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The Future: Have the sweats which destroyed London spread their disease further up the country and even all the way to Orkney?
The Future: Have the sweats which destroyed London spread their disease further up the country and even all the way to Orkney?
Magnus McFall, a comedian, leaves his home in the Orkney Islands to travel all the way to London for his big break at the 02 arena.
But he comes to a London being destroyed by “the Sweats”, an horrific disease which starts as flu like symptoms and quickly escalates.
Once in the big smoke, he discovers the real landscape of the city – and then things get worse when he ends up in another prison – but this time it has bars.
He’s terrified and threatened by what he’s seen and worried that his home in Orkney might soon be the scene of similar devastation if the disease spreads.
“Orkney was flat and almost treeless. You could see for miles, here roads too dark twists and turns, the high verges and hedgerows deadened sound and it was impossible to know what might lie around the next corner”
“Orkney was short on trees, but the islands had their own legends ,stories of seal folk, beautiful selkies who beguiled mortals into the sea”
“If he got to Orkney and found it deserted he could drink himself to death on the supply in Stromness”
This is the dystopian London which was experienced in A lovely Way to Burn.
This is the city destroyed and totally altered by the disease known as The Sweats.
London is pretty much under siege but this is no ordinary war like zone for the enemy is amongst the citizens of the city and invisible until it’s too late.
This strange disease is slowly destroying the city and it’s this vision of the capital that Magnus first notices. Already hating the chaos of the tubes and the buzz of the city in general since it’s so far removed from his island home in Orkney, this is yet another and more scary landscape.
The huge and crowded London’s O2 stadium is not the worst place he will be however. How about Pentonville Prison? Trapped in yet another strange and unforgiving place, he can’t seem to escape from. London and the invisible sweats are slowly dragging everyone down. The fear and chaos of the streets is palpable and society is breaking down slowly but surely.
Author/ Guide: Louise Welsh Destination: London, Stromness Departure Time: The future
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