Syblings the Syrial, Season One: Episodes 1-22

By Paul Du Preez

It’s the near-future: angelic and demonic forces are trying to influence the destiny of siblings Darren and Leandré.
But Darren and Leandré are not controllable. Not easily – they are individualistic, unruly, passionate, each in their own way.
Different and real.

Leandré takes charge of Darren. “What was that all about?”
“Sis, you know me; I’m a philosophical guy,” he drawls.
“Oh, right.”
They glare. Behind smoky AR glasses, they can’t see each other’s eyes. But there’s still a charge – a sense of unspoken history flashing between them.
“Put your mask on.”
“Why? I didn’t wear one on stage.”
“Because it’s socially responsible.”
“But it’s just for show. The virus isn’t transmissible till thirty-six hours after symptoms develop. No one here has got Ahinitoo.” (Which is how most of the world had gotten to pronouncing A(H1N2).)
“Well...we’re in show business – we certainly are now, going by what you just did. Put your mask on.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Du Preez
• Release date: Nov 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463667330

Paul Du Preez

Paul spent many years working as a nightclub saxophonist. Then as a London school-teacher. And then, an urban missionary to a South African township. He came to writing late: there were stories struggling inside him, relentlessly, fighting to get out.He has an MPhil in Instrumental and Vocal Composition.When he’s not writing, he gardens, or fixes up the house, or plays piano and sings to himself and anyone who will listen.

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Syblings the Syrial, Season 1: Episodes 1-22

Copyright 2020 Paul du Preez

Published by Paul du Preez at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Syblings the Syrial, is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are the product of Paul du Preez’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights are reserved, including without limitation, the right to reproduce the contents of Syblings the Syrial, (original text or artwork) or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Paul du Preez.

Table of Contents

Title

Acknowledgements

1 – Philosophical

2 – Check This Out!

3 – Primal Scream

4 – Socially Responsible

5 – A Little Handsome

6 – Enveloped in Glory

7 – Ice

8 – The Instinct, Social

9 – Delicatessen

10 – The Night, Still Young

11 – Technical Conversation

12 – The Addict Anonymous

13 – Forgiveness

14 – Diva

15 – Stand in the Gap

16 – The Zoo, Inhabited

17 – Instrument

18 – A Message for You

19 – Work of the Virus

20 – Web Talk

21 – Address

22 – The Blue Pill

About Paul du Preez

Connect with Paul du Preez

Other Books by Paul du Preez

Sample Chapters – Hard to Forgive: 4 Women, 5 Tales

Sample Chapters – Will & Jordan: Cyberhunt – The Will to Live

Image Credits

Acknowledgements

This season of Syblings is dedicated to musicians, especially my colleagues, past and present: during this pandemic they (along with many others) have suffered almost complete loss of livelihood. Guys – and that includes you, girls – you provide the soundtrack to people’s lives. I hope that in future you will receive more appreciation for your gifts, and what you do.

Episode 1 – Philosophical

DARREN

0)_(0

Darren is sure about two things.

One: even in 2035 a vintage Stratocaster has more status than a virtual drum-pad.

Two: He is as good a Christian as du-rag. Better, if he doesn’t get hung up on Jesus’ ‘whoever has fantasies of braining his brother with an axe’ thing. Reckons if he doesn’t actually do it he’s in the clear.

Du-rag, though, is obviously guilty of committing adultery in his heart with Leandré, Darren’s sister. Heart-rape more like it. Because Leandré isn’t interested.

Darren hopes she isn’t interested.

Because du-rag is prancing around like a hyper-active, leg-humping Jack Russell. Carelessly getting his back-end in Darren’s face. Or would be if Darren wasn’t a head taller.

***

Good work axe-boy. Now let the rapper wrap it up, is what du-rag had bellowed when he charged on stage, bulling Darren back from the mic.

Not that Darren was a mic-man. Or even a pro guitarist. He just happened to have drifted up close to the mic. He was a computer-science student. And just liked his flash-metal, and was somewhere close to ecstasy and the climax of his solo when du-rag bulled him.

Darren didn’t think of himself as temperamental by nature: he thought of himself as a ‘philosophical guy’. So he backed up, toned down, and started picking out a neat little riff – like a good brother should – and watched du-rag prance.

At his sister.

But he couldn’t be sure. So he took a long, slow, philosophical look round the rest of the auditorium.

Ever since the virus, church had been empty. Like a replay of Covid 19 in 2020. Except, this time, in ‘35, Pastor Arendse was prepared to go virtual; ready for it – had been for a couple of years. A good thing (from the point of view of history not repeating itself) because a lot of smaller churches went to the butcher’s block in ‘20, bleeding cash, gutted by government lockdowns and scared congregations. Arendse’s own church, ‘The Compass’ had died, and he’d lost everything, had to beg, had been forced back into his old trade as a singer on the entertainment circuit – when the world eventually started turning again.

But he’d made good his debts, started over, The Compass resurrected and online.

Half-out, half-in Virtual Reality.

Most churches nowadays, mega or mini, had a virtual component. A no-brainer considering 2-5G connectivity. And, smart Augmented Reality glasses were everywhere – common as phones in ‘20. Not quite as effective as ‘full-dive’ Virtual Reality haptic suits and total-environment helmets, but still pretty immersive.

Pastor Arendse was wearing a compromise kit: bug-eyed, deep-focus stereoptics along with haptic gloves and boots. And surgical mask – because of the virus. He was on a private channel, talking to a giant neon-yellow banana. Darren couldn’t hear him (though he could see his mouth moving under the mask). All that Darren could hear was the band’s driving music, and the room feed: whoops of encouragement filtering from the crowd. Most of them were virtual, roughly split between fantasy avatars and enhanced holograms of actual people… (Whoa, look at that, thought Darren, eyeing the rendering of a forbiddingly beautiful woman in a dark business suit, before snapping loose his stare and wandering on to two Winnie the Poohs in close conversation with a translucent octopus who was having boundary definition issues.)

…Most of the crowd were virtual, but some of the faithful were, by necessity of ‘live concert’, really there. Leandré was really there. Along with some of her girlfriends and their beaux, and some real chairs too, and a table.

And she had du-rag’s attention. He was free-styling, and in between rhymes about God being his backup and his ‘bra’, he dropped a few about ‘spirit got serious booty’ and ‘come like inspiration in the night’. Then, on the crest of a spandex, pelvic wriggle, he emoted something about ‘the doggette-baby with the front row seat’ and how his dreams might all come true. Underneath her sanitary mask Darren saw Leandré’s jaw twitch. One side only: more likely a grimace than a