|
Our story begins in the
charming town of Nottingham at the end of May, 2002.
For
some time rumors had been surfacing - whispers here and there and even
outright accusations - perhaps you heard them. People were
lamenting that the Book was Dead, had been murdered, in fact.
Worse, they said that the Body, the evidence for this crime,
could be found right in Nottingham.
They cited the interest in the upcoming trAce Incubation 2
Conference – a place where people who supported electronic writing
gathered to administer the fatal blow – radio and television, movies
and video games, of course, had done the initial damage.
But the electronic book was seen as the last stroke of the sword,
the last bullet in the chamber of the gun.
The
Program Committee of trAce Incubation 2 wondered if this could be true.
Was it a fact that the literary corpus, the great Body of
work that has sustained mankind (and sometimes womankind and poorkind)
was already laid to rest in a hidden place nearby?
Because
the British have a long tradition of finding culprits and solving
crimes, it seemed fitting that the very people who might be charged with
the crime should ban together to clear up the mystery.
Thus, we set about recruiting a group of sleuths
who might be able to help us. They
came from many walks of life and many centuries (since this was a
schematic Nottingham, we could roam freely in time).
We collected reports of a White Lady, Byron-loving ghost of
Newstead Abbey, who claimed to appear at will to writers. Some
witnesses alleged that they heard primeval screams at night from the
ancient Caves beneath the city. The boldest claim was that the
ghostly murderer or murderers
were nearby. When the moon shines clear over Nottingham Castle,
even virtual visitors shivered at the implications.
|
|
