admit you're sharper than average, and therefore you must see the fairly recent addition of domestic pets being included in the push to destroy the collective morale of the country?

You don't find this going just a step too far? I guess not. I figure that by now you're as bewitched by this awesome technology as the eggheads up at UKZN who initiated it, and that right now you'd support anything, however foul and scurrilous, to promote it? After all, this magnificent omelette requires a great many eggs to be broken, does it not?
Are you feeling the pinch personally, TB? Losing appliances hand over fist, and assets to organised crime? Had to have a knee replacement op yet, or on medication for your heart, or you've been diagnosed a diabetic? Coughing much?
None of the above, as those delights are mostly reserved for the stupid ignorant masses who can ill-afford to have their health and their assets destroyed, and who would never make suitably compliant quantum Recruits anyways?
Ah - the Brave New World that lies ahead for you and your fellow intellectuals.. Compassion, however selective, is set to become a thing of the past, and we'll all be the better for it?

How many of the Government-touted energy saving CFL bulbs are lying buried in how many waste dumps across the country? The bulbs that emit a faint radio signal, that are ideal for the quantum laser project, but that also carry a miniscule amount of deadly mercury? Last I heard, the Government had plans to create a safe disposal site for those deadly carriers, and yet by now it's guaranteed to be too late.
Not your problem? Too busy following your quantum Area Controller's orders over the airwaves, and targeting your neighbours as they go about their business, unaware that you've invisibly breached their privacy?

How powerful do you feel right now, as you glide about unseen in their petty ignorant lives, monitoring and recording every feeble utterance they make? Jannie van Zyl was right. You're SO much better than the average sucker in the street, and they more than deserve what they get?
If the telecom's giants and their superiors can create a world where intellectuals such as yourself rule the roost, what a fantastic place it would be?

Peeved? Moi? Hell, I long ago accepted that there's nothing much between my ears, and what there is, continues to find the entire concept repellant in the extreme. Understandable under the circumstances, I'm sure you'd agree.
But I'll ask you again, if I may? What about people like my CPF VC, or the creators of the Save the Berea Facebook page? How do you explain their exclusion from this awesome Project? They clearly don't lack for grey matter, and yet it appears that a way to approach them can't be found? You don't find this just a tad disturbing? Such obviously honourable citizens would surely leap at the chance of creating a better life for all? No?

Hunker down over your laptops and smartfones, o you Blessed Recruits. Concentrate on experimenting with your neighbour's health and your wondrous wireless weaponry, and for godsakes don't let your thoughts wander to the bigger picture, as you might not like what you see.
My saving grace? On occasion I find I can still smile at my own magnificent awfulness... Can you?
Peace.

Monday 16th June 2014 at 8.23am.