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The Nullweaver Cycle
The Dread Eclipse
FORM AND VOID
A Switchblade-and-Sorcery e-Fiction Multiverse
Chapter Fourteen
"Blood Clots and Black Holes"
story by Mabel Harper & Cassidy Webb
written by Cassidy Webb
Content Warning: MILD GORE
Jules stirred at the sound of a whispered, "Honey, wake up," and found Healer Wade—Prefect Weyland's husband—hovering over him with a solicitous look in his big brown eyes.
He blinked, glanced around, wondered what he was doing on the floor slumped forward onto the edge of a Medicinal Magic cot.
The answer came as he glimpsed Rory in the bed asleep, a panchrest poultice stretched over the hollow that had been his shoulder. He was still clenching Jules's hand pretty tightly, considering he was unconscious. When he'd still been awake, before the cocktail of pain elixirs had kicked in, Jules had thought his old friend's grip might literally break his hand.
You're okay, Jules remembered babbling, over the sound of Rory's hissing and bleating while the mediciners cleaned his wound; while slowly, painstakingly, they scraped away the pieces of his t-shirt that had melted to his flesh. Keep your eyes on me. I've got you. Just breathe.
Rory looked almost peaceful now, though a little knot in his brow signaled he was still in pain. Brimstone burns were notoriously cruel. Jules didn't know how to begin to deal with the fact that he himself, however indirectly, had been responsible for Rory experiencing one. He certainly wasn't going to let himself think about the how he'd possibly killed, at minimum horrifically mangled another human being by the same brutal means.
Jules worked his hand free of Rory's, gripped his cane as it was pressed into his palm, and moved with shuffling steps as Healer Wade led him to a nearby exam area. He had no idea when or how he'd passed out, but he couldn't have been asleep for long. His mana reserves still felt drained, his body like it was running on exhaust.
"Dare I ask what on God's green Earth happened to you two?" said DeShay, as he tended Jules's battered face.
"Martial Magus business," mumbled Jules. He felt like a child, the way his long legs dangled off the exam table.
"Is that other boy a Martial Magus?" asked DeShay, pointedly.
"No." Jules felt a stab of guilt. "I'm … supposed to be keeping him out of trouble."
The healer, mercifully, didn't comment. He did raise one long eyebrow, which seemed like statement enough. "So." He held Jules's face still as he sewed up the split on his cheek with aether thread. "You're saying Devisha knows all about whatever you were up to tonight?"
Jules eyed him, careful not to move his face too much when he spoke. "Once again, Healer, with due respect, it was Martial Magus business. I'm under no obligation to discuss it with a civilian, even if that civilian happens to be the Master-General's cousin. And I'll remind you of your confidentiality obligations as a medicinal professional in the employ of the Auctoritas Magicae. Ow!" This last came as the needle seemed to jab him especially hard.
"I'm well aware of my confidentiality obligations as an employee of this department, never you fear," purred DeShay. "I'm also plenty accustomed to being told to mind my own business, by both my husband and my cousin. Council business, elder business, Enforcement business; it's all so far above the heads of us little people." He shrugged as he tied off the stitches. "Never stops me from asking, 'cause I'm a nosy bitch."
In spite of everything, a smile tugged Jules's lips.
The healer was probably right, he considered, as the rest of his treatment proceeded mostly in silence. He'd hoped the business with Max's attackers would be resolved quickly and without any need for intervention from his Enforcement colleagues. But after last night's clusterfuck, Jules wasn't feeling so confident in his ability to take down a coven of murderous apostates on his own—at least not without endangering innocent lives. Whether General Wade could spare the resources to aid him was a question all its own. But it at least behooved him to ask.
Before more people like Ollie died. And more people like Rory got hurt.
I'll visit the Grand Archivist first, soon as I've recharged a bit. Try to get a better feel for what we're dealing with before I make my case to the Master-General.
Jules teetered on the brink of unconsciousness as DeShay finished patching up his face. The healer provided him a clean gown and the men's showers all to himself to wash up, then installed him in the bed next to Rory's for some much-needed rest.
Jules managed to get out a request that some clothes be brought over for himself and Rory from the Alfheim Room 808, and that someone inform Master-Savant Winter that he would be late to work today, before he pitched headfirst into a dreamless sleep.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
The world-famous Archives of the Enclave at Delphi reminded Jules a lot of the mole tunnels—a gnarled labyrinth of throughways, dark, poorly lit, and possessing a distinctive odor. In the Alchemy department, that odor was of chemicals and stale smoke. Here, it was of decaying parchments and leather, with the faintest tinge of mold. Too, instead of low ceilings and singed, sconce-lit walls, the narrow pathways of the Archives were hemmed in by shelf after shelf of books, extending up as far as the eye could see. Tomes were double-stacked on the racks, with random piles here and there on the floor. Each collection, on inspection, was meticulously organized and labeled, but the whole of it looked impossibly haphazard at first glance.
Jules had slept like a rock till mid-afternoon, at which point he'd decided today's workday was a bust, made arrangements to meet with the Grand Archivist, gotten himself dressed, and come straight here. When he'd set out from Medicinal Magic, Rory had been asleep still, and his shoulder, with the help of panchrest, had begun to take on something resembling the shape of a human shoulder again. Jules's own injuries, being minor, had pretty well healed, though his face still bore a lone pink scar and a couple of faint yellow bruises. He was already brainstorming ways to deflect the inevitable questions these were sure to elicit from Dad at their campaign meeting later that afternoon.
Jules paused at a cross-paths to study a rickety signpost that pointed the way to different areas of the Archives.
The classified section, it appeared, was somewhere off to his left.
After a few more twists and turns, he came to a little clearing decorated with a faded oriental rug and a motley assemblage of Queen Anne chairs. At the far end of this open area stood a nondescript door, and in the chair closest to the door sat Grand Archivist Draven Loris-Beckett. Loris-Beckett was a tall, broad-shouldered woman in her late fifties, with close-cropped silver hair and a hard, square face. She wore full Arcanus robes open over a double-breasted pantsuit and cradled an open book in her arm, half-rimless bifocals perched low on her round-tipped nose.
As Jules approached, she looked up at him over her glasses with hard, pale eyes. "Grand Philosopher." She clamped her book shut with one broad hand and checked the pocket watch on her breast. "You're two minutes late."
Jules blanched. "Apologies, Grand Archivist. I'm usually very punctual. I got a little turned around finding my way here."
"No matter. Take a seat."
Jules lowered himself into the high-backed chair opposite her, hooking his cane over its arm.
"How are you liking Evander's old office?" The Archivist's expression was flat, uncharitable, her gaze hawkish. She seemed unaccustomed to making smalltalk. Jules wondered why she was bothering.
"It's … nice," he ventured, getting the sense there might somehow be a right or wrong answer.
"Redecorated much, have you?"
"Um, well, no. I don't think I will."
"I … happen to like what he did with it."
"You do, do you."
Jules shifted uncomfortably. "Yes. I've enjoyed getting to explore his workspace and library, seeing where he may have derived his inspiration. He seems to have been quite the renaissance man."
"You appear to respect that about him."
Jules started to wonder if this was some kind of vetting. If so, he had no idea what the Archivist hoped to learn or why, so he simply continued to answer honestly. "Because great innovators never limit their interests to a single field."
Jules felt a little spike of annoyance. As a Martial Magus, he was both entitled to the Grand Archivist's assistance and guaranteed access even to the Archives' restricted texts. He wasn't supposed to have to jump through hoops. "Even the most seemingly-disparate realms of knowledge are connected and inform one another. It takes an interdisciplinary perspective to generate truly original solutions."
"Did your father teach you that?"
"Oh—God, no." Jules barely held back a laugh.
"Then where did you learn it?"
"Well … it's self-evident. Isn't it? I mean, obviously not to everyone. Not to my father. But I would think it would be obvious to you, of all people, Grand Archivist, considering your choice of profession." Jules hesitated. "With all due respect."
Grand Archivist Loris-Beckett folded her weathered hands on the arm of her chair. "Then you judge that all knowledge, all information, all perspectives are valuable." She paused significantly. "Even the misguided ones."
"Oh, yes," said Jules, readily.
Loris-Beckett raised an eyebrow, seemingly to prompt elaboration.
"If one approaches every new perspective with proper skepticism—" Jules indulged her, "which one should, as a matter of course—then even the most egregious lie will serve only to shed further light on the truth."
"Then, in your estimation, there is no such thing as dangerous knowledge."
Jules thought he might be starting to see what she was getting at. "Many useful things are dangerous in the hands of people who are ill-intentioned or incompetent." He looked her dead in the eyes. "I'm neither one of those things."
Crow's feet split the Grand Archivist's cheeks. She rose to her full impressive height and moved to stand before the nondescript door.
As Jules watched, she drew an athame from a scabbard on her hip and brandished it fiercely, barking words of command in Enochian. The air darkened, and a guttural shriek rent the air. A blast of light and a whoosh of wind exploded outward from the edges of the door, and a dimly glowing circle appeared on its surface.
The Archivist sheathed her athame and, with her fingertips, traced the runes within the circle in a specific rapid sequence, muttering feverishly, till the door clicked open and whined inward of its own accord.
Jules wondered with a shudder if Loris-Beckett herself had bound the daemon that guarded it. With a commanding presence like hers, no doubt she could have been a master goetian.
"Come," she beckoned, proceeding within.
Jules obeyed, starting as the door slammed shut almost indignantly behind him.
"This would be your first visit to the classified section of the Archives, would it not, Philosopher?" said the Grand Archivist, in her crisp English accent.
"Yes." Jules resisted a strange compulsion to attach a ma'am to it.
"You made mention in your message," Loris-Beckett went on, without looking back, "of a dimension in which prima materia does not exist."
"That's correct."
This part of the Archives was tighter but more neatly arranged than the main part, and everything here was covered in a thicker, more even layer of dust. Instead of on aging wooden shelves, the tomes and scrolls of the classified section dwelled in locked iron cages.
"Why might you be interested in such a thing?" Loris-Beckett spared Jules a cock-browed glance over her shoulder.
It wasn't her place to ask him something like that. But Jules decided the more information he gave her the more she might be able to help him. "I may have encountered one, in the course of an investigation into some apostate activity in Chicago."
Loris-Beckett came to a sudden standstill and leveled a look at him, disquiet in her gaze. "Is that so?"
Jules, feeling a bit unnerved by her scrutiny, nodded. "I have a young mundane woman in my care who was injured in an apostate ritual. Her wound, according to my analysis, may be a portal accessing such a dimension."
"Have you mentioned this to the Master-General?"
"Not yet. I thought first I'd try to—"
"Good," the Archivist cut him off. "Don't."
Jules frowned. "Don't … ?"
"Not yet," Loris-Beckett added, then started forward again at a more determined pace.
Jules stood gaping after her. He'd heard the Grand Archivist was an iconoclast, but her counseling him within minutes of their first meeting to shut Master-General Wade out of a criminal investigation was beyond anything he could have imagined.
It took him a few seconds to work up the nerve to ask her, "Why?"
She didn't answer; mounted a ladder positioned ahead and whispered a spell to a gate that closed off an upper shelf. The gate's intricate wrought-iron lock eased apart, sinuously, and it swung open with a metallic groan.
Another brief chant, and a tracing of invisible runes on the cage's edge, and the neat row of book spines that appeared to occupy the shelf dissolved with a shimmer.
In place of this advanced glamor sat a huge, fraying leather codex with the ankh embossed on its spine.
"Don't bother telling anyone this was here," Loris-Beckett advised as she descended the ladder. "It won't be the next time someone enters this place."
"Who else knows about it?"
"Only myself. A couple of my trusted confidants. And now you. And if you go talking about it to anyone else around here, there's a very good chance they'll tell you you've lost your mind."
The Grand Archivist lugged the book over to a small table and heaved it onto the unfinished wood surface. A small cloud of dust rose up from the impact.
Jules warily joined her as she murmured a short incantation, which caused the convoluted lock that bound the text to give way with a series of whirrs and clicks.
Gingerly, the Archivist lifted aside the decaying cover, revealing a title page scribed in Ancient Greek.
"'The Complete Hermetica,'" Jules translated out loud. "'Annotated writings of Hermes Trismegistus.' This is nothing special. Every magus in the Western world knows this book."
"Took Ancient Greek as your language concentration, did you?" Loris-Beckett asked.
"No," said Jules, a bit sheepishly. "My linguistic concentrations were Old Aramaic and Enochian."
The Archivist's cheeks split in a long-toothed grin. "You're a Nimri after all. How's the daemon language coming in handy for you?"
"Not at all, I'm afraid."
Loris-Beckett chuckled broadly. "If you'd like a historian's view, it's been a good long while since your house produced a magus of vision. You were wise to break with tradition. As daemonologers, the Nimris have lost their touch."
Jules wasn't sure whether to take this as a compliment, so all he did was shrug with his face and give a vague nod.
"You are, of course, correct," Loris-Beckett went on. "This is the ubiquitous Corpus Hermeticum. It is, in fact, the oldest extant copy. I've dated it to the third century anno Domini."
Jules continued to nod absently, then did a double take. "The thirdcentury? The oldest complete works of Hermes is dated to the eighth."
"The oldest known edition." Loris-Beckett arched one furry eyebrow.
Jules frowned. "Why's this one been kept a secret?"
"Because if its existence came to light, the Tribunal might very well order it destroyed."
The Archivist leafed gently through the book's crumbling pages. "You're familiar with much of this, I'm sure. No doubt studied it ad nauseam in school." She closed the codex, stirring up a fresh puff of dust, then overturned it with a grunt and rotated it upside-down. "But this, I'll wager, is something new." She uttered a strange, glottally punctuated whine, something from none of the many ancient languages Jules had studied in school, and again lifted aside the book's cover, revealing an entirely different title page.
"'The Book of Cipher'?" Jules again translated out loud.
"Correct." The Grand Archivist leafed ahead. An image of a black vortex stretched long arms across the following page. "Before our world came into being, the Book of Cipher claims, there was another. A realm of darkness and void. It is said to linger on, a mere step out of phase with our own. Because we are creatures of the material realm, our senses were not made to detect it. Yet we sense it, in the cracks between things. In lack and in loss. Beyond the boundaries of forms."
Jules stared at the vortex, feeling that he had, in fact, gazed into it before. "Why has this knowledge been kept secret?"
"Because," said Loris-Beckett, "the Nihility, as it's called, gave rise to this world; and, theoretically, the Nihility can end it. Seeks to, in fact, with a conscious or unconscious will. It hungers to devour this plane, and it moves the magic users of this world through intangible means to aid in its cause. Those who harness the fullness of its potential may wield unmatched powers of destruction."
Jules found himself shaking his head.
"You're skeptical," Loris-Beckett observed.
"I just don't understand how something like this could exist—a whole other root and realm of magic no one knows anything about. How is a cover-up of that magnitude even possible?"
"When the Auctoritas Magicae consolidated power in the Western magic world, they carried out a systematic elimination of all forms of apostasy as defined by the Delphi Accords. Magi in defiance of the new laws were killed or tranquilized. Many sources of arcane knowledge now deemed apostate were destroyed. After the Siege of the Scholomance in 1851 A.D., all known texts referencing the Nihility were ritually burned, and practitioners of Nihilic magics were put to the torch as well. Even tranquilization was deemed insufficient to ensure the total obliteration of the dangerous knowledge they possessed.
"Since that time," the Archivist went on, "it's been forbidden by law even to speak of the Nihility. Within a few short generations, all knowledge of and historical reference to Nihilic practice was erased—until the discovery of this ancient text just decades ago, as well as a smattering of primary sources that have come into my possession over the years detailing the events I've described."
"So this 'Nihilic' magic was taught at the Scholomance?" The razing of the infamous apostate school was a celebrated event in Auctoritas Magicae history.
"So claimed the arcane historian Ana Ionescu," said Loris-Beckett. "And as you're no doubt aware, she's usually reliable."
Jules let this sink in. "But if it's true that these apostates are dabbling in such dangerous magic, the Master-General needs to be told."
"She's unlikely to believe you."
"Then we should show her this." Jules gestured to the text.
"If she did happen to recognize the significance of it, she'd be obligated by law to destroy it."
"That's absurd. We need this to understand what we're fighting. She'll grasp that. She isn't stupid."
"Never underestimate Devisha Wade's devotion to the letter of the law," drawled the Archivist, with patent contempt. "The woman suffers from a criminal—if you'll forgive my ironic phrasing—lack of imagination."
"But if I talk to the Prefect, the Archmagus, my father, they'll all surely see the necessity of overturning that law, under the circumstances."
"You would need to prove your case not just to those three individuals, but to a two-thirds majority of the Auctoritas Magicae. And even when all goes smoothly, the process of changing the law takes time. Meanwhile, the statute would remain in effect and would likely continue to be enforced by those parties publicly sworn to uphold it."
"I am one of those parties." Jules raked a hand through his hair. "What's the alternative? I keep taking this on by myself? With any luck it's just a small coven of dabblers and can be dealt with easily. But if this Nihilic magic really does have such destructive potential, it has to be nipped in the bud before it gets out of control. Which means I really ought to take whatever help I can get."
"If—and again, this is a considerable if—Devisha recognizes the significance of what's happening, you will not be receiving any help from her."
"You'll be taken off the case altogether. You're a 'rookie,' to borrow her pet term. I'm surprised she's trusted you to helm an investigation of your own in the first place."
"She … hasn't," said Jules, a bit guiltily. "I stumbled onto this one through a friend. Or—well, not a friend, exactly. Somebody I know."
"Case in point. If you bring this case to the Master-General's attention, she'll reassign it. Perhaps take the lead on it herself. Either way, it's doubtful she'll involve you in it, given your lack of experience. And she won't approach the matter with an open mind, as you would. She'll apply a sledgehammer where a chisel is called for."
"I'd be nuts to try to do this on my own," Jules protested, but he was feeling increasingly uncertain. "I'm arrogant, Grand Archivist, but I'm not that arrogant. I know I'm not equipped to take on something this major without help."
"You underestimate yourself." Loris-Beckett eyed him. "Haven't you given any thought to the girl?"
"The girl?"
"The young mundane woman. The one afflicted with the rift."
"Max," Jules murmured. "What about her?"
"You really think if the Master-General finds out about her and her significance to the case, she'll be willing to leave her in your care?"
"I'm sure the Master-General will understand, given my particular abilities, that I'm the best person to take care of Max."
"I wouldn't assume helping the girl will be Devisha's first priority."
Jules felt a stab of worry. "What do you mean?"
"Your Max will be considered evidence, and she'll be treated as such. Enforcement will be far more interested in her significance to their investigation than in either making her comfortable or caring for her injury. You know as well as I do, Grand Philosopher, that most of our fellow magi are not in the habit of affording mundanes an abundance of consideration."
Jules thought about the way the mediciners had tossed Max in quarantine and all but forgotten her. Like hell is that happening again.
"Why are you so set on persuading me?" he demanded suddenly, looking Draven Loris-Beckett in the eye.
"Because." She matched his gaze. "I'm rooting for this investigation to succeed. If it's truly a nest of Nihilites you've stumbled onto, then it's imperative they be brought down. But no way in hell am I turning over to Enforcement this or any other forbidden texts from my collection, given that they will likely only end up in the fire. You, Grand Philosopher, are a thinker first and foremost, like your predecessor before you. You, I judge, have the capacity to see reason. You, therefore, I will aid in this endeavor. But anyone else who comes in here demanding access to my secret collection will learn that I excel at obstruction."
Jules stared at the image of the vortex on the decrepit page in front of him and felt as if it were swirling, drawing him in.
"Do you mind if I stay here and study this a while?" he said at last, indicating the book.
"By all means." The Archivist rose from her chair. "If you require consultation, I'll be nearby."
Jules left the Archives a couple hours later with a dull throbbing in his skull and a sense that something in every shadow he passed was hostile to him—like a sentient sickness, suffering, seething with hate. The Book of Cipher, not unexpectedly, had been strange, littered with cryptic phrases like, The poison was in the seed—which for some reason seemed familiar—and, The Hell-born cry for peace. An ink-drawn vortex had writhed in the middle of each two-page spread, right at the place where the pages joined, and the text on either side of it had been rendered in such a way that it seemed to ooze, in slow motion, toward the solid blackness at the center. As Jules had paged through the tome, the image of the vortex had seemed to grow, overtaking more and more of the page. On turning the final leaf, he'd found himself staring into unbroken blackness.
When he'd finally closed the book, it had felt like surfacing into winter daylight from the bottom of a well.
He was shivering now as he stumped through the Enclave's halls. A time or two he paused to stand in the dappled sunlight that poured through the stained-glass windows, letting its warmth soak into his skin. He wondered if Max felt this same chill, this wrongness, this sickness in herself all the time.
Thinking about Max brought to mind the decision that lay before Jules—whether to approach the Master-General with his findings or continue to go it alone. He'd been so sure of his planned course of action that morning, but the Grand Archivist's words had given him more than a little cause to doubt—especially the part about him potentially being denied access to Max. The cure to what ailed her could only be divined through advanced alchemy, Jules was sure of it. Him not being allowed to study her could equal her death sentence.
He pulled up short, hearing the murmuring of a restless crowd somewhere up ahead, seemingly around the corner, where Enforcement headquarters was located.
Jules frowned to himself and, after a beat, continued forward into the cross-halls to see what was happening.
The throng of dozens included magi of all colors, though predominantly Arcanus's purple and gold—a fairly representative sampling of the Enclave's population on any given day. As Jules watched, they all seemed to quiet down and turn their attention toward something happening in the next hallway down.
Seconds later, they erupted in a din of angry shouts.
Jules stumped toward the fracas, craning his neck for a glimpse of whatever they were reacting to.
A ripple ran through the crowd as people fell back suddenly, some so hurriedly they smacked into others. It soon became clear why they were scrambling over each other—to clear the path of the tight formation of Ordinators that was forcing its way through, swords drawn. A few small scuffles broke out.
"His head!" one woman screamed, practically foaming at the mouth. "I want his fucking head!"
"Give me back my daughter, you trash!" a man bellowed.
"Was it Khmun?!" shouted another. "Tell us who you were working for, slime!"
Jules's heart skipped a beat. "They made an arrest?" he asked one of the few calm people he could find, a young woman hovering near the edge of the throng. "For the May 14th massacre?"
The magus, a Hekate Aristokratian veiled in black, responded with a tranquil nod. Jules knew, thanks to his mother, that her sect cultivated stoicism in the face of death and tragedy.
"Who was it?" He was having to shout to be heard above the uproar.
"Associate Duncan Harper of Ordo Arcanus," she replied, in a loud but placid voice, tinged with a Greek accent, which further brought to mind Jules's mother. "Assistant to the Grand Enchanter."
"Of course," breathed Jules. "He would've had easy access to the golem." He caught a glimpse of a frightened-looking young man, probably not much older than himself, chained hand and foot and huddling behind the wall of Ordinators, who were brandishing their blades to keep the mob at bay. "Anything yet about a motive? Accomplices?"
The woman shook her veiled head.
Someone hurled something at the suspect. It looked like a wallet. An Ordinator was quick to step out of line and clap the offender in handcuffs.
Jules took in the scene a moment or two longer, then decided he'd had enough.
Sick. Everything about this is sick.
"Well, Rory." He smiled grimly as he turned away. "Guessing this means you're off the hook."
NEXT CHAPTER: CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the conflicting challenges faced by many utilities, Councils, and Road Transport Authorities (RTA) when managing vegetation on road reserves, and the impact of conflicting messages emerging from the industry.
This paper is not meant to distract from the work that continues to develop the Australian arboriculture industry. Rather, generate discussion on potential strategies to position the industry to meet future challenges, in a consistent and unified approach.
standardisation and implementation of revised training programs, may raise the profile of arboriculture as a trade with a strong, united voice.
Many organisations are responsible for managing trees on road reserve. Do they have a common goal?
employ road management groups. Tasked to provide effective and safe roads, they must balance their budget, the demand for better roads, minimal environment impact and increasing road safety. Some American RTA's are trialing 'frangible trees', shrubs and flowers along road reserves to help balance these conflicting needs. Is this the next solution for Australia ? Will it mean the end of the humble eucalypt growing at the side of the road ?
employ street lighting groups. Tasked to improve the safety of roads and parks at night. Working to balance budgets, compliance with Australian Standards and community expectations. They seek to keep vegetation away from lights to minimize shadows etc.
Electricity suppliers install and maintain overhead and underground power lines. They balance legal obligations, community expectations, budgets, and RTA/Council expectations.
Specialists have their opinions and beliefs on how each group should undertake their roles.
Whilst customers hold wide and varied opinions on each of these, it could be argued that on balance, the community would like all of the above.
Are all the groups working towards the same goal ?
Does each group understand each other's drivers ?
Corrective focus: react to individual events that arise from customer complaints, or dangerous situations.
Has anyone found a sustainable solution? In consideration of the community's investment in the management of roadside vegetation, the opportunity to develop a unique and beneficial solution remains elusive.
Are we working towards the same goals?
Are arboriculture experts working to find a sustainable solution ?
The financial commitment to managing the vegetation affecting overhead power lines (refer diagram 2) has dramatically increased.
Pruning of vegetation near powerlines, completed on a rotational program (preventative maintenance).
Pruning and removal of trees following a customer request. Completed as required (corrective maintenance).
Negotiating the removal of palms and bamboo responsible for supply interruptions (corrective maintenance).
Pruning and removing trees along easements and access tracks (preventative maintenance).
Internet – information about the program, and power line friendly guidelines.
Do arboriculture experts agree on a list of power line friendly trees ?
MANAGING VEGETATION – WHAT IS THE RIGHT STRATEGY?
Managing vegetation near powerlines is a growing industry. With an annual investment of more than $150m, commitment to developing sustainable long term solutions is limited. When combined with Council / RTA investment, the industry deserves a significant level of educational investment.
However, do utilities cut trees correctly?
Is V gully cut right?
Do the technical experts agree?
Who are the technical experts?
Do the training courses reflect the 'right way'?
Picture 2 – The deep V gully cut .The electricity utilities signature?
The electricity industry is becoming increasingly de-regulated. Decision makers generally have an engineering or management background. Business strategies and policies are founded upon experience, education, and technical expert advice. Diagram 3 illustrates the framework that helps define strategies/ policies and ultimately their delivery.
Community Awareness: – The base for all decisions. A consistent message that aligns community expectation and understanding helps mould individual perceptions. Disagreement between the influential groups generates confusion for stakeholders outside of the industry, and can lead to frustration. eg 'where & how to trim a tree', and 'what is the maximum height of a species growing on a road'.
Education:- Agreement by educators and authors on the 'right way' to manage the vegetation near powerlines is difficult to obtain. As a consequence, trainees are confused, resulting in sub-standard outcomes.
Strategies and Policies:– lay the internal platform to the delivery. The variability in educator's opinions leads to variability in the policies.
Competent operators:- a product of training standards / availability, culture, trainer competence, and technical expertise agreement.
Personal, and community expectation varies significantly. Founded upon each persons / groups interests, arboricultural education, and understanding, utilities face a difficult task in developing solutions that meet everyone's needs. Those who have experienced the challenge of negotiating the removal of large trees for community safety or community infrastructure reinforcement reasons, would be well aware of the individuality of our community. Personal experiences include groups preferring the sculpturing of trees well outside the Australian Standards in preference to the removal of a tree for safety reasons. Community groups and individuals also appear to be increasingly willing to seek legal solutions to their concerns when recommended strategies are unpalatable.
The standard on how to cut a branch, or tree should be considered fairly standard. The majority of text books refer to the same technique and discuss similar strategies. Unfortunately, where to cut the branch does not have similar agreement. Lopping, topping, V-gully cuts, balancing trees, and formative pruning are all strategies commonly used. The development of the Australian Standards goes part of the way, however agreement on which strategy to use and when remains elusive, and often left to operator discretion.
Picture 3 – Should this tree be removed ? Is it unbalanced?
Arborists are not generally seen as a trade, with new operators 'apprenticed' for 3-4 years as they develop their competence. As a consequence, a person can technically buy a chainsaw, a ute and a ladder, and become a 'tree lopper'. This phenomenon can lead to misconceptions about the expertise within the industry. Would the inclusion of arboriculture as a 'trade' with apprenticeships, and 5 year licenses, generate a framework for improved operator competency, and standards development ?
Should trainers be qualified arborists ? Currently the capability of trainers impacts the quality of training. Variability currently exists between 'qualified' trainers instructing operators in the right stance when cutting branches on the ground, and where a branch should be cut to minimize re-growth. This variability leads to operator confusion, and consequently sub-standard practices.
How do you resolve this situation ? Challenge the training bodies to only allow qualified operators to deliver arboricultural courses ? Who would determine if a person was 'qualified'?
The simplistic answer to roadside vegetation…… Replace all existing trees with ones that meet everyone's needs. That is, trees that will not kill someone if hit by a vehicle, does not have branches below 2.0 m, nor foliage above 4.5m, not self seeding, does not produce excessive flowers and seed pods, and does not have intrusive root systems.
The next part is a little more challenging, finding a range of species. The difficulty non-arborists face is reaching agreement on what species are appropriate. Conflict between advice leads to confusion, and variability in solutions, and may generate more of a willingness to challenge other standards within the industry.
Whilst it is understood that Nature (and a range of environmental factors) decides the ultimate height of a tree, aligning information in books, articles, and the general printed media would present a united and common message to the wider community.
Who is trying to 'engineer' a solution ? In consideration of the investment in roadside vegetation management across the country, how many research grants and 'industry' projects are considering the problem, seeking to genetically create a range of species that are acceptable to the community, Councils / RTA / and utilities?
Ms Helen Leicht worked with a local grower to trial a range of power line friendly street trees. The trial culminated in the street planting of the new trees (Noel Surprise), in January 2006. This type of research promotes the industry, can result in lower community costs, and find solutions that are beneficial for Councils, and householders. Helen can be contacted through e-mail at [email protected] if you would like more information.
Who represents the Arboricultural Industry?
As a non-arborist, a problem the author faced was …. Who should we talk too ? The industry comprises a broad range of associations, community groups, business, and educational groups, each with a different focus, and perspective on the broader problems facing the industry. Whilst all are committed to improving the arboricultural industry, the variety in individual strategies, generates conflicting information.
The question that needs to be asked is … Would a single group responsible for the coordination of Australia's arboricultural industry, make it more efficient?
Could this group be funded through the transformation of arboriculture into a 'trade' where licensing, funds research and standardization?
Positioning the arboricultural industry requires a range of strategies to be implemented now.
The following points should be used to generate discussion on potential solutions.
The combined impacts of the National skills shortage, reducing unemployment and increasing financial commitment to the industry, is leading to a rapidly expanding workforce, with a thirst for information. Standardising the information presented in arboriculture courses, and developing the competency and capability of all trainers would provide the future workforce with an opportunity to learn 'the right way'.
Typically, the arboriculture industry works on relatively low margins, with employers seeking to maximise staff productivity. The challenge is to maximise the 'value' employees obtain from new and refresher training, whilst demonstrating benefits to safety, productivity, the environment and total cost.
Transitioning arboriculture as a trade would have significant implications for the industry. The benefits would include improved operator competency and safety. The risks associated with the transition of the existing workforce need to be carefully thought through.
Integrate arboriculture expertise in to the primary trade training packages. As an example, aligning the tree trimming training courses for linesmen with the standard arboriculture training materials.
A significant challenge facing the industry, is the variety in opinions, training, and standards. Whilst variety in opinion generates discussion, it can distract people from the broader strategies to advance the industry.
The development of a single group tasked with coordination of the industry, would provide a single voice, standardise training programs, broaden industry standards, and coordinate industry research. However, the success of the group would be dependent upon acceptance of the broader industry and engagement of a broad range of stakeholders.
A central group could investigate and develop strategies to standardise the industry and directly promote the development of the industry as a trade with governments and other stakeholders. They could also facilitate the distribution of consistent industry and training information to the various community groups, provide expert advice to the various supporting industries and arbitrate on conflicting opinions.
For non-arborist's, finding a solution to the issue of a sustainable vegetation management program for an electricity utility is complicated. The variety in individual expertise, and training programs can be distracting and lead to inefficient solutions.
Arborists are not generally seen by the community as 'tradesmen', and poorly trained operators are able to establish quickly, and present a variety of 'images' to the community. In contrast, the more traditional trades, are progressively moving to annual licensing (blue card), with promotional activities to help the broader community understand the benefits of employing a 'tradesman'.
The industry may benefit from a united focus, and the transformation of the skills into a more trade-based industry, utilising similar promotional activities to raise community awareness of the benefits of an arboricultural tradesman.
Ultimately many groups manage vegetation on road reserves.
Are they all working to the same goal ?
Do they understand each others drivers, and the impact of their activities ?
Who is developing the future roadside trees suitable for planting on roads and under power lines ?
Delivery:- a product of the commitment of the business to the solution, and the alignment of all of the previous items. Despite the significant investment to managing roadside vegetation, disagreement between industry experts on the right solution continues.


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Valentina Dmitrievna Dimitrieva (; 16/25 September 1937 – 18 February 2019) was a Soviet Russian farm worker, production leader and politician who worked at the Motor Bolishebikshih collective farm from 1952 until her retirement in 1993 and was an elected deputy of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union from the  between 1989 and 1991. She was one worker who began mechanisation of the farm she worked at to increase performance and raised productivity of the cows in her group by more than one-third in the early 1970s. Dimitrieva was decorated with the Medal "For Labour Valour"; the Order of the Red Banner of Labour; the Hero of Socialist Labour with the Order of Lenin and the  and the Medal "For Transforming the Non-Black Earth of the RSFSR".

Biography
Between 16 and 25 September 1937, Dimitrieva was born in the village of , Kanashsky District, Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (today Chuvashia). as a Chuvash national into a peasant family. Following her graduating from the seventh grade of the Bol'shebikshikhskaya Sosh Im. Shurika, which meant she had not completed her secondary education, she began working as a collective farmer on the Red Flame collective farm in Kanash. In 1953, Dimitrieva relocated to the Ashvin field-breeding brigade and worked as an ordinary collective farmer, groom, calf. During a movement to unite the collective farms in the late 1950s, she was attached to work at the Motor Bolishebikshih collective farm, Kanashsky District, Chuvash ASSR in a group of 90 people in which she worked as a calf.

Dimitrieva began working as a milkmaid in 1963 following her taking on a greater amount of obligations to catch up to the increase the yield of milk of livestock breeders working on the Karmameev farm. She was one of the workers who brought up mechanisation of the farm to increase performance, such as the green conveyor system, the milking of cows, the camping of livestock in the summer, fodder yeast. Dmitrieva extracted  of milk from each of the farm's cow per year from 1964, overtaking the milkmaids from Karmamey. She began and organised an All-Union competition with the livestock breeders of the Peremoga collective farm in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast in the early 1970s and demanded the board of her farm's collective to mechanise its equipment, increasing the productivity of the cows in her group by more than one-third. Dimitrieva retired in 1993.

She was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Dimitrieva was a delegate of the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow in 1957. From 1989 to 1991, she served as an elected deputy of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union from the  and was a member of the All-Russian Council of War and Labour Veterans.

Personal life
Dimitrieva resided in Askhva with her son and his family. She died in Askhva on 18 February 2019.

Awards
On 22 March 1967, Dimitrieva was decorated with the Medal "For Labour Valour" and the Order of the Red Banner of Labour on 8 April 1971. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet issued a decree honouring her with the title of Hero of Socialist Labour with the Order of Lenin and the  on 6 September 1973 "for the great successes achieved in the All-Union Socialist Competition, and the labor prowess shown in fulfilling the obligations assumed to increase the production and procurement of livestock products in the winter period of 1972–1973." Dimitrieva received the title of Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Chuvash ASSR in 1981 and was issued a Labour Veteran certificate in 1995. She was named an Honorary Citizen of the Kanash District in 2016. Dimitrieva was also a recipient of the Medal "For Transforming the Non-Black Earth of the RSFSR".

References

Russian farmers
1937 births
2019 deaths
People from Kanashsky District
20th-century Russian women
21st-century Russian women
Russian women farmers
Soviet women in politics
Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Recipients of the Order of Lenin

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The most common strep throat symptoms include a fever, sore throat, and headache. Early symptoms for strep throat often resemble cold symptoms, but strep throat usually doesn't cause symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, or nasal congestion.
If you have strep throat, your throat might look red and raw. White or yellow spots could develop on your tonsils, and the glands in your neck might swell. You may experience nausea, vomiting, or chills. Strep throat can make swallowing painful. People with strep throat could lose their appetite or find it difficult to eat regular meals.
Strep throat can also develop into a condition called scarlet fever. Symptoms of scarlet fever include a sore throat, high fever, and a bright red rash on the face, arms, and trunk. Left untreated, scarlet fever can cause permanent damage to your heart or kidneys.
Strep throat is caused by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. Strep bacteria are highly contagious and usually spread through direct person-to-person contact. The bacteria can be transmitted through an infected person's saliva or droplets expelled into the air when a sick person coughs or sneezes.
After exposure to strep throat bacteria, symptoms usually appear within two to five days. Most people catch strep throat by sharing close quarters with a sick person. You may catch the illness from a family member or spouse. Children and young adults can also catch strep throat at their school or daycare.
Regular handwashing and good hygiene can help prevent the spread of illnesses like strep throat. Scrub your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. Use a clean cloth or paper towel to dry your hands. Be sure to wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom. You should also wash your hands before and after touching your face.
If you need to sneeze or cough, cover your mouth. It's best to sneeze or cough into your elbow or upper arm rather than your hands. If you must sneeze or cough into your hands, wash them right away. Encourage family members and young children to cover their noses and mouths when sneezing or coughing. This helps prevent the spread of illness.
Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick. If someone in your family is sick, it might be best to isolate them in their bedroom or another area away from the rest of the family. Try to keep your distance from coworkers or classmates who are ill.
The germs that cause strep throat can be transmitted through saliva. To avoid catching strep throat, don't share cups, straws, or silverware. Avoid sharing any personal items that might come in contact with your saliva, such as toothbrushes or lipstick.
Once a strep test has confirmed the diagnosis of strep throat, doctors usually prescribe antibiotics to treat strep throat. Left untreated, strep throat could lead to life-threatening health complications, including pneumonia, meningitis, or toxic shock syndrome. Fortunately, antibiotics can help clear up the infection, halt the spread of strep throat, and reduce your risk of developing complications.
If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, be sure to take the medication as directed. Don't skip doses, and don't stop taking the medication without your doctor's permission. Don't share the medicine with friends or family members. Failing to take your medication correctly can result in your infection coming back.
You can catch strep throat more than once. If you recover from strep throat, it's important to stay away from other people who have strep or you could contract the illness again. It's also important to sterilize or replace personal care items such as toothbrushes after you recover from strep throat.
Once you start taking antibiotics, you usually start to feel better within a few days. In the meantime, you might be able to treat your symptoms with over-the-counter throat lozenges or throat sprays. Gargling with warm salt water can also help clear up the infection and provide relief from painful symptoms. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for other recommendations for at-home treatments.
Is your sore throat getting worse or better?
Do you experience cold symptoms, such as sneezing or a runny nose?
Has anyone in your family, school, or workplace been sick with strep throat?


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Heard The Lie - CD
Dynamic singer/songwriter GINA SICILIA will release her eighth studio album, Heard the Lie, on August 31, 2018 via Blue Elan Records. Produced by Grammy-nominated Dave Darling, Siclia's remarkable eighth body of work in just a little over a decade, is a testament to her ever evolving love and practice of blues and country music. "I've never really recorded albums that are straight blues because I've always felt the natural urge to write and record my many musical influences. But I have always tried to write blues-influenced songs with pop sensibilities and pop hooks—catchy songs that people can sing along to. That's something I tried to do even more when writing this album," say's Sicilia on her new release. Over the last decade or so, SICILIA has opened for Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joan Osborne and Beth Hart, among others. SICILIA integrates down-to-the-roots inspirations seamlessly within the album's bluesy moments. Such as the strutting "Brighter Day," an upbeat duet with Grammy-nominated Janiva Magness, who also co-wrote the song, and the piano-tickled slow burn "Man In The Sky," a showcase for SICILIA 's formidable, smoky voice. "I'm very influenced by being around musicians all the time, and being around so much live music," she says. "Great things can come from being authentic and forming real friendships and connections with other musicians anywhere, but particularly in Nashville."
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The Ashes in Print – Part 2
Archie Mac | 12:00am BST 05 December 2010
The Ashes in Print - Part 2
Ashes touring books during the interwar years were a little more frequent than before 1914, at least one contemporary account appearing for each series bar one. Bodyline was a notable exception, but the real proliferation did not happen until the 1950s, when the 1954-55 tour for instance attracted ten full accounts.
In contrast the first Ashes series after the Great War – England in Australia 1920-21 – attracted just one contemporary account, that the one was perhaps one of the best Ashes tour books written was simply a case of serendipity.
Defending the Ashes was written by P.G.H. Fender who was widely considered the greatest English captain never to captain England. The book gives fascinating insights into both the cricket and the tactics of the time and after reading the book it confirms Fender's claim to the English captaincy.
Unfortunately England, after the ravages of war, became the first, and until the 21st century, the only team to lose an Ashes series 5-0. Tests at this time in Australia were played to a finish and there was no hope of rain or a dour rearguard action to secure a draw. In effect there was nowhere to hide for England against Warwick Armstrong's all conquering team.
The 1921 English team were luckier, with matches in England allocated only three days they were able to draw the last two Tests and suffered a 3-0 loss. Again there was only one contemporary account dedicated to the series, this time by the Australian manager Sydney Smith. Although comprehensive With the 15th Australian XI is not in the class of Fender. A much better account, Warwick Armstrong's Australians, was published in 1971. Written by Ronald Mason; you may need to read the book with a dictionary handy, as before the coming of Gideon Haigh, Mason was the king of "three dollar words"
The English winter of 1924/25 brought another Ashes tour and again just one contemporary account, this time by former Australian captain Monty Noble. Gilligan's Men is written in the Fender vein and although not quite reaching the same heights it is still a thought provoking account of a tour that showed the first signs of England recovering after the effects of the Great War, despite Australia winning four Tests to one – the main reason being the pairing of England's and perhaps cricket's greatest opening pair in Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe.
Hobbs and Sutcliffe, together with a player who made his Ashes debut in 1899, one Wilfred Rhodes, led England to a 1-0 victory in 1926 and their first Ashes win since 1912. This series, perhaps because of England's success, attracted three accounts all released in 1926. Collins's Men by the English captain of the previous Ashes series Arthur Gilligan, Those Ashes by Monty Noble and The Fight for the Ashes by Plum Warner. All three are well worth a read.
A now rejuvenated England visited Australia in 1928-29, coming as close as they ever have to winning an Ashes series 5-0. However they were thwarted in the fifth Test by a young man called Bradman, who helped Australia to a narrow victory and the saving of a whitewash.
Criticisms of Bradman's technique and prophecies of his failure on England pitches in Fender's book, the aptly named Turn of the Wheel discredited one of the best, if not the best tour book written, although Monty Noble's The Fight for the Ashes is also a well constructed account of the series.
Bradman's technique held up well during the 1930 tour as his 974 runs suggests and Fender is generous in his praise of the "Bowral Boy's" magnificent tour in his book The Tests of 1930. England's defeat is also covered by Warner in The Fight for the Ashes and the Australian author Geoffrey Tebbutt With the 1930 Australians. Unfortunately I have not had the pleasure of reading either.
With Bradman the batting wonder Australia was expected to dominate the 1932-33 Ashes series; however with Douglas Jardine and a bevy of fast bowlers employing fast leg theory (Bodyline) England not only won the series four Tests to one, they gave publishing the most written about contest in cricket history. To list just all of the contemporary accounts, none of which are top shelf, would take up too much space. The two best accounts were written after the tour, those being Cricket Crisis by Jack Fingleton in 1946 and Cricket Web's book of the decade Bodyline Autopsy by David Frith. It is a pity that Percy Fender did not travel to Australia and write a book on the tour. Fender was a proponent of the tactics of Jardine and his opinions after watching the series may have been his greatest legacy to cricket literature.
Fender was back to his best in his coverage of the 1934 tour with the strangely named Kissing the Rod, as Bradman and Bill Ponsford batted and batted to see Australia win back the Ashes. Two other books were written about the series Douglas Jardine's Ashes and Dust, and Jack Hobbs' The Fight for the Ashes. Again I have not had the pleasure of reading either offering.
By 1936-37 Bradman was captain and, after trailing 2-0, he led Australia to a 3-2 victory – the only time in Ashes history where a side has comeback to win after trailing by two Tests. Neville Cardus wrote an entertaining account of the series called Australian Summer, other books written at the time were So This is Australia by William Pollock and Australian Test Tour by Bruce Harris. Once again I have not had a chance to read either.
The final series before the start of WWII saw Australia retain the Ashes with a one all draw. A rather dour series and the impending threat of war saw no contemporary book written on the tour, although in 1949 an anthology of the work of Neville Cardus Cardus on Cricket included all of the great scribe's daily press reports from the Test matches. Finally in 1991 a full tour account appeared, Barry Valentine's Cricket's Dawn That Died. Yet another one I am yet to tackle, however the title is interesting.
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Marjan Javanbakht
Adjunct Associate Professor
Type of Faculty
Epidemiology Full Time
310.310-825.3234
javan@ucla.edu
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
46-082 CHS
Areas of Interest:
Her research focuses on individual and contextual factors that place people at increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV. Current research includes sexual risk behaviors among young people attending STD clinics, transmission behaviors among men recently infected with HIV, as well as rectal hygiene practices that may increase the risk of STI/HIV transmission. She previously investigated the epidemiology of anal intercourse among women as well as an examination of the context in which non-coital activities may increase the risk of STIs in women. She has also conducted a number of clinical epidemiology studies including an examination of factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral medications, the epidemiology of antiretroviral drug resistance, as well as clinical outcomes and laboratory monitoring for HIV-positive patients. She has directed and collaborated on a number of federally (NIH), state (California HIV/AIDS Research Program), and foundation (amfAR) funded research projects.
Marjan Javanbakht joined the faculty at the UCLA School of Public Health in 2006 and is currently an Associate professor in the department of epidemiology. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA, Dr. Javanbakht served as an epidemiologist for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Sexually Transmitted Disease Program. Dr. Javanbakht completed her doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and her Master's degree at Yale University.
MPH., Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Yale University School of Medicine
PhD., Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
This faculty member is available to serve as:
Doctoral Advisor
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Please check with the faculty member or their office about availability to serve during current academic period.
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