196

Bjorn went back to his room after dinner, sat down on his bed and turned on the TV. However, he kept the sound off and watched the news channel as a sort of distraction rather than as a source of information. His thoughts remained centered around what had been discussed around the dinner table.

The atmosphere had been surprisingly relaxed, despite the big differences in perspective. Thomas had made some rather provocative claims, especially in the ears of people like Frank and John, but no one's feelings had been hurt. It had all been quite civil, despite the frank language used, and Bjorn wondered for a minute how that could be. Then a thought struck him, that it might have been Ante, or rather his food and wine, that had set the stage for the open and relaxed atmosphere.

The feeling of wealth and plenty that Ante's meals always conjured up set the stage for the sort of frank and open exchange of ideas that Bjorn had just witnessed. One could not help feeling content and pleased sitting at Ante's table, and with such a cushion to lean on, as it were, mere words and ideas were nothing to be overly worried about. The world would not end, one way or the other. And to think that anyone actually had a say in the matters discussed was delusional anyway. No one at the table had any real influence on the world of politics. Everybody knew that. And in that respect, it mattered little what Thomas or anyone else might think about the state of the world.

But before Bjorn had time to think more about Ante's ability to create a good atmosphere for discussions, he was suddenly distracted by the word Lundby on a banner being waved on TV, and he turned on the sound to hear what the news was all about. However, there was nothing new being said. The protests against the colony was continuing, mostly in Oslo, but other places too. People were gathering outside asylum centers, repeating the same mantra about the Lundby colony being cruel and uncivilized.

"We can't send people to the arctic, just like that," people said. "It's inhumane. It violates their rights. It's fascist. It's not worthy of a civilized country like Norway to treat people like this."

But the project had not lost any of it's popularity among the general public, despite the protests, the anchor woman noted. Then she asked a news reporter in front of a gathering of protesters why she thought the general public did not object to the cruelty of sending people to the arctic, noting that many of the refugees were indeed from warm places like Africa and the Middle East, making it all the worse to send them to a place so cruelly different from where they were from.

"It is hard to say," the reporter answered. "It may be the crisis. It is certainly not natural for us as a nation to be so indifferent to people's suffering as we are today."

And with that reply forming the final note on the matter, the anchor woman thanked the reporter for her insights before switching to economic news where the big headline for the day was a private pension fund that had gone bankrupt. Having made tremendous losses on financial papers tied to European debt, the pension fund could no longer meet its obligations, and with the new right wing government unwilling to pick up the pieces, the bankrupt fund had been liquidated.

The assets were already being transferred to another insurance company, the anchor woman explained, and new contracts would soon be issued to the unfortunate pensioners, however, at a substantially lower monthly payout than what had been the case up until the bankruptcy. The pensioners were in essence left without a say in the matter, and when interviewed about it, one angry old lady described it as daylight robbery and a gigantic failure of capitalism.

Bjorn turned the sound off again, having heard enough to feel relieved that he never payed anything into any pension fund. Except, of course, the mandatory monthly contribution to the state pension fund. But that was state run, and could not fold in the same way. Its pay outs were guaranteed, not by some private company, but by the state itself.

And while thinking about the convenience and security provided by the state run pension fund, Bjorn was reminded of all the other services provided by the state. Health care, old people care, schools, police, courts of justice, fire fighters and defense were all provided by the state, free for all. And in that light, Bjorn's salary was not bad at all. To think that he was no better off than people like Aung in Lundby, was just plain silly.

Why had he even thought such a silly thing? Bjorn wondered. Salaries in Lundby were horrendously pitiful. And they had to pay for everything. Nothing was free down there. They didn't even have schools. That's how bad things were. And then, for some reason, Bjorn had nevertheless managed to imagine himself no better off than them.

Bjorn turned off the TV, shaking his head in silent recognition of his own silliness. Then he got up from where he was sitting, found the letter from Oslo on his desk and looked through it again.

185

Bjorn rinsed his thermos and put it on the rack above the kitchen sink to drip dry. Then, he went up to his room for a rest. He felt like being on his own again, and sensing that Ante was feeling the same way, he left the man in the kitchen to finish his things.

Back in his room, Bjorn took a quick peek outside. He looked over at Gus' house in the distance, and was struck by how the place had completely lost its menacing appearance now that he had met Gus in person. Having shook hands with him, it seemed quite inconceivable that the man would do anything to harm him or any of his colleagues at the checkpoint. Gus simply wasn't the type to do anything rash. Bjorn's brief encounter with the man had convinced him of that.

"Strange how that goes," Bjorn thought to himself. "How meeting someone face to face can change ones feeling about another so dramatically."

Bjorn picked up the remote control for the TV, got into bed, and started zapping through the channels.

"... fight extremism," a voice said as he zapped over to one of the news channels. And there was a picture of the Wikipedia logo in the information box next to the anchorwoman that drew Bjorn's attention.

"Is Wikipedia fighting extremism?" Bjorn wondered. But he soon understood that Wikipedia was in fact the source of the alleged extremism, and not an institution fighting it. The TV display split into two, with the minister of cultural affairs appearing with a concerned look to the right of the anchorwoman. The minister explained how articles on Wikipedia had become ever more extreme over time, and that it was currently at a point of being dangerously misleading. She had therefore decided to allocate resources towards a general clean up of Wikipedia to make sure the various articles that so many people rely on for facts, were as factual and reliable as they should be.

It would be a daunting task. But the alternative to facing the online extremism head on would be to let it grow unhindered, and that could have some very serious consequences, the minister explained. Then she made a general appeal to the public about being critical about things found on the web, announcing that people should report suspicious content to the ministry through a newly created website called Real Truth.

The web address was displayed at the bottom of the screen, and the anchorwoman repeated it twice before thanking the minister for her time.

What followed was economic news. There had been a hostile attack on the Norwegian currency, but it had been pushed back by the central bank selling record amounts of US dollars. Nevertheless, the Norwegian currency had fallen, and there were concerns that there would be renewed attacks coming soon.

"That won't go down well with Espen," Bjorn thought, remembering how cross Espen got at the unexpectedly high price of the Gram on Friday. "Surely, the Gram will go up in price even more after this."

Bjorn remembered, with some amusement, how Espen had reacted to the price rise, which had occurred despite the falling gold price, so much touted in the news. But just as Bjorn's mind started to drift, a message came in on his mobile phone, and he was cut short in his meditative ramblings. He picked up his phone to see who it might be, and was somewhat surprised to see that it was from the Blacklist.

"Please confirm the changes to your profile," it read. And on reading these words, Bjorn immediately knew that Geir had been messing around on his PC. He leaped to his feet, and headed down to the glass cage, angry and impatient with Geir's misbehavior.

169

Bjorn felt increasingly nervous and edgy as the dinner progressed. Listening to Ante's rendition of their day in Lundby, however lighthearted and fun, was making him feel uncomfortable. Many of the episodes down in the village had had a sinister undertone to it. And with Ante describing it all in his own colorful way, it all seemed even more crooked and weird than it had appeared first hand. The picture painted by Ante was of a place completely out of control, and Frank and John were clearly impressed. Espen, on the other hand was less convinced. He sent Bjorn the occasional glance to have Ante's story confirmed, to which Bjorn responded with a silent grin, signalling that the real story was not quite as wild as Ante was making it out to be.

But Ante was basically right. He wasn't making up stuff. He was just emphasizing certain aspects and episodes. And it all added up to a strange mix, both fascinating and repulsive. By the end of their meal Bjorn was sitting uncomfortably on his chair, and he was eager to get away to be on his own again. He was also starting to feel tired. It had been a long and eventful day, and he had had little sleep the night before.

When everybody got up and he was on his way out of the kitchen, Bjorn grabbed instinctively his pack of cigarettes in his pocket, yearning for a cigarette to calm his nerves before going to bed. But as he pulled out the pack he was reminded of David's advice, and the medicine that was waiting for him in his desk drawer upstairs. Bjorn put the cigarette pack back in his pocket and headed up the stairs to his room, excusing himself to his colleagues who went in to the common room to end the day there.

Bjorn ascended the stairs quickly, and he felt a rush of childish excitement as he entered his room. Finally it was time to try David's brew. It was sure to calm down his nerves, and Bjorn could not help thinking that it would give him a rush of well being too. The medicine contained cannabis oil after all. It contained other stuff too, no doubt. But it was bound to give him a pleasant experience. He was convinced of that.

Bjorn locked his door before going over to the window to pull the curtains properly shut. He sat down in his chair at his desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out the bottle. "David's Anxiety Relief" it said in large friendly letters. Just looking at the bottle made Bjorn feel calmer. Then he poured the thick liquid into the measuring cup. He took a sip of it to taste it. Then he poured the rest into his mouth, swallowing it without any problems. It was bitter, but not unpleasant.

Bjorn leaned back in his chair, half expecting some immediate effect, but nothing happened. And feeling himself a little silly for thinking that something would happen immediately, he put away the bottle and the measuring glass. Then he got up and headed for the bathroom to prepare himself for bed. That too went without incidents, and he was still feeling completely unaffected by the medicine on returning to his room.

Bjorn set the alarm on his mobile phone, turned on the TV to catch the latest news, and got into his pajamas. He only half paid attention to the drone from the TV until he finally got into bed where his attention could again be fully directed towards the events of the day.

The big headline news was a coordinated police raid on several barber shops in Oslo. Quite a number of illegal hair dressers had been operating without a license for several months, and this was now finally being dealt with by the law enforcement officers. The unlicensed hairdressers had started to crowd out the licensed shops, and this could simply not be tolerated anymore. Just like unlicensed taxi drivers, unlicensed hair dressers had to be dealt with in order to even out the playing field and make business conditions fair for all. Furthermore, unlicensed business owners of all sorts were notorious for not paying taxes, and moving with determination and force against such rogue actors was required in order to keep the economy afloat, it was argued.

Bjorn nodded in agreement. People avoiding taxation was a big problem. It was unfair to those paying their fair share, and it was bad for the economy. The welfare of the public was at stake after all. How could such things as schools and hospitals and pensions etc. be paid for if people stopped paying their taxes? Things would decay into anarchy. Things would soon be as bad as in Lundby, a place so miserable that people had to guard its limits to keep people from fleeing in droves.

Bjorn smiled for some reason. It all seemed ridiculous. He chuckled. And he knew that it had to be the medicine kicking in. He felt warm and fuzzy, and nothing seemed to matter. There was a short mention of a coldblooded assassination of two cops in London, and this bit of news which would normally have made Bjorn's heart leap in anxiety did nothing to lessen his sense of well being. Some homeless guy had shot the two officers, blaming them for his misery, which was absurd since they were out in the streets for the specific purpose of making life more secure for the homeless.

The world was going insane. But Bjorn just chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. Then he turned off the TV and light, and soon he was fast asleep.

116

Bjorn went straight up to his room after dinner, and feeling fully satisfied by the meal, and a little drowsy from the wine, he prepared himself for bed. Having to get up in the middle of the night, it was pretty much ideal that he felt this way, since it would allow him to have a proper rest before getting up.

Bjorn turned on the TV to have a quick look at the latest news before calling it a day. But there was nothing new going on apart from a few developments in ongoing news stories. The most noteworthy development being the sentencing to life in prison of a man who quite randomly killed a child in a play park some months ago.

The details of this story were never told, but rumors had it that he slashed the little boy's throat for no reason whatsoever. However, others held that he was an aspiring Syria fighter who could not wait to claim his place in heaven by killing an infidel. And with all the talk of what to do about returning Syria fighters, this latest rumour had caught on to the extent that many believed it to be an established fact.

One thing was certain, though. Whatever happened in the play park that day was not to be officially confirmed or denied by anyone. The court case was held behind closed doors, and apart form the accusation of premeditated murder, and the guilty sentence that had just been announced, nothing was neither confirmed nor denied about the rumors.

But Bjorn was beyond being shocked by the story. It was already an old story, and the announcement that the perpetrator was finally found guilty did not stir up any unpleasant feelings. Rather the opposite was the case. Justice had won the day, and an evil criminal was put behind bars.

In other news, there was the continuing story about the crisis, which for some reason had recently had its name changed to the recovery. One had to be an idiot to believe that things were actually getting better. But the recovery was, according to the news, now evident in everything from the stock market and commodities prices, to the ever falling gold price and stabilizing house prices. Very soon now, the man in the street would also be able to see that the recession was over, and that a new economic dawn was on its way.

The very latest political invention which would allegedly help the recovery on its way, was a proposal to outlaw the use of cash, thereby forcing every transaction to be electronic. The banks, having long ago made all electronic payments free of charge, were fully equipped for such a change, and with only the black market in contraband and illegal services really needing cash for their opaque business transactions, there was nothing to loose in a right out ban on cash.

The savings to the banks and the central bank in administrative overhead alone were phenomenal, and the tax man could easily pull in several percent more in revenue through an increased power to monitor and track every transaction. Criminals were in fact the only ones who would loose anything by a move to a cashless society, and the bill was already well on its way to become law, which would make Norway the first country in the world to fully embrace such a system.

Bjorn felt a sense of pride swell up in him on digesting this latest statement. As a Norwegian he would be taking part in what was truly a great leap forward, and although this was not in any way his idea, he could not help take pride in the forward looking genius and pioneering spirit of his fellow country men.

And with this sense of achievement, as it were, Bjorn turned off the TV and the lights in his room which pretty much immediately had him fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

114

It was of course still possible that the page was some sort of prank, but the mention of Rogue Justice in the Gazette and the ad in the Blacklist gave Bjorn a strong feeling that it was in fact a real service. Contacting whoever was behind the e-mail address would almost certainly lead to a serious response which in turn could result in the violent death of a person.

It was an unnerving thought, and the way the ad had appeared right next to the names of people who in some cases were merely doing their job, added to the sense that this whole thing was getting out of control, that Lundby was full of crooks actively involved in all sorts of criminal activity.

The prostitution, the drugs, the protection rackets, and now even hired guns ready to kill for money; the village was quite obviously in the hands of the Mafia, and if not stopped pretty soon, who could know where this would end?

Bjorn turned off his computer. He got up from his chair and stretched his body to relieve himself from the tension that had built up while he was hunkered over his PC. Then he took a final look at the village before drawing the curtains. He turned on the TV and sat down in his bed to get some rest before dinner.

Something very sinister was going on in the village, and Bjorn got a cold lump in his stomach from thinking about it. He and his colleagues were after all at the very front line should anything happen. Maybe his "bunker boys" colleagues were right after all, that some sort of conflict was inevitable, and that the checkpoint would in fact be attacked one day. Terrorist attacks were after all becoming increasingly common. Police stations and army barracks were going up in flames every day in various hotspots around the world it seemed, and here he was at the very front line of an out of control village, full of armed people, some of whom evidently feeling entitled to kill whomever they have a grudge against.

Bjorn flicked through the channels on his TV in search of something soothing, skipping quickly past anything with even a hint of violence in it. But feeling edgy from thinking about Lundby, he had no patience for pure silliness either, so he found himself changing channels quite frequently until he finally landed on a documentary about kids who had been saved from kidnappers. And although the subject matter was violent in a way, there was something soothing about the topic. Good people had come to these kids' rescue, and here they were, safe and sound, and ready to talk about their ordeals.

With so much violence and destruction going on in the world, it was good to be reminded of the many heroes out there taking it upon themselves to make the world a better place. And the part of the documentary that Bjorn had landed on was particularly touching. A brother and sister were sitting on a sofa, flanked by their parents, telling the interviewer that if it had not been for their guardian angels, they would have been living in perpetual fear of their would be kidnappers.

Bjorn found the term "guardian angels" quaint but fitting. "What better word to describe people dedicating their lives to saving children?" he thought as he listened to the kids parent narrating their side of the story. Bjorn clicked on the info button on the remote control, and sure enough, the documentary he was watching was simply called "The Guardian Angels". And although he at this point realized that he was watching a program about the child protective services, he did not change the channel, despite having just realized that he had failed in preventing Cecilie, as she called herself, from entering the village with her daughter.

Bjorn was fascinated by what he was watching. The heroic nature of the work the "guardian angels" were doing was inspiring, and Bjorn wondered for a while if he should take it upon himself to find Cecilie and her daughter, and bring them back to Alta to meet with the angles. Or better still, find out where they were hiding and simply report this to them.

But there was something artificial about the documentary that slowly grew on him. A strange sense of unease as the stories, a little too extreme to be entirely believable, unfolded and revealed that the parents were not in fact the parents of the children, but their foster parents. And that the kidnapping was not so much a kidnapping as a desperate attempt by the children's biological parents to escape the child protection services.

If these guardian angels were so keen to help, why the drama and the sudden impulses to bring in the police to forcefully take the children away from the parents. Was there really an epidemic of child molestation by biological parents against their own children out there? Did the better safe than sorry attitude that these angles were promoting really make sense?

And then, much to Bjorn's amazement, the woman in charge of the child protection services in Alta appeared, and Bjorn could not help think of the long list of complaints against her as she sat there smugly bragging about the hundreds of children she had personally saved.

"Hundreds?" Bjorn thought in disbelief. "Hundreds of children saved in an area that has less than ten thousand children." And why on earth was this woman, of all the so called guardian angles out there, the one to get so much positive attention in the documentary? It seemed odd that a person who evidently is much feared and clearly hated by many should get such an opportunity to brag of her achievements.

She even got the honour of making the closing statement for the documentary. The interviewer asked urgently and passionately who would save the children if it was not for guardian angles like her. And the head of the child protection services in Alta nodded with a knowing smile, adding rhetorically "who indeed?"

And with this question in mind Bjorn was left pondering its implications as the list of credits appeared on the screen. It was easy for him to think that they may be overdoing things a bit in Alta, but did he have any better solutions? He was no expert in these matters, and what did he know about child molestation? And the evidence was there. Children were being saved, and who would do this if not the angles?

But Bjorn did not get any time to think more about this. It was dinner time, and Ante was knocking on doors, telling everybody to come down to the kitchen to take part in the feast.

And eager to join Ante and his other colleagues Bjorn rose quickly from his bed, which made him suddenly feel dizzy, just like last night at the casino. But Bjorn was too eager to go down and eat to worry about this, and after having steadied himself against the wall for a moment to regaining his balance, he simply made a mental note that he had to talk to a doctor one of these days.

73

Bjorn was the last one to appear in the living room where Ante had put out a cake and some snacks together with beer and soft drinks for everybody to enjoy. Geir was the only one not there since he was on guard duty out in the glass cage. But Bjorn had a feeling Geir might actually prefer to be on duty rather than spend time socializing with his colleagues.

Bjorn had never seen Geir being social with anybody, and out of a light curiosity, he asked Ante about this as he grabbed a beer for himself.

"Nope, he's notoriously anti-social," Ante confirmed. "And he prefers sandwiches to hot meals, so he's never around for meal times either."
"Kind of strange, don't you think?" Bjorn asked rhetorically.
"We can't all be as likable and wonderful as you and me, you know," Ante answered with a smile.
"So true, so true," Bjorn nodded, also smiling.

Bjorn looked around in the room, fascinated by his colleagues who all, with the exception of John, were in their civilian clothes. And he could not help find it amusing that they were dressed up pretty much as he would have expected from what he had learned about their personalities. Espen was wearing an ill-fitting suit, and Thomas' shirt was, as always, only half tucked into his sagging trousers. Ante was looking relaxed in a modern unpretentious outfit, and Frank was slick as a pimp, with his shirt wide open in the neck, exposing a gold medallion.

They had by now all seen the news from Lier, and Frank was talking excitedly about it with Espen and Thomas, with John listening in on the conversation.

"You see how they can get their way simply by turning against us," Frank explained. "It is not like they have to break out of the colony or anything. All they have to do is to attack us, make sure that the damage is substantial, and then leave it to the TV news crew to present their case. Did you hear how they presented the rioters as if they were the big victims in all of this?"
"Sure," Thomas answered. "But most people are not buying it any more. That's why they are sending those thugs up here in the first place."
"Yeah, but if those people keep thinking they can get their way by attacking public property, they might do it regardless of it having any positive effect or not," Espen suggested in defence of Frank's position.
"And if they attack, it does not really matter if it ends up in their favour or not. We won't get away unharmed unless we step up security," Frank continued. "That's why I've ordered a fence to be built around this place."

"And when are we going to be fenced in?" Ante asked, moving over to where the conversation was taking place.
"Before those loonies are coming up here I hope," Frank replied.
"Next week, in other words?"
"Yeah."

Bjorn grabbed a snack and joined the group.

"And the new dress code?" Thomas asked. "How is that going to make us safer?"
"Well that's because you and Ante are two big slobs," Frank answered with a smile.
"But seriously..." Frank added. "It does make a difference how we come across. If we look like a soft target, we'll soon enough end up as a target."
"You think so?" Thomas asked sceptically.
"I know it for sure."
"Oh yeah?"

The group went silent as everyone looked at Frank and Thomas who were clearly not in agreement on this point. Then, to lighten the mood, Ante suggested they all sing the birthday song for Thomas, and cut into the cake he had made for the occasion.

Ante set off the singing by cheerfully starting on the first few words of the song, and pretty soon everybody was singing along. And once the singing was over, Thomas got the honour of cutting the first piece for himself.

It was a delicious cream cake, and everybody congratulated Ante on his baking skills. "Life here without you would be far less enjoyable," Frank noted on behalf of everybody who all nodded in agreement. "We're a lucky bunch to have you around," Frank continued.

"And we are lucky to have Pingo and Lundby near by too," Ante added modestly. "It sure is a heck of a lot easier to come up with good stuff when we have such a ready supply of wonderful fresh produce."
"Yeah..." Espen added with a smile. "They may one day burn our little place to the ground. But at least we've had some delicious meals before it happens."

And with this, everybody except John started laughing.

"Well, we won't be laughing when it happens," John protested.
"If it happens!" Thomas corrected. "It is if... A great big if."
"Sure... But it seems rather likely... Doesn't it?"
"No, it does not," Thomas insisted stubbornly.
"Not after we get our fence up!" Frank added with a friendly smile. "We will all be safe once we get our fence."

Bjorn looked over at Ante a little surprised by John's shameless concern for his safety, and Ante shrugged his shoulders in silent acknowledgement of Bjorns reaction. Then, finding it odd that Ante was drinking a soft drink, rather than beer, he asked Ante about this.

"Well, it is Thomas' birthday, and I was thinking I could be the designated driver tonight," Ante explained loud enough for everybody to hear. "I've already talked to you, Thomas, about this, haven't I."
"Sure," Thomas said with a nod. "We'll see how that goes."
"You see, Thomas has always been our driver," Ante explained to Bjorn, ignoring Thomas' last remark. "But since it is his birthday today, I thought I could take on that responsibility for tonight."

72

There had been more talk of monetary easing on the news too, but Bjorn had barely listened to it, stunned as he was by the images from Lier. However, once he turned off the TV he was left wondering what exactly the big shots were talking about when they used that expression. "Is it, whatever it is, really the cure all elixir that media is making it out to be?" he wondered. And given that he had about an hour on his hands before it was time to go down to meet his colleagues, he decided to make a quick search for it on the web.

The search yielded a series of similarly phrased results, basically confirming the media line. Monetary easing was simply a policy of low interest rates, coordinated from a central bank, with the aim to stimulate economic activity. The thinking being that low interest rates will encourage people to borrow in order to spend and invest, thereby creating economic growth.

"Fair enough," Bjorn thought to himself. "So that's what it means." But just as he was about to check on other things on the web, a link titled "Monetary Easing is Theft" caught his eye. And seeing that it pointed to an article on the same web site where he had read about the dubious link between the gold price and the health of the economy, he clicked on it.

"A contrarian view of the world is never a bad thing," Bjorn thought as he waited for the web-page to load, curious to find out what may lay behind the angry title. And once fully loaded, he was once again struck by the clear cut logic presented at the web site, which claimed to have as its mission to promote something called the "Austrian School of Economics".

The article simply pointed out the rather self evident fact that a central bank cannot in itself create wealth, since it does not produce anything but money. The money that it produces is therefore bound to have the effect of extracting purchasing power out of the money already in existence. And giving freshly printed money to any particular group, such as bankers and investors, can only have the immediate effect of transferring purchasing power from those who hold money already in existence to those receiving the freshly printed money.

The very act of printing money, for whatever reason, must necessarily transfer purchasing power to the well connected at the expense of the less well connected. And since monetary easing is a policy expressly designed towards the goal of extending fiat credit, which is the process in which money is created in the current system, monetary easing will always result in a transfer of purchasing power, and is therefore by definition theft.

The article went on to explain that the whole idea that such theft will create increased economic activity and growth rests on the assumption that those that benefit from the wealth transfer orchestrated through monetary easing are in a better position to create wealth than those loosing purchasing power. But with no net increase in purchasing power possible without increased production, monetary easing simply benefits a very small percentage of the population at the expense of everybody else, with the only result being that high end products and services, as well as financial assets, increase in price, thereby expanding the wealth gap between the top one percent and the rest of the population.

"Monetary easing is a centralized policy designed to move purchasing power in ways that voluntary human activity would never do. It is coercive and immoral, leaving ordinary people poorer than they would otherwise have been, while benefitting a small elite," the article concluded, adding as its final punch line that "monetary easing is theft".

Bjorn leaned back in his chair, letting the article sink in. "Well, this explains why asset prices are going up while ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet," Bjorn thought to himself with his eyes fixed on the distant shoreline across the Lundby bay. "However, it does not explain why the gold price is falling. With gold being a high end luxury product of sorts, or a financial asset, why does the gold price keep setting new lows?"

Once again, Bjorn had the feeling that he had been reading an overly simplistic explanation of a much more complicated mechanism. However, it was the only explanation he could understand. Nowhere else had he found a simple straight forward explanation to what was meant by "monetary easing" together with a simple to understand reasoning as to its actual effect on society.

71

Back in his room, Bjorn took the gun safe out of the box and put it on the table by the window. Then he put his gun in the safe and locked it before changing into civilian clothes. He had only brought two sets of clothes with him, so there was no thinking involved in choosing what to wear for the evening. It simply had to be the black shirt and trousers, the other set being corduroy trousers and a flannel shirt.

Bjorn turned on the TV at four thirty to watch the news, curious to see what they had to report on the Lier riots. He was just in time to catch the dramatic music intro, followed by the days headlines, and not surprisingly, the riots were the day's top story. Images of burning buildings, and helpless firefighters being prevented from entering the area by furious protestors pelting them with rocks, filled the screen. It looked bad, and Bjorn felt a growing sense of unease as the news report unfolded.

The fires had broken out about mid night when no staff had been present at the premises, and there had been no atempt at stopping the fires from spreading. Quite the contrary had apparently been the case. People had gone from one building to another, setting fire to them all. And when the fire fighters came to the rescue they were overwhelmed by protester pushing their way out through the gates as soon as these were opened by them. Many of the detainees had fled, but most of them had remained at the premises tossing stones at the firefighters instead.

The protesters were hell-bent on making sure the asylum centre burned down to the ground, and to Bjorn's dismay this was presented by the reporter almost as if it was a completely legitimate way of showing anger with the decision to close the centre and send them away, either to Lundby or to their country of origin, in which case they would get a free ticket home and some cash to go with it. It was clear that these were people who would mindlessly set fire to public buildings just in order to attract attention for their plight. And yet they were getting the sympathy of the news reporter. The dominant theme of the reporting was that the detainees were so desperate that they had no other choice but to commit arson.

The reporting was fiercely anti-Lundby. The anachronistic punker from a few days ago appeared in the studio as a neutral expert on the subject of asylum politics, despite being obviously partial in his views. And a police officer and a fireman who would presumably have presented a different view on the situation, given a chance to elaborate on their thoughts, were asked leading questions to which they could only agree.

The reporting was a farce, and it scared Bjorn to see how the public opinion was so deliberately being manipulated. But on the other hand, Bjorn felt confident that most people would see the riots as just another proof that the decision to send them all to Lundby was a good one. The anti-Lundby people were fighting an uphill battle, and no amount of manipulation would sway the general opinion of the public. The latest swing of public opinion towards the far right parties was not going to disappear any time soon. Bjorn felt confident of that. But it was nevertheless disturbing to see how the rioters were being treated with so much understanding in the news, and how the Lundby project was being demonized. If there was to be an arson attack on the check point, the news angle on such an event would no doubt be just as understanding and forgiving as this one.

After watching the news, Bjorn no longer found Frank's decision to step up security measures at the check point as strange as he had originally found them to be. If people like those that he had just been watching on TV were coming to the colony in their hundreds, or even thousands, the chances of some of those people coming up with the bright idea of trying to burn the check point to the ground, seemed quite real, and with weapons freely available in Lundby, what could possibly stop them apart from a determined stance and threat of severe repercussions?

66

"Why are you here?" The question hung once again over him, this time as a dirty residue from a fading dream. Bjorn tried to ignore both the question and the dream, and let them evaporate during his morning routine. But the question and the images were too vivid to go away on their own, so he went through it systematically instead in the hope that a quick analysis would expose the silliness of it all and thereby render the uncomfortable question powerless. And Bjorn quickly realized that the dream was in fact little else than a strange and mixed up collage of impressions from the day before.

In the dream, Bjorn had been enjoying a wonderful meal when Maria from Independent Law had suddenly appeared in front of him, claiming to represent his ex, and it was Maria who had asked the uncomfortable question on his ex's behalf. Bjorn, being unable to answer Maria's question was then asked if he had insurance. And when Bjorn admitted to being uninsured, Maria simply vanished into thin air along with a half finished sentence. "Well, if that is the case..." she said, disappearing as suddenly as she had appeared. Then, looking around in the empty room, Bjorn realized with a shock that he was sitting in a prison, with no doors, and only a tiny window from which he could see the village.

"Such silliness," Bjorn thought to himself, but the images and the question stuck with him until he came down to the kitchen where Ante quickly brought him out of his meditations with a bit of real news from the real world.

"Have you heard the latest on the asylum seekers?" Ante asked with a touch of excitement.
"No? What happened?"
"They burned down the asylum seeker centre in Lier!"
"They burned it down?"
"They did! And when the firemen arrived, they pelted them with rocks and kept them away, so now there's nothing more than a smoldering heap of ruins where the buildings used to be."

"And these are the people we're going to get up here shortly?" Bjorn asked rhetorically as he sat down for his breakfast.
"It is indeed."
"Lier doesn't happen to be the same place they held that demonstration the other day?" Bjorn asked, wondering if the media attention of the last few days might have set the riots in motion.
"You know... I was wondering the same thing. But they didn't say anything about that. They did say that the asylum seekers at Lier were scheduled for deportation next week, though."

Bjorn dug into his bacon and eggs while contemplating the implications of the riots.

"It's going to be a mess, isn't it?" Bjorn thought out loud.
"Bringing all those people together to this one location, you mean?"
"Yeah..." Bjorn confirmed with a nod. "Imagine hundreds, or even thousands of thugs like that, all brought together to this one place."

57

"Do you think we will get any kind of compensation for having to do the extra work?" Bjorn asked after letting the thought of becoming a customs officer sink in.
"I would think so," Frank answered. "It will be a promotion for all of us."
"More money for just about the same amount of work in other words."
"Well, don't pop the Champagne just yet. We don't actually know if they will solve their problem by promoting us. But it seems to me to be their only sensible option."

The sports updates were nearing their end, and the two men turned their attention to the TV in anticipation of the four o'clock news. "Let's see if they have more on us today," Frank said with a happy voice. "I love the way we are being turned into celebrities up here."

And sure enough, the Lundby project was once again featured in one of the news bulletins. This time the focus was on a demonstration in front of the parliament building in Oslo, which allegedly had turned nasty. However, all that could be seen from the news footage was a small crowd of people holding anti-Lundby posters and banners, shouting insults at another crowd holding anti-immigration posters. The whole incident seemed staged and phoney, and left Bjorn completely unimpressed.

In other news, there was an high ranking political advisor resigning in the US over some blunder in Syria, which made Bjorn immediately think of the strange allegations he had come across on the web. "So they were right all along, those conspiracy theorists," Bjorn thought to himself as the news turned to the economy, which allegedly was looking more and more promising. Stocks were up, house prices were up, and high end stores were seeing record sales across the board. "The trickle down effect of this boom is expected to be noticeable in the coming quarters," the anchor woman explained. "However, a self sustained recovery is still some way off, and monetary easing will therefore be needed for at least another year."

"Do you understand any of this babble?" Bjorn asked rhetorically as the news turned to the weather.
"You mean about the economy?" Frank asked. "No I don't. But I'm not an investor."
"No, that's true," Bjorn said with a nod. "But this is the whole economy they are talking about. What if no one know what's going on?"
"Oh, but I'm sure the right people know well enough what they are doing," Frank answered with a smile. "It's not like we've put complete idiots in charge of the economy."
"And you think they are doing things to benefit us all, or just themselves."
"You are a bit of a conspiracy theorist, aren't you?" Frank answered with a cheeky smile.
"I guess I am," Bjorn admitted. "But so far only the richest have benefited from all the economic easing and tweaking. Don't you think that a bit suspicious? Do you really believe in the so called trickle down effect?"
"Not really. But I sure hope it works. Not least for their own sake."
"What do you mean?" Bjorn asked, knowing full well what Frank was thinking.
"Well... I think a lot of people may get very angry if things don't improve pretty soon."
"And you call me a conspiracy theorists?" Bjorn replied with a cheeky smile of his own.

51

The foreign minister was busy defending Norway's military actions in Libya as well as his own involvement in it in what was clearly a well orchestrated interview with no surprise questions.

"Simply bombing rebel positions is not enough to ensure security for our national interests," the foreign minister explained. "We will need an additional five hundred men in order to defend our economic interests in that country, which coincidentally are one and the same as the interest of the Libyan people. Only a stable and peaceful environment can ensure prosperity for all, and as a leading peace nation we have a particular moral duty to make this happen."

The economic interests the foreign minister was talking of were of course the oil fields in which the state controlled oil company, Statoil, was heavily invested. However, this was not mentioned by a word, nor did the interviewer make any inquiry into what the foreign minister was referring to by his words. Instead, she moved on to ask him why he, and not the minister of defence, was in charge of the operations.

"The answer here, of course, comes down to the nature of our involvement in Libya," the foreign minister replied with a confident smile. "Since we are not at war, but simply helping the Libyans in their struggle to rebuild their national institutions after decades of neglect under the deposed dictatorship, our involvement can best be described as foreign aid, which falls under my department. What the Libyan people are labouring under on a daily basis is the absence of good national institutions, and the first and foremost of these is of course the institution of law and order which can only be achieved by legitimate and dispassionate force. Hence the involvement of our armed forces."

"Libya is not at war," the foreign minister continued. "It is burdened by civil unrest, and we have a duty to the world community to take our share of that burden. All of this has been laid out in detail by the UN, and we cannot simply ignore this and pretend that things will sort themselves out without our involvement. Such an approach has already been tried, with terrible consequences, and no one wants to see a repeat of that."

And again the foreign minister was referring to things without mentioning them. Neither the foreign minister nor the interviewer felt it necessary to explain that the terrible consequence referred to was a particularly bloody attack on a Statoil installation in the south of Libya where almost everyone had been killed in cold blood. Those that tried to escape were gunned down, and those that surrendered were ritually beheaded. The videos of the beheadings went viral on the Internet, and were in large part responsible for the surge in support for the foreign minister's anti-immigration party, which in turn won him a seat in the current government, and ultimately his current position as foreign minister.

Having risen to his current position on the back of the outrage that the bloody attack had caused, the man clearly felt that no further explanation was necessary. And the interviewer, presumably no big fan of the foreign minister, had even less of a desire to delve into the memories of the terrible incident.

After a few more questions about Libya where the foreign minister got the chance to repeat his objection to the word "war", re-emphasizing instead that this was all about foreign aid and nation building, the interviewer changed the subject to Lundby, which made Bjorn sit up and pay even closer attention. "Another mention of us," Bjorn thought. "We really are about to become famous!"

"Some say that the colony violates our constitution, and is in breach of basic human rights," the interviewer said with a stern face.
"Well, that is simply not true," the foreign minister replied, brushing aside the question. "Moving all asylum seekers to Lundby is a hugely popular move, with a recent pole showing more than seventy percent of eligible voters in favour of it, and it is in no way contrary to our constitution. Such a assertion is simply political nonsense."

"But what about the claim that the colony is in conflict with the indivisible sovereignty of Norway?"
"Well, first of all, Lundby is not a colony. It is as much a part of Norway as any other part. The fact that it has been turned into an asylum centre does not make it any different from any other place with special rules, such as airports, prisons, and, well, asylum centres. We have merely moved and co-located the centres already in Norway to a remote location where the inhabitants will be unable to cause stress or anxiety among ordinary Norwegians."

"And what about the claim that there is a casino up there? Isn't that in violation with Norwegian law?"
"Well, it is true that there is a casino in Lundby. Although, as far as I gather, it is hardly a place worthy of such an extravagant name. It is more like a bar where there is some gambling going on. However, the claim that this is in violation with Norwegian law does not take into account the Sami reparation act which give Sami people wide powers to regulate this kind of activities on their own land. The casino is fully owned and regulated by the Sami people, and as such completely legal."

"And the report that casino tokens are circulating as money, surely that is in violation of the recent amendment to the constitution making only Norwegian Kroners legal tender in Norway."
"But those tokens are not money," the foreign minister retorted with a big smile. "They are tokens. They have no value or use outside the asylum centre. Do you really think that anyone will accept a casino token outside of that village, far away from the casino? Of course not! The tokens are no more money than what similar tokens would be inside a closed club. They can be used inside the club, but have no value outside of it, so they are clearly not money. Only Norwegian Kroners are money in Norway."

And by this the interviewer had exhausted her questions related to Lundby and its constitutionality. She continued with a few questions regarding the centre and the claim that it was violating human rights. But here too, the foreign minister had no problem defending his position. And in the end, the whole interview seemed to Bjorn to be more like an orchestrated promotion of the foreign ministers policies than a truly critical inquiry.

Bjorn turned off the TV, impressed and a little surprised by what he had just seen. He had not expected such an open talk on Libya, and even less so on Lundby. But now that it had been aired, Bjorn got a strong feeling that the foreign minister was on the offensive, anticipating things to come, and positioning himself as best he could for some imminent storm. "He is a sly fox," Bjorn thought to himself. "This interview was no doubt carefully planned, putting him one step ahead of the rest. By answering questions before they were fully formulated by the opposition, he had effectively silenced most of his critics by making it very hard for them to come with a different interpretation of things."

The mention of more boots on the ground in Libya had left Bjorn a little worried, though. It was absolutely not a place he would like to be sent, and even the remote possibility of being sent there gave him the shivers. He had after all signed onto his three year contract with the army with the checkpoint along the Neiden to Lundby road specifically in mind, and he was at the interview lead to believe that this was indeed the only position he would ever be expected to fill. But the contract he had signed was deliberately vague on the exact scope of his duties, so he could possibly, at least in theory, be sent to Libya against his own wishes.

And with this worry lingering uncomfortably in the back of his mind, he set his alarm for the next morning, hoping that the spectre of Libya would not interfere too much with his sleep.

45

Bjorn turned his attention back to the newspaper, and was busy reading an article on a new bowling alley being built in an old storehouse located close to the casino when the four o´clock news started on TV. Being more interested in what the Gazette could reveal about Lundby and its economy than what the national broadcaster had to say, he kept on reading the article, locking out the background chatter from the TV until Frank suddenly broke his concentration.

"Hey Bjorn! They are talking about us!" Frank said in a loud proud voice.
Bjorn looked up from the newspaper.
"... lack of control and transparency," a male voice said while a map of the Lundby area illustrated how far north and isolated it was. "No one should be forced to move up there."

The map disappeared, and was replaced by a live image of a female interviewer and a middle aged man dressed up as if he was some sort of punk rocker from the eighties. In the background, a small group of protesters were waving banners and holding up signs saying things like "Shut Down the Gulag", "We are All Human" and "Life and Liberty Before Profits".

The protestors were gathered in front of a gated property with several houses with numerous people peering out of windows, and hanging out their own banners in way of protest.

"The new asylum policy is simply inhumane," the punk rocker continued.
"But isn't it too late to do anything about this now?"
"It is never too late to stop this kind of fascism. We need to bring awareness to what's going on, and we will not stop until dignity and justice is restored to those seeking protection by our government."
"But in this particular case, we are talking about people who have had their asylum application rejected. Closing this particular centre and letting them choose whether to go to Lundby or back where they came from is actually giving them more choice, not less."
"The choice they are faced with is between the plague and cholera. It is no choice at all. Most of these people would have been given asylum under the old rules, so we are not only protesting the Lundby project, which is clearly outrageous, but also the change in procedures that our fascist government has put in place."
"But the decision to relocate all asylum seekers to a single centre in the north is hugely popular with most Norwegians. Do you really think you will be able to revert this policy?"
"Yes we do. Most people know deep down that there is something very immoral and wrong with this whole project, and once we manage to expose the true nature of what is going on up in Lundby, I am sure popular opinion will be turned firmly against it."

The interview ended abruptly on this optimistic note, and the anchor woman thanked the interviewer for her contribution without the interviewer having a chance to respond. Up next was a piece on the inauguration of the ex-prime minister as the new head of NATO, followed by some economic news with a piece dedicated to the falling gold price which was seen as proof of an imminent recovery of the world economy.

"Why did they choose Jens as new head of NATO?" Bjorn wondered out loud the moment Frank turned off the TV set.
"Well, he did lead our government for two terms in a row, and he got plenty of political experience," Frank replied.
"But he's not much of a fighter is he?" Bjorn continued. "Whenever there was a conflict he just disappeared for days on end until the dust settled. He was little more than a figure head."
"I liked him," Geir interjected. "He managed to hold the coalition together. You have to give him credit for that."
"Sure, but he was fiercely anti-NATO in his youth. He's a pacifist at heart, don´t you think?"
"People change," Geir replied thoughtfully. "But you're right, he is not exactly a great military leader."
"It is a bit strange," Frank conceded. "Odd choice for a leader of a military organization. Our foreign minister would have been a more natural choice. He is at least actively making military decisions on Libya these days."
"Yeah," Geir said with a big smile. "He's really showing those rag heads who's boss, isn't he?"
"He is pretty much running the whole government if you ask me," Bjorn added in agreement.

The conversation would have continued had it not been for Espen and John appearing in the doorway, wondering if there would be the regular card playing session despite the change in daily routines caused by Bjorn and Geir's visit to Lundby.

"Well, Thomas is still in the glass cage," Frank responded. Then turning to Geir he asked if he could take over for Thomas for an hour or two so that the four card players could get together for their regular session.
"Well, I still have three hours of service to complete for today," Geir replied. "I might as well take that now."

22

Bjorn leafed through the newspaper, reading the article about Nora's place, and skimming through an article about the casino. The paper was clearly a mix of local news, right out promotions of various kinds, and bits of global news, probably cut and pasted directly from the internet. But it was certainly very unexpected for a village the size of Lundby to have a newspaper, and this was the biggest new as far as Bjorn was concerned.

However, as soon as the four o'clock news came on TV with its characteristic fanfare, Bjorn put the Lundby Gazette back on the table, turning his attention instead to the  news readers. There was nothing truly new on the news this afternoon, and the predictability of the official line and editorial focus made it almost a mind numbing experience to watch it. International news was again about the Middle East and Israel's supposed provocations and meddling in the region. Economic news was all about the crisis, with politicians talking tough, promising more regulations, and central bankers arguing for continued monetary stimulus in order to stabilize the markets.

The local news from Norway was an equally predictable series of reports on lay offs, financial hardships due to rising interest rates and rising unemployment, and deteriorating health services as well as a general lack of old people's homes. And once again, there were the usual promises by politicians to sort out the troubles, but also stern faced appeals to people to be patient and positive.

Then there was the usual series of short news flashes from around the world, with sex scandals in France and the US, and a viral video, this time of a singing dog from Singapore. And finally there was about fifteen minutes of sports highlights from the day before.

Espen, John and Thomas all appeared pretty much immediately after the end of the TV news, and Frank turned the TV off as soon as they entered the room. The four men had clearly made a habit of playing cards in the afternoon, seating themselves around the table where Bjorn had met them the day before.

"Do you play Bridge?" John asked, looking over at Bjorn, out of politeness rather than any genuine desire to invite a fifth person into the group.
"No, I don't," Bjorn answered, clearly causing a bit of relief in the card playing group.
"You should. It's fun," Thomas added, as he sat down, making an effort to take the edge off the rather transparent fact that they did not really want to include him.
"I might, one day," Bjorn replied, not feeling offended in any way by the group's desire to keep things unchanged.

Ante left for the kitchen as soon as the other men entered the room to play cards, and Bjorn decided to go and join him for a while before going up to his room. He had taken an immediate liking to Ante, and he had a feeling that Ante felt the same way about him. Come to think of it, Ante did not seem to have any great liking for any of his other colleagues. Not that he gave any indication of disliking them either, but it could well be that Ante was in need of a proper friend at the check point just as much as Bjorn.

Ante was in the process of taking out some fish and vegetables from the fridge when Bjorn entered the kitchen, and Bjorn was welcomed by Ante's usual talkative friendliness. Bjorn poured himself a mug of coffee, and pretty soon the two men were busy talking about everything from current affairs, their background, their plans for Friday, and about life in general. All while Bjorn sipped his coffee and Ante prepared the dinner for the day.