Recluse Island

Part Two: The Clinkirk Compound - Chapter 16 - The Clinkirk Compound

An excerpt from Held Captive: The True Story of Life Under Rafanoli. By: Asher Tibbles

The Clinkirk Compound was created by Luca Rafanoli and designed by Enzo Pedroso, his chief navigator aboard the Morendo Rosa. The compound's construction took place between 1846-1849. It was during Luca Rafanoli's time trapped underground in 1845, a confinement that lasted six days before his men were able to determine his location that the idea came to him to create an entire city society of people that lived underground. However, finding Luca proved to be no easy feat having to traverse the difficult and complicated maze and then devise a way to release him. As by this point certain tunnels leading out had collapsed further escalating circumstances. Thus, by the time he was finally found he was close to death.        

            Upon leaving Adeline's Heart (as we later learn was the name for the series of tunnels culminating in a treacherous maze in which Luca was found) Luca Rafanoli was sure of two things. The first was the idea that came to him as he lay underground wondering if this would be where he died, and that was his vision to develop and build an entire society that lived beneath the earth's surface.

This society would live in what he called the Clinkirk Compound. The compound would be like Atlantis he was quoted saying at the grand opening only instead of under the sea it would be under the ground. This compound he later stated would be a fully functioning and operating city in which its people were completely secluded and protected from the outside world. Thereby having no concept of what life was like above the ground or furthermore off the island.

Luca believed he was doing them a favor by sheltering them in this way, it eliminated the need for its residents to think on their own as Luca made all decisions and painstakingly outlined what he expected of his people. Luca felt they should be grateful for his generosity and leadership. Although residents were hardly thrilled at the prospect of spending a lifetime underground.

            The compound originally consisted of only five sections: The Mud Room, the Glass House, the Loom, the Food Depository, and the Workshop. Over time the compound was enlarged to ultimately contain ten sections, the remaining including: Transportation, Sanitation, Modern Technology Guru's (MTG), Labels and Processing, and Disaster Control. In 1850 Luca began recruiting people from all over Europe, Asia, Africa, and the rest of the world to come live in what he described as a wonderful opportunity to enjoy leisurely island life, abundant jobs, and plenty of wealth. Naturally upon arrival travelers learned of the hoax they had fallen prey to.

            The second thing Luca was sure of was that he would seek revenge on those that had left him to die. Over time it would become glaringly evident how strongly he desired to teach a lesson to those that had sneakily outwitted the formidable Luca Rafanoli with their trickery and deceit.

The compound had undergone great changes under Ignacio Rafanoli's rule, grandson of Luca Rafanoli. Until that time the compound was extremely basic and rudimentary. Ignacio wanted to create a place where the surroundings would not give away where the compound was located. So, he hired Nino Randazzo to accomplish this task. Over the course of ten years Nino replaced the dirt floors and walls, low ceilings, and lack of color. He built Sunrise Court covered with linoleum flooring and thirty-foot ceilings. The walkways were outfitted with hardwood while the hallways were replaced with ceiling lights removing the lanterns that had previously occupied their place.

             The compound was clean, pristine, and well organized. And to those that were born there it wasn't such a bad place to live but for those that had been deported from Stormy Shore, it was undeniably hell.