{"id":1894,"date":"2017-02-25T08:27:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T08:27:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2026-10-06T12:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:06:14","slug":"open-civil-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/25\/open-civil-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Civil War"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Solitanu's<\/p>\n

Open Civil War: Young against Old, Rich against Poor, North against South<\/h2>\n

For six months after the vote it was an open civil war. I suppose that it was inevitable really. Half the country had wanted one thing and the other half had wanted the opposite. So there was no scope for compromise. However much the Clockwisers shouted, it was clear from the outset that the Anticlocks wouldn’t give way. They’d won and they weren’t going to listen to any Clockwise whining about the need to alter the outcome and be accommodating.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I look back on it all, I can see now that the divisions had been there all along: young against old, rich against poor, north against south, high-fliers against downtrodden\u00a0survivors, city against countryside, nationalists\u00a0against internationalists. The list was endless and it all crystallised around a simple choice: inside or outside Safronika.\"Open Everyone had an opinion but those who’d suffered badly from being part of Safronika were the most active, the most vocal. They’d had enough and they invested time in\u00a0organising themselves to vote. They weren’t detached from the real world\u00a0like me.<\/p>\n

23 June: a fatal day; a moment of destiny. I blame myself for not getting involved. What had I been thinking? That politics didn’t matter? That the outcome wouldn’t change the natural order of things? That I would go on living my own insignificant life in the same old way whatever happened? I don’t know. My vote alone would have changed nothing. But the votes of everyone like me who hadn’t bothered to turn up at the polling\u00a0station could have made the difference. Together we could have prevented the Anticlocks from seizing power.<\/p>\n

Once they’d won they immediately set up\u00a0their own security police who were quickly nicknamed the `Snoops’. The Snoops\u00a0spent most of their time prying into what we were getting up to. Citizens’ rights began to disappear. The names of everyone who’d voted to stay in Safronika were collected and very soon the deportations began. It wasn’t long before several million people were expelled from Anticlockwise as `undesirables’. They were just rounded up and forced to board transport ships that took them beyond the frontiers of the Anticlockwise Empire to Safronika where they were welcomed with open arms. The Anticlocks didn’t want the new regime to be undermined by recalcitrant Clockwisers.<\/p>\n

The problem arose for all of us who hadn’t voted – that was thirty per cent of the population. The authorities had to \"Opendecide what to do with people like me. We were all placed on what was labelled the Undecided List. They hedged their bets and kept us all under surveillance until they had a better understanding of where each one of us stood.<\/p>\n

Many quickly rallied to the regime as a means of survival. Other less malleable types rebelled simply because they didn’t like being told what to do. They were soon eliminated. Many like me though just bided our time unsure what might happen. In our hearts we much preferred Safronika but we didn’t have enough imagination to know what to do next.<\/p>\n

Then the posters started to appear telling us to beware of strangers. That was code for everyone who didn\u2019t fit in. Since I felt like an outsider myself, that did nothing to quell my anxiety. Once the authorities have sanctioned an open civil war, anyone who looks out of place is in trouble.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

People like me were just keen to stay out of trouble, to keep away from the Snoops. It soon became clear to everyone that the Snoops were a law unto themselves and that they’d been \u00a0recruited primarily for their psychopathic tendencies for violence. They liked hurting people, as many people as they could lay their hands on. They took pleasure in eliminating undesirables, in burning their houses down and generally humiliating anyone who showed any sign of sympathy for Safronika. Resistance to the Anticlockwise Empire virtually disappeared once the Snoops were given free rein. Democracy is now a thing of the past. Nobody talks about elections and legitimacy any more.<\/p>\n

So there we are. The Clockwisers have been deported to Safronika. The Anticlocks and their attack dogs, the Snoops, rule with an iron fist and all of us on the Undecided List eke out our existence in fear and uncertainty. We have no idea what the future holds.<\/p>\n

\"Open<\/p>\n

Zeb Solitanu<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Z\u00a9 Zeb Solitanu<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Zeb Solitanu sketch by Jill<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anticlockwise Journal<\/a> – a compilation of Solitanu’s Blog posts – is on sale at Amazon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about Blog Fiction<\/a> – follow Zeb Solitanu at Anticlockwise<\/a> and SpirianA <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Explore the full range of Fictitious Books at fibs<\/a>, ZSol<\/a> and Essays<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Anticlockwise<\/p>\n

\"Solitanu's<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open Civil War: Young against Old, Rich against Poor, North against South For six months after the vote it was an open civil war. I suppose that it was inevitable really. Half the country had wanted one thing and the other half had wanted the opposite. So there was no scope for compromise. 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We always listen carefully when they make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anticlockwise"","block_context":{"text":"Anticlockwise","link":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/category\/anticlockwise\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solitanu's Blog - Fictitious Books","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12796,"url":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/19\/the-safrox-plague\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":2},"title":"The Safrox Plague","author":"Zeb Solitanu","date":"19 May 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Safrox Plague: Unleashing a Deadly Plague against the `Undesirables'. It\u2019s difficult to make sense of the news nowadays. There have been so many scare stories recently that even the most gullible amongst us are beginning to believe that the authorities are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anticlockwise"","block_context":{"text":"Anticlockwise","link":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/category\/anticlockwise\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Safrox-Plague.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Safrox-Plague.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Safrox-Plague.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Safrox-Plague.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The-Safrox-Plague.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12790,"url":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/27\/checkmate\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":3},"title":"Checkmate","author":"Zeb Solitanu","date":"27 October 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Checkmate versus Chequered Flags: Independence Illusions in Estrellaxia Checkmate versus chequered flags is an unusual idea. Checkmate is something I rarely achieve in my life. It always appears as a distant possibility, never a tangible reality. I was playing chess with Max in the lobby of Infinity Gateway. 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I was sitting in a coffee shop in the main railway station of Globopolis waiting for my girlfriend Tia. She\u2019d spent the day working in Kandrovins, a small town just outside the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anticlockwise"","block_context":{"text":"Anticlockwise","link":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/category\/anticlockwise\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Solitanu's Blog - Fictitious Books","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fictitiousbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Solitanus-Blog.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3979,"url":"https:\/\/fictitiousbooks.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/15\/tagging-deviants\/","url_meta":{"origin":1894,"position":5},"title":"Tagging Deviants","author":"Zeb Solitanu","date":"15 July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tagging Deviants: Electronic Control, Paranoia, Fear and Suspicion You realise that you\u2019re a deviant when you\u2019ve been electronically tagged. 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