Jewels of Darkness - 2. Lux Nuntius

“When the messenger arrives and says 'Don't shoot the messenger,' it's a good idea to be prepared to shoot the messenger, just in case.”1

Howard Tayler2

Adam, laying on his bed, was having a staring competition with the ceiling; he knew he had to get out of bed virtually instantaneously to get to work as punctually as feasible, however, since it was the morning after the night before, he could not encourage himself to move. Once again, he was drowning his sorrows, which took the form of his Muse.3

“I should get up. I have to get up. I will get up.” He did not move, although he was talking to himself in his thoughts. “OK, why should I get up? I have work. I will get paid a tiny amount of money for a huge amount of work. I could write a couple of poems, if I get bored, even though words are nothing but empty sounds, devoid of meaning, except the meaning the person gives them, according to their experiences. I really should get up. I have to get up. Fucking Muse… why won’t you let me rest?”4

Adam’s Muse, the favourite Muse of Light, had sparked an idea in his head. Words effortlessly flowed from the Muse into Adam’s drained mind.5

Love binds two souls6

Who drifteth within realms7

Of reality and illusion8

Never knowing where to laith9

Love binds two souls10

Like two stars colliding11

In the Heavens above12

Eternally burning13

The two stanzas, Adam felt, could be edited and improved dramatically, yet, at that moment, he could not; the phone rang.14

“Adam, where the hell are you? You should have been at work two hours ago! Why are you still at home?” Adam’s boss was not the type of person one could call empathetic when it came to people turning up late. At one point, she sacked a work experience girl, for being a mere two minutes late.15

“You know where I was last night. It was your bloody idea for us to go out and get wasted. Now you call me asking where I am? I’m at home. Hung over like a new student at university on freshman’s week. Will I be in today? Yes. Will I get there in the next hour? No. Live with it. You know I’m the best librarian there is, so you can’t sack me.”16

“Adam, the thought never crossed my mind.” Adam could hear the lies saturating her middle class voice. “Indeed you are my best librarian – I've yet to see another learn the whole Dewey Decimal System in no more than an hour – yet you are also my least punctual. If you want the pay rise you’ve been consistently complaining about, you will have to show up on time. Start pulling your weight, or I’ll make sure you’ll go straight to the British Library!”17

She put the phone down, as she said the last word, leaving Adam staring at his phone in disbelief. Adam strongly believed that a library was for everyone, especially those containing rare books. The British Library was his worst enemy; books can only be read there if the person has a list of the ISBNs of the books they require, and the reasons they need those books in particular. It was almost impossible for college students and school pupils to get access to these books, even though it was often those who needed the books more, than the adults that had easier access.