It took longer than expected to get back to a normal post-Holidays routine, but everything is good now.
And here is January's installment of The Adjusters, “No Wedding but a Suspect”, wherein our Special decides to seek a remedy against temptation, and Daniel follows a lead that turns into a suspect.
As usual, comments welcome.
I'll also remind you that we have a Speculation Thread available for general discussion. (A thread which I read but do not comment on.)
The Adjusters #36 - No Wedding but a Suspect
(Charleston, West Virginia. Three weeks ago.)
He enters the lobby of the building after making sure that the coast
is clear. He pulls his UPS cap down over his eyes and the uniform
collar up around his neck. He is on his home turf, and he cannot take
the chance to be recognized. Not yet--not until his Ministry has grown
large enough with Worshippers that he has nothing to fear from those
cockroaches that dare keep him from fulfilling his true Potential.
He tightens his grip on the package underneath his arm, and notices
that he is clenching one of his fists; he wills it open, forcing
himself to relax. Thinking about the roaches always makes him mad,
always has, those roaches that think nothing of stepping over the
little guy, that have no hesitation using the little guy, abusing him,
milking him dry, sucking the marrow from his bones, the soul from his
heart. Roaches, the lot them, feasting upon the remains of good people
that do not know any better. But not Him. His eyes have been
opened--he is a God now, a God who sees all and knows all and
understands all, and what he understands now is that he has the Power,
to make a difference, to punish the roaches.
If he was clenching his fist in anger before, he is now grinning in
near madness. Almost, because he has never felt so sane--so full of
life, vigor, clarity. So much to do now. Projects, Dreams, Visions
have been assaulting him at night as soon as he closes his
eyes. Beyond his Worshippers, beyond his Ministry--Vision of a New
World, where the Righteous are rewarded and the Roaches are punished,
squashed, trampled underfoot. His Ministry is based on rewarding
husbands that share their wives' purity and lend their womb for His
use, but there is nothing to stop him from punishing the roaches by
taking away their loved ones--their wives, theirs sisters, their
daughters.
Continue reading...
Next month: “A Wedding and a Confrontation”.
Nooooo! What a cliffhanger, you are a vile vile man Bulgroz :(
ReplyDeleteso Shelley is taking Lizzie to meet up with her lord Greg since he found out he's being looked into. Lizzie doesn't know what is happening and now Shawbank is affected.....and Daniel is all alone....isolation of our protagonist.
ReplyDeleteShelly almost seems similar in personality to Serena and Lizzie to Jenn.
Now I can't wait till Feb to see what happens- though if I recall #38 is this book epilogue.
Will Shawbank defend her new lord from Daniel? What will happen to Lizzie and Shelly at the motel they are going to? Will Lizzie put up a fight? Will Daniel capture Gregg?
Find out on next month episode of the adjusters.....
Sorry couldn't resist a little fun. Bt3: Great work.
Yes, this is weird how adsec even has female operatives, knowing that they are vulnerable to mind control. And it is weird how said operative charges into potential controller fully aware of danger he poses for her.
ReplyDeleteThese are only weird if one believes that ADSec does not have a female operative resistant to the Specials' mind control. With Cindy, we have already seen a character with some measure of resistance. Is it too much to assume that that the "experience" to which Agent Shawbank referred makes her emotionally/biochemically resistant?
ReplyDeleteMakes a good cliffhanger, though.
For that matter, I don't think Greg is the Special. I think he is a red herring, and the actual Special is Lizzy's step-father, James. The injury in the Gulf War might explain why our Special is taking pills immediately before making a woman his vessel. His other character traits also seem to fit our Special.
danny123
ReplyDeleteSo far this is my favorite chapter of this series. The sex scene was more like the earlier ones involving the DIK girls. By that I mean turning Shelley into a pet and totally subjected to the Special’s desires and orders. I love the cliffhanger. Now I really cannot wait until Chapter 37. My feeling is that Shawbank is similar to Cindy and is not really affected by the Special. She may lose herself temporarily when a Special touches her, but that is only momentary. It would make little sense to send a female agent, and one who is obviously high up, to go after Specials if she would be subject to their control. I also think it confirms that Greg is the Special. I wonder if the author has a twist on this, i.e., is Shawbank is somehow able to absorb or disable the Special by placing this sword on his throat. So many offshoots to this ending. Daniel better hope that Shawbank is not controlled as he does not have the capacity to take her down. I also think that we may see what happens to the Specials when they are taken to the corporation.
Thank you for the Christmas special. Even though it was not necessary for the current chapter it added some great background for the chapter and made it more enjoyable.
Thanks for the feedback, folks. Not much I can comment on that won't be addressed in #37 & #38...
ReplyDeleteRe: Christmas special — indeed, one purpose of the Christmas Special was to round off the characters a little bit—not strictly necessary, but nice for those that like that sort of thing.)
Re: cliffhanger — yes, writing that installment, it just *begged* to let out on that scene there at the end. Funny enough, I mention that in my post on September 26. (Except that #35 turned out *not* to be the penultimate chapter of Book III....)
*grumble* — #35 -> #36 in that last parenthetical there at the end of my comment...
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