Ten black balls, one white cue ball. A table topped with
wood instead of fabric. This is polotti, the version of
pool played in the imagined European future of CRYPTOGRAM.
Told in present tense, the tale of Rokas, Stephen and
Suzanna lingers on small detail, poverty and risk. A man
called Porphyrian owns everything worth owning in the
town,
so anyone who works, works for him, if indirectly. Thieves
stalk the laneways by night. To help women protect
themselves, factories churn out handbag sized guns.
The story moves to among the Cathars, Languedoc, in the
mid-
13th century; this setting will be familiar to readers of
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. The Inquisitors spent a couple of
centuries hounding Europe's people for anyone whose
beliefs
were the slightest bit contrary to their own, and accusing
women of being witches, in between burning dogs and cats
which had black markings. Now we see a woman called
Suzanna
being questioned as to whether her family's Christianity
follows the outlawed Cathars' rites. If she confesses, a
horrible death awaits her. If she doesn't, torture may
produce the desired result.
As the two storylines continue the comparison is made to a
snake eating its own tail as the circle of life comes
around again. The presence of violence or the threat of
violence is frequent in both dystopian worlds. Rokas also
composes short stories and these are interjected as
sidelights on the future characters' lives. I would call
CRYPTOGRAM more speculative fiction than fantasy, set in
the rugged, limestone cavern landscape of southern France
which has been home to the ancient ancestors. I found the
constant tension unsettling but maybe that's because I
know
something of the history of the Languedoc region, which
has
seen atrocities but was awarded World Heritage status
during the twentieth century.
'
The author Michael Tobert lives in Scotland, and he enjoys
speculating about reincarnation and whether our new lives
would be affected by the past ones. Anyone interested in
judging for themselves could pick up CRYPTOGRAM which is
an
adult tale of danger and destiny.
It is the near future. In a cold town in northern Europe, the war is over but the streets are still dangerous. Stephen, Suzanna and Rokas live under the shadow of the gun-king Porphyrian, but are driven by their common history and unfinished business during an earlier age of darkness, the Cathar Inquisition of the 13th century. The settings of the 13th century are the Inquisitorial court, the medieval village, the arid landscape and the society of heretics. In the 21st century, it is the polotti hall, the bullet-riddled café, the armaments factory, the jazz club; while all around is endless forest inhabited by reclusive tribals. And between past and future? ... Other times and other places, stories and sideways glances. Because the past is never past. Lives loop. The direction of travel is circular. What do we bring with us when we arrive? What is progress? What is death?
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