Part IV: The World Beyond The Words - Chapter 27

IV

The World Beyond The Words

Transcript of Interview with Sarah Barr. August 30 2015. Conducted by J.P. McNair.

I stopped recording, and put my notebook down. Sarah was smiling, her story finished. She had told me everything and more. 

How are you feeling?

"Better than I've been in years. I didn't think I would be saying this, but thank you." 

No. Thank you.

"Did you get everything you needed?"

I nodded. 

"What next?"

I write. I put it all down on the page and make it into a story. I'll send you the first copy.

"Thank you."

I started to pack my things when one last question occurred to me.

One more question. How did you get off the island of St. Kilda?

"Ray. He couldn't do much to help himself, he was slipping in and out of consciousness by that point. And whatever Tom had put into us was wearing off. We blacked out, but before we did, I remember seeing Ray point something into the sky and a red light shooting into it." 

A flare?

"Yes. What I remember next is only flashes. A boat, the water whipping up and spray my face. Being wrapped in a tinfoil blanket. A hospital. The next thing that I remember properly was being in a hospital bed and Ray was there." 

He was OK?

"Well he was in a wheelchair, and there was a fresh scar down the side of his face."

What did he say?

"He told me that everything would be fine. He asked me what I remembered. I told him, everything. He didn't seem surprised, or scared. He just nodded. I asked him how Kim was. He told me she was fine. I asked him what would happen next. He told me not to worry about it anymore. I would never hear from the Wells Foundation again. There would be an account set up in my name with enough money to get started. Again." 

Were you happy with that?

"No." 

Why?

"It was too easy. Too perfectly tied up. I wanted people to pay for what they had done. And I wanted the truth to be out there." 

I'll make sure it is.

And with that, I was done. I stood, thanking her again and gathered my notebook and recorder, heading for the door. I promised to tell her story and honour everything she had told me. Before I left, though, I had one more question I wanted to ask. 

Do you ever think you're still there? That you never left The Complex? That this is all still part of the experiment?

"Every single day. But I don't believe it is. I least, I hope."

With that, I left.

Transcript of Interview with Ray Samson. August 26, 2015. Conducted by J.P. McNair.

It was dark when I finished my interview with Ray. He seemed glad to be finished talking to me, in all honesty. I remember seeing the palpable sense of relief wash over him when I told him that was it.

You helped them in the end, Ray. I'll make sure that is clear in the book.

He shrugged. "It was the least I could do and it wasn't enough. We should never have started it. We were experimenting in science and philosophy. The cost was too high. Now what?"

I need to finish my interview with Sarah and then I write the novel. My publishers are already expecting to see something in a few weeks.

"Word of advice from one concerned party to another - just be careful now."

What do you mean?

"You're exposing everything that happened. There's a myriad of Non-Disclosure Agreements not to mention the hefty legal department that The Wells Foundation have. As soon as they get a whiff of this, they'll do everything they can to shut it down."

As far as I've read, they no longer exist. After the lawsuit Sarah brought against them and the trial, even though they settled, they folded. They disappeared. 

He smiled. "A company like that are never no more. You think this was the only project they bankrolled? No. The Wells Foundation existed a long time before we came along and they sure as hell exist after. When this book comes out and you draw attention to them again, they're not going to like that. And they're going to come after you."

Do you think they're still experimenting? Creating other projects?

"Of course they are. I've heard things but, as you can imagine, I've kept my head down. Once I convinced them to let me disappear and to set Sarah and Kim up with a new life, I've made sure to stay well out there way. Occasionally they'll check up on me, but other than that, they don't bother me and I don't bother them.

Why would you agree to speak with me, then? Why would you tell everything that happened?

"Because I don't think this book will see the light of day and it was good to get it off my chest. Just be careful. I know I will be."

He collected the empty bottles of beer and disappeared behind the bar. I never saw or heard from Ray Samson again

27

A few months after I had conducted my interviews with Sarah and Ray, I had finally delivered a finally a completed manuscript to my publishers. I worked fast (unusually so for me) and couldn't wait to get the story out there. My editor had loved the idea when I had pitched it to him, and the sample chapters I had sent over during my research period had went down a treat.

Not long after I had delivered the final manuscript, I received the following e-mail. 

It was from The Wells Foundation.

From: 

To: ; 

CC: ; ; 

Subject: Your Novel

FAO John-Patrick McNair,

I am a lawyer who works for and represents The Wells Foundation.

It has come to our attention that you are writing a novel where the Foundation features regularly, and in a libellous manner.

We have received your multiple requests for comment. As we have spoken at length on the matter before, both in the media and to the courts (for which any dispute was resolved between ourselves and the relevant 3rd parties), we have no interest in further speculation or fuel to this fabricated story.

In order to resolve this issue, we respectfully ask you cease all work on the your novel and withdraw your project from the impending publication.

Please respond to this in writing by 12 November 2015 or risk further action. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

Sincerely,

Bryan Daniels

THE WELLS FOUNDATION 

CREATING A NEW TOMORROW

I read and re-read the e-mail multiple times. After so many attempts at reaching out to them, now they contact us. I phoned my publishers immediately. They assured me that it was fine, they were ignoring the e-mail and were going ahead with publication.

A few weeks passed and we heard nothing. I started to get the feeling I was being watched or followed. I tried to shake it off, convince myself I was paranoid. But I couldn't help but think about what Ray had told me. 

Then, on 12 November, the day the response was requested, I received a call from my editor. The book was being pulled; they were no longer going to publish it. 

I asked them why and was told that they had just been bought over by a bigger company and, after catching wind of the e-mail asking us to cease and desist, they decided they didn't want the potential of a lawsuit. He was sorry, but the decision was final. I asked who the new company was that had bought them over. He wouldn't tell me. 

I couldn't believe it. I knew it was something to do with The Wells Foundation but I couldn't prove it. I could do nothing. 

Well, except this. I've sat on this book for several years, shopping it around trying to get a publisher, but nobody would touch it. Maybe word had gotten out about the e-mail. Or maybe people were no longer interested in this type of story. After a while, and several rejection letters later, I decided to do it myself. 

So here it is in all its glory. I've self-published this book. It's a story I think deserves to be told. For the people who survived, and for those who didn't. 

It may not get as big an audience as I once thought it would, but at least I now know that the truth is out there.

The first copy I had printed I sent to Sarah. The second I sent to Ray. The third I sent to Bryan at The Wells Foundation. The fourth I sent to my former publisher. I only heard from Sarah.

I was out a run the morning I received Sarah's message. It was a few weeks before publication so I just have time to add this in. I finished my run and took out my phone to read her message. I was scared at first. It was her response I was most worried about. It was her story, after all. I opened the message. 

It read two simple words, and two I did not expect. 

Just perfect.

I smiled. 

Just perfect, was just so.