Making Murder Sound Respectable

By Bob Mumby

"Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." – George Orwell

The Fascist and Communist dictatorships left a bloody stain on the 20th Century, leaving tens of millions dead in their wake and a bitter taste in the mouth for hundreds of millions more when they encounter those ideologies. But what if they had never got the opportunity to do that damage?

A world where the Russian Revolution didn't produce a Communist superpower, and Hitler never found success at the ballot box. A world where the political fears and tensions of the 1930s continued, unmolested by the pressures of total global war.

In Making Murder Sound Respectable, Bob Mumby explores this world through a very different British election night, from the perspective of a group of students watching the results on television. While they worry about what kind of curry they want, events unfold in the background that reveal a glimpse of a radically different world. Communist and Fascist thugs clash in the streets, and foreign commentators pontificate on whether the Union Party has strayed too far from Oswald Mosley's principles, while far from Britain's shores the forces which have been contained for a century may yet be unleashed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sea Lion Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386125471

Book preview

Making Murder Sound Respectable

Bob Mumby

First published by Sea Lion Press in 2016

This is a work of fiction. While ‘real-world’ characters may appear, the nature of the divergent story means any depictions herein are fictionalised and in no way an indication of real events. Above all, characterisations have been developed with the primary aim of telling a compelling story.

Part 1

'Right, I've got Chomp up, what does everyone want?'

'Um, a lamb biryani, please.'

'That already has rice, doesn't it?'

'Yeah, it’s mixed in.'

'Righty ho. Alice?'

'Er, what do they have?'

'Just come and look over my shoulder.'

'Okay. Ooh, I like the look of that.'

'Yup. You need a rice.'

'Oh, just plain.'

'Urgh, plain.'

'Shut up.'

'I will. Keema rice for me, because I'm not happy if my carbs don't also come with protein. Aaand, a korma.'

'That’s a bit boring.'

'I know, but it’s going to be a long night, don't want to have to leave half way through to have nasty pain.'

'Nice. Just pass me the comportable.'

'Yeah, I'll do that too, it makes more sense than trying to guess.

'Okay.'

Alan handed over his comportable, and left the room. Taking a right, he entered the kitchen, and grabbed two crates of beer. He smiled; tonight was going to be quite something. This was the first election he had been old enough to vote in, and he had managed to organise an all-night beer and curry session with his mates. Alice had said something about an Election Night Drinking Game, but Alan thought it was unlikely they'd get especially pissed, it would distract them from their curry and from having more spontaneous fun.

When he returned to the living room, his mates had already made their choices on Chomp. Alan pressed 'enter' and within the hour, all the curries they desired would be at their door. He settled into 'his' chair (you know, technically it was the university's, but he always sat there, so it was his), and turned on the televisor. Frederick Dimbleby glared out into the room, and they went quiet.

'-nd welcome to the BBC's election centre. We'll only really get going at 10pm, when we will be legally allowed to publish our exit poll. But that isn't for another twenty minutes. Elections are notoriously difficult to predict, and this is no exception. Will the government cling onto power, or will they be driven from office. A hung parliament looks likely, but any number of combinations are possible. George Snow will be explaining what’s happening on the laser display screen.' Dimbleby gestured, and the patrician figure of George Snow appeared. He waved his arms about and several coloured bars slid across the screen behind him, their computer generated nature interacting with the visibly real world in a deeply disconcerting way.

'Welcome to the new edition of the legendary Score Board, updated for the 21st century. This line,' he said, jabbing at a virtual white strip that bisected the equally length bars, 'represents the threshold needed to attain a majority. Here are the parties as they now stand.' All of the bars shrank behind the line, representing the current situation. 'As you can see the Nationals are the largest party but at the last election did not get enough seats to govern alone.' The camera went back to Dimbleby, who looked a little more relaxed and a little less like a Southern European dictator.

'Thank you, George. If none of the major parties can govern alone, one of the smaller parties will be in the limelight. Will the Unionists be able to keep their seats warm at the cabinet table? Will the CPGB get