The Toymaster's Castle

Chapter Thirty-Four - Plans for World Domination

We felt pretty safe on our little island but we were totally cut off from the rest of the world so, that evening, after dinner, most of us settled down to watch the news.

By now, the stuff that was being put out over the 'official channels' was basically beyond a joke so Daniel fired up his laptop and satellite internet hub and we watched his special news program.

Negotiations with their 'International Monetary Fund' thing had completely broken down and, in response, the 'Glorious Leader' had decided that he was going to stop making any sort of repayments on the money we owed. To make up for the shortfall, the government had decided it had to take a cut of everyone's savings... a haircut, they were calling it... starting at 10% if you only had a few hundred pounds and moving up to 50% if you had more than ten thousand. And they'd reduced the limits on how much you were allowed to take out.

I don't suppose it was a great surprise that people were getting pretty fed up with the banks... even though it wasn't exactly their fault. I mean... they were just doing what they were told. Most of them weren't even daring to open. Instead you had to collect your money at the cashpoint machines [ATMs] which, these days, were basically always empty.

"Can they do that?" Jane murmured in shock.

"They already have," Daniel said flatly, pausing the program. "But it doesn't make all that much difference. By now, the collapse in trust in the currency is irrevocable and this move will be the final nail in the coffin. You saw how little we could buy for £100 today."

"But what can people do without money?" I asked.

"Barter..." Daniel answered, "or use something with a known value. Cigarettes were always traditional but I don't know what's going to be used now that so few people smoke. I'm sure something will emerge as the fixed medium of exchange."

"But this new lot were supposed to make everything better," Jane said quietly.

"Yes. Their lies came unravelled much more quickly than their predecessors... and they've been left holding the baby for all the dishonesty... and all the borrowing... of the past."

Nobody could think of anything else to say so he carried on with the news.

There were reports of large-scale resignations by members of the military who were not prepared to swear the new oath. That sort of refusal was now being treated as desertion with threats of capital punishment for people who continue to refuse or actively deserted.

Of course that drew worried looks from the Marines and, particularly, from their wives.

"There's going to be trouble..." one of the guys murmured quietly. "Real trouble!"

"There's already trouble," I responded.

"And, in any case, it's all going to go down like a..." there was a quick language adjustment pause because there were ladies present... "down the toilet once the lads realise that they're not getting paid," Sarge observed, "or at least that the money they're being paid in isn't worth Jack anymore."

There were also reports that food supplies were running desperately short in London and the other big cities - and the problem was being made worse by gangs of people hijacking the delivery lorries. Not even the empty ones were safe - people were holding those up to steal the diesel.

We were all feeling pretty dejected as we went off to bed and I found myself snuggling into my Toymaster's shoulder. He must have worked out that I needed comfort rather than anything else so he just held me for a while.

"I can't promise that you'll be safe," he told me, "but we're much better set up here than most people... and we've got some solid guys around us."

I nodded sleepily into his shoulder and, with that comforting thought, I managed to fall asleep.