this information is classified the following recounts an experiment undertaken by the beureux in which one of our youths was sent to the outside to test the strengths of our system. he was first administered with a chemical which allowed us to plant an idea in his head, which encourages him to question the operation of our society. he has no memory of the process which allowed us to penetrate his mind, and therefore is under the illusion that he has come about these questions and suppositions freely and through his own great intelligence. whilst unconscious, he was fitted with a device that records his movements, his actions, his speech, his thoughts. it is from this device that the following transcript was derived, upon the subject’s termination.

a fashion future

our subject is “john”. After waking in his own bed in his own home, “John” begins his day as usual. His home is the same as those of his peers- comfortable, luxurious, clean and grand. His thoughts at this time are mundane and expected, and not worth documenting here. They consist mainly of a deliberation between eggs or cereal for breakfast. He chooses the cereal. It should be noted that upon reaching the stage of dressing, his movements are predictable, and he dons his prescribed Student’s Uniform with disinterest. The driver takes the usual route to the University. At this point the brain shows signs of what we call “An Awakening”. John begins to fidget in his seat, and looks out the window. He stares into the distance and the device picks up some patterns of thought. Translated they are: “There is a wall, in the distance. I have not seen this before. And a question repeated ten, twenty, a hundred times: “What is it for?” John’s mind seems preoccupied with this throughout the day. A week passes and John’s brain activity becomes increasingly frenetic. He finds himself drawn to the wall. Of course it is here that John finds an entry, which has been built specifically for him. Once on the other side, John experiences a significant amount of shock. The landscape and the people, so dull compared with what he has become accustomed, confound him for a period of time. He walks the deserted, rocky streets for around an hour, perplexed as to where the inhabitants are. He is surrounded by silence. He reaches the outskirts of the town, and comes to The Valley. This is as planned.

John takes in the vast factory stretched out before him. His brain tries to comprehend the seething mass of concrete and fire and smog. He sits on a rock watching as the light fades. Presently a loud horn sounds, and John awakes from his thoughts Perched at such a great height, he can see into the large graveled courtyard in the centre of the factory buildings. One wall of the courtyard begins to roll upwards. It is heavy and grey, and rasps open. From the darkness within people emerge marching in rows, the echo of grey boots crunching in time. They cross the courtyard, passing through an archway to the road. They steadily approach, and John takes cover behind a nearby rock, and crouches behind it on the hillside, his brilliantly vibrant robes billowing around him in the dry wind which always plagues that barren land. Their luster only slightly dulled by the lack of good sun there. John wraps the cloth more tightly around himself to avoid being seen.

As they pass he is hidden from view, but a sudden gust of wind takes him by surprise, loosening a fold of fabric. It whips and flaps in the wind. One of them has seen. A young boy, no more than eight years old. He breaks away from the group and scrambles up the embankment. John does not move. The boy stops a few feet away. John holds the boy’s gaze and puts a finger to his lips. For a moment the boy is silent and appears to deliberate over something. Suddenly he screams. “Theif!” he shrieks. “Thief! Thief! Thief! The marching stops. He hears an older man’s voice and before he has a chance to escape they are upon him………..

He wakes hours later in a dark damp room. His head aches and it is difficult to see. He realizes he is naked. He crouches in as corner of the room hugging his knees. After many hours he hears footsteps. The door slams open and a large man enters. “Thief!” he says “come with me”. John finds his voice, “I am no thief!” He struggles to cover his nakedness. “Where are my clothes?” One of the guards throws him one of the stiff grey sheaths they all appear to wear. “No! I mean MY clothes, the ones I was wearing before!” The guards look at each other and laugh. “You know very well that that was not your clothing.” “Not my clothing?” John is flabbergasted. More laughter. “Look, I’m not from here, I came through the wall.” The laughter stops. The smiles vanish. Ashen faced, and trembling, the guards look to the leader. All colour has left his face, which is filled with horror. He drops to his knees and bows low, his face to the ground. John stands awkwardly above them. “What..what are you doing?” “Forgive us oh great Deity, forgive us our foolishness” whispers the leader with grave sincerity, true remorse in his voice. “Deity? What Deity?” says John, “I’m no Deity. I told you, I came through the Wall.” The leader raises his head slightly. “I beg of his worship to spare us this torment-“ “His worship!” John cut him off. “Enough of this, get up, please! I don’t know what you are talking about!”

They rise slowly to their feet, but still will not meet his eye. The leader is the first to look up and say with conviction: “The Prophecy says; he who transforms our cloth into food will one day come to save us.” He stares pointedly at John, who replies: “I don’t understand. Cloth? Into food?” The leader nods at one of the guards, who immediately leaves the room. He returns moments later bearing John’s robes. They glisten and shiver in his arms, alive with movement and their colour constantly changing. He offers them to John who puts them on with relief. The leader speaks. “That which you wear on your body, is our livelihood, the source of all life for us. All those who are able, work from dawn until dusk in the factory creating that cloth from the source . It is made and transported to the other side. In return we are given food. It has been written that we must do this until the coming of our prophet who will reward us for our obedience and hard work.”

it is after this revelation that “john” begins to veer somewhat dangerously from the path that we required. though we were careful to restrict his brain from radical notions as much as possible, he seems from this point to have empathy with the outsiders, and proceeds to educate them about the truth of their predicament. in an extraordinarily short period of time he manages to coordinate careful revolutionary meetings. somehow he senses that he is being watched. it was at this point that the beureux found it necessary to intervene and terminate the project.

references JOURNAL ARTICLES Freudenberger, H. (1963). Fashion, Sumptuary Laws and Business. The Business History Review. 37 (1), 37-48. Hooper, W. (1915). The Tudor Sumptuary Laws. English Historical Review. XXX (10), 433-399. Vincent, S. (2003). None Shall Wear. Available: http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/DRSELITE/chapter-DRSELITE00010009.xml . Last accessed 09/05/12. IMAGES Nano Brain Implant. (2012). Thought Reading and Control.(Online image)Available: http://nanobrainimplant.wordpress.com/. Last accessed 25/05/12. William Morris. (2012). The Arts and Crafts Movement.(Online image)Available: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/graphic_designers/william_morris/william_morris.html. Last accessed 16/05/12. Gerry. C. (2012). Edward Burra-The Unquiet Landscape.(Online image)Available: http://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/edward-burra-the-unquiet-landscape/. Last accessed 16/05/12. Explow. (2012). Mountain Landscape with Rainbow. (Online image)Available: http://explow.com/Mountain_Landscape_with_Rainbow. Last accessed 20/05/12.