09.24. Connect24 News studio; Clapton, London.
Radio South East aren't the only media organisation relieved by the news of the earthquake as a thirsty man finding an oasis in a desert. In common with the others of their kind the commercial rolling news channel Connect24 latches onto the story with relish as well. The tremor hasn't been felt in their studio, but as soon as the first reports began to come through Dominic Paige, the production editor, took the bold decision to drop the royal 'flu outbreak for the moment and run with this instead.
Euan Rees - the owner of Connect24, as well as the rest of the sprawling Connect Media empire - might well call in to complain as he often does when he feels the channel isn't reflecting His wishes and His priorities, but Paige is one of the few staff left courageous enough to stand up to Rees' micromanagement. It has been Dominic's fearlessness which got him this far, and will most likely end with his dismissal one day when Rees tires of him; but that would be nothing unusual for C24, and hardly a stain on his CV: In fact he can probably capitalise on it when the time comes. Euan Rees is hardly the most popular person in the media world...
Besides, Dominic has the ratings on his side. Even the royal obsessed slack jawed viewers who make up most of Connect24's audience are beginning to tire of the saturation coverage, and making their feelings known either through the social media, changing channel, or switching off. Rees' ethos is "If it bleeds, it leads" sensationalism, and his values permeate the station; so he is hardly in a position to complain if Dominic leaps on to the earthquake story and milks it for all it is worth. Even with two royal children seriously ill but in a stable condition in an intensive care unit as a result of the influenza pandemic there is only so much which can be done when it came to reporting live from the scene that nothing has essentially changed.
Already the on-call digital artist has created a dramatic logo for the breaking story, and a moving image is promised soon. Meanwhile Paige and his team are busy sifting through the incoming feeds, collating them into a narrative which Anna Coombes and Andrew Patterson, the two worldly wise presenters, can breathlessly relate. From what he can see of the developing story it appears to be a pocket disaster porn fest, but despite its low intensity there should be enough prurient imagery to keep the punters engaged for a while, and once the scale of the incident has become apparent it might be possible to play the Blame Game; that always gets the hoi polloi wound up... It will be a useful diversion, and once the novelty begins to wear off it'll be back to the royal 'flu or if all else fails, some celebrity gossip.
As he watches a circling drone's eye view of a collapsed chimney stack which has fallen onto a car's roof (the vehicle is obviously a write-off but fortunately there was no-one inside it at the time) Paige wonders if any celebrities have been affected by the quake. He thinks it might be a good idea to get Chanelle Hopkins - Connect24's showbiz correspondent - on the case. 121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvatUtFSUc
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmI3s2n2NJV
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpGhHevZZF
09.31. Chelsfield, Kent.
Rusty's tension had been relieved to some extent by the foreshock, but still he felt a continuing sense of unease as if it were a nagging headache: Far from the danger having passed he sensed there was more to come, though for the moment the feeling was less insistent than his gnawing hunger: Ever since he'd run free he'd survived on discarded fast food scraps, gnawed at flattened roadkill carcasses when the traffic allowed, and had caught one unwary young rabbit. Rusty knew he wasn't too far from his home and its comforts, but still his instincts would not allow him to return there. It was not yet safe; better to run from the city and the overpowering sense of peril which engulfed it like an invisible smog. The terrier cross kept up his fast trot away from the menace, heading southeast into the suburban hinterland and into the countryside beyond.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9HXaaL3pHe
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRAlAads8v
The Kent, East Sussex and South London areas soon began to dust themselves off and patch up the often minor quake damage. But the worst incidences, the cracked brickwork, crumpled tarmac, toppled chimney stacks, collapsed gable ends - and in a couple of cases fallen church steeples - would take longer to repair. As scaffolding was erected around and large blue tarpaulins stretched over damaged buildings; even while the debris were being shoveled into skips, the novelty of the story was waning. By the evening the focus had moved on to advising householders whose properties were need of repair how to avoid being ripped off by disreputable tradespeople. By tomorrow few would be interested in or talking about the already stale news. Soon it would be consigned to the belated local papers and obscure geological journals.
However, far from being the end of the story, the event marked the beginning of a new, far greater one. The fragile creatures living in the fresh air and sunlight above the feature didn't understand how the easing of tension from the known shallow fault had in turn unlocked the potential of the far larger, more powerful fault which lay unobserved deeper below it. Now its unimaginable seismic energy was teetering on the brink of being released; nor could it be constrained from being liberated for too long...
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDJHFGcRtd
and then Add to home screen.