Fullepub 
Royal Hastings, University of London Multimedia Art MA Final Project
Candidate name: Patrick Bright
Candidate number: 0883480
What I learned from the experience:
I learned that if you can possibly avoid it, don’t get into a situation where someone else is responsible for your sense of security. It gives them far too much power.
I still don’t know if I can trust Jonathan or the others. I live from one moment to the next and have for months now. Will they grab me from behind when I least expect it? Then the sudden darkness of a bag over the head as I’m dragged backwards into oblivion? In my mind the scene cuts off there, like a film. Cuts straight to the aftermath – a funeral – although I fear that’s not what’ll happen.
If only I didn’t keep hearing whispers about the RD 8 incinerator. Biggest, best, hottest. Clean green technology.
In hindsight, if the voice hadn’t come through, things would have been different. Better or worse, who knows? It sent Jonathan into a frenzy that infected everyone. It wasn’t my fault, but they recoiled from me. Then they blamed me for the voice, said I helped Jem get the unit working, that she couldn’t have done it on her own, but Jem knew her way around that circuit board. She read it like Braille. The girl’s a wonder.
What I could have done differently:
Should have stayed at home that day. I had a cold starting and it was only Jem who convinced me to go. She was so keen to get the gossip and I felt sorry for her. In my darkest moments I’ve thrown some blame in her direction for that stunt she pulled with the room. It should be something we’re laughing about now. If she hadn’t done that, if I’d stayed home, if they’d gone by themselves, who knows what we’d be doing right now. Chances are we’d all be alive at least.
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Karen Carpenter
Phew! False alarm! Alyson is back and everything’s fine after all, Ben.
Ben Sketcher
I wouldn’t be so sure. I’m here now and still not convinced all the students are safe and well.
Tilda Ricci
But how could the death of a student be covered up?
Ben Sketcher
If they all work together to convince Jem and Gela.
Karen Carpenter
Wooo! A dead body could have been in that studio and Jem wouldn’t have known.
Ben Sketcher
Somerset is the key.
Karen Carpenter
What happened there? A row in the museum that’s quickly smoothed over. A boozy dinner. At the motel they find they’re all booked into one room, so they sober up and drive back to London in the middle of the night, dropping the bags of salvage at the studio on the way.
Ben Sketcher
The next day Griff finds the fabric they’d bought for the installation covered in something that reminded him of pig’s blood.
Tilda Ricci
And Jem discovers a strange radio apparently taken from the museum, which she and Patrick experiment with. It’s tuned to an obscure wavelength and all it broadcasts is a voice pleading to be rescued from a dark, lonely place.
Ben Sketcher
Jonathan, who hid his scientific background, thinks it’s an old machine developed in the 1920s to contact the dead. He becomes convinced, to the point of obsession.
Tilda Ricci
Meanwhile Cameron is ‘off sick’ while other students pretend Alyson – or rather Suzie – is coming in on at least a weekly basis.
Ben Sketcher
Except Alyson Lang – or Suzie Danners – hasn’t disappeared. She’s helping the MA group set up the installation right now. I’ve just seen her with my own eyes. Whoever’s dead, it isn’t ‘Alyson’.
Karen Carpenter
Oooh! This is better than telly! If it turns out to be a performance-art piece, where this intrigue is all part of their work, I’ll personally suggest the entire class get Distinctions.
Doodle message group MMAM ( FTP ), 30 May 2024:
Jem Badhuri
You’ll never guess who I’ve got outside with me now.
Jonathan Danners
We could do with a hand in here, Jem.
Jem Badhuri
The head and my soundscape are all set up and ready to go. The RD 8 tech team is ace.
Jonathan Danners
We need to get the tunnel right – it’s what leads the guests to the head. If we can’t set it up, they’ll suggest we hang it on the wall and the whole installation will be ruined.
Jem Badhuri
The external examiner is here! I did some digging and he contacted me to say he’d love to see the installation. He’s going to chat with RD 8 at the gate and see if he can come in.
Gela Nathaniel
All the more reason to get this tunnel constructed.
Patrick Bright
I’ll come out, see if I can sweet-talk security.
Doodle message group [Private] Jonathan and Patrick, 30 May 2024:
Jonathan Danners
Whatever you do, make sure he stays out there.
Patrick Bright
If we get it past him, we’re in the clear. More insurance that nothing’s wrong?
Jonathan Danners
DON’T LET THE EXAMINER IN HERE.
Doodle message group [Private] Patrick and Jem, 30 May 2024:
Patrick Bright
You come inside, Jem. The chappie on security is from Cork and let me through with no photo ID . I might be able get the examiner in.
Jem Badhuri
That would be brilliant, Pat. Thanks. Meet us at the gate?
Patrick Bright
On my way, wait there.
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Ben Sketcher
There’s been a development. Patrick Bright just dashed out of RD 8, sent Jem back inside and asked for my phone number. He said there are things I should read before I come in.
Tilda Ricci
Sounds fishy to me. Karen may be right. This intrigue is all part of their creative installation.
Ben Sketcher
I don’t think so. He looks like a ghost and is shaking like a leaf. I’ll forward the files he sent me. Let’s see what they say.
Documents sent to me by Patrick Bright while I waited outside RD 8. He was visibly upset and told me they explain ‘why he didn’t get out sooner’. These go all the way back to last year, before the course even started.
To: Patrick Bright
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 18 May 2023
Subject: MA course
Dear Patrick,
It was lovely to speak to you properly over coffee today and to hear about your retirement plans. Thank you for showing me your work. I appreciate it’s not easy, but let me tell you, in that portfolio of sketches I saw a solid talent – one that deserves to be nurtured.
Attached is an application form for the new MA course I’m running from this September to May next year. It’s designed to bridge the gap between creative work and the commercial world. I aim to create a safe space for students to develop unfamiliar skills and practise those they already possess. As you said, artists are notoriously shy when it comes to selling themselves. I promise to bring you out of your shell! Wherever and however you decide to spend your retirement, MMAM ( FTP ) will help you navigate the demands of a small creative business.
Think about it, and if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Best wishes,
Gela
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Patrick Bright
Date: 19 May 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Dear Gela,
Thank you for your email. I feel flattered you’ve considered me for your new course. I thought you had to get a BA before you did an MA , but according to the girls in the shop, what you said is right – these days that’s not the case. I’ve blown hot and cold over the whole thing. It’s a lot of time and money to commit. What if I don’t enjoy it? What if I’m so far behind the others, I hold them back, let you down and embarrass myself? I’m honoured you think I’d be a good candidate, but I’m going to say no, thank you. You’ve given me something to think about maybe, for the future, but not this time.
Patrick
To: Patrick Bright
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 19 May 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Dear Patrick,
Your sketches are way above the standard of your average MA student. The group will come from many different backgrounds and specialisms – from fine art to 3D to computer animation. I can GUARANTEE you will stand out, not as inadequate, but as excellent.
Now, Patrick, over the years you would not believe the number of people who, when they hear I teach art, confess they would love to pursue it themselves, especially in retirement. There’s always a reason not to, and they don’t. The result is they go to their graves unfulfilled – and the world is denied the wonderful art they would have created. If time is a problem, remember this course is only three days a week during term time. If money is a problem, I can tap Royal Hastings’ discretionary fund for you.
Please, Patrick, reconsider.
Gela
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Patrick Bright
Date: 22 May 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Dear Gela,
I’ve had a think over the weekend and a chat with the girls in the shop and they agree with you. They say they’ll work any extra hours needed – I’ll have to pay them of course, so, if you could look into the funding, that would be very handy. I can’t believe I’m going to be an art student. I’ve had people in the shop debating whether to get themselves a watercolour kit or a set of oils – and I’ve given them the talk you just gave me. I’m taking your advice and my own. I’ll see you in September!
Patrick
To: Patrick Bright
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 22 May 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Dear Patrick,
Wonderful news! Thank you. Please be assured the other students will all pull together to support you – and each other. That’s the beauty of the small-group MA . We become one big family, and I expect this to be a positive, productive, collaborative experience for everyone.
Gela
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Patrick Bright
Date: 9 October 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Dear Gela,
I feel I have to contact you. I’ve given it a couple of weeks, hoping things would improve, but it’s no better. We’re all so different and I have nothing in common with any of them. Don’t get me wrong, Jonathan seems a pleasant enough fellow and young Jem a delight, but Alyson and Ludya are both nightmares, and don’t get me started on Cameron, I might never stop!
The technicians are surly and seem to resent me being there. I’ve tried to gel with people, but I’m wondering if this course is really for me.
Patrick
To: Patrick Bright
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 9 October 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Patrick,
The course has been running less than two weeks. Everyone feels jittery at the start of anything new, but you’ll bond with the others soon enough, especially when we start working on the assignments and the final project. Think of the people who applied for this course and weren’t accepted. You were given the grant from the discretionary fund, meaning they couldn’t afford the course, so didn’t apply. They’d love to be in your shoes right now. MMAM ( FTP ) is a fantastic opportunity that will allow you to retire to Ireland as you’ve always wanted. You can’t leave now, you just can’t.
Gela
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Patrick Bright
Date: 9 October 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
I hear what you’re saying, Gela, and I would love to throw myself into this, as I wanted to back in the summer when we spoke. But the reality is, the people alongside you make or break an experience like this and I’m not feeling the love. Even Jem, who is the only one I’ve really got along with, is so ambitious that if she had to push me under a train to get her MA , I think she would, I genuinely do. Who should I speak to about withdrawing from the course, you or Hannah?
Patrick
To: Patrick Bright
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 9 October 2023
Subject: Re: MA course
Patrick, you are withdrawing from this course over my dead body. If you DO, then you can rest assured Modern Art’s long-term commitment to VAT evasion will come under intense scrutiny from HMRC , and there’s no point in escaping to Ireland, you’ll just be extradited. All you have to do is complete this course. It’s over at the end of May. That’s barely six months, it’s not much to ask, is it? Now, you’ve got Assignment One to be getting on with. I look forward to seeing your submission.
Gela
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Tilda Ricci
Why would Gela be so desperate for Patrick to continue with the course?
Karen Carpenter
If he’s been fiddling his tax, then he shouldn’t need a sub from the discretionary fund.
Tilda Ricci
Indeed – how does Gela know that about Patrick’s business? She’s an art teacher, not a private investigator.
Ben Sketcher
Cameron. His company specialises in financial fraud. Gela and Cameron had some sort of relationship before the course started.
Karen Carpenter
All that kiss-kiss. It’s not the first time a tutor has cooked admissions to get their latest squeeze in the class. Naughty-naughty!
Tilda Ricci
Gela wouldn’t do that, Karen. She’s dedicated to her art and her teaching, with a reputation to uphold. I can’t think of anything she would compromise that for.
Ben Sketcher
Kiss-kiss. Patrick is still sending files. Here, more attached.
Documents sent to me by Patrick Bright:
Somerset trip WhatsApp group members Jonathan Danners, Alyson Lang, Cameron Wesley, Patrick Bright and Ludya Parak, 17 January 2024:
Patrick
You told the shop girls I’m in the West Country.
Jonathan
Joy messaged you. She would’ve been suspicious when you didn’t reply, so I had to say something. We must use our phones as normal.
Patrick
But you said you took my phone as insurance against ME contacting anyone. Now you’ve sent all sorts of rubbish to people and pretended it was from me!
Jonathan
Ludya looked at who you chat with regularly and sent them an update about your trip to Somerset. You’re having a grand time.
Patrick
Fuck!
Ludya
Don’t thank me.
Patrick
That places me right at the scene.
Ludya
This is all to protect you, Patrick. We’re pulling together, like coursemates on an MA .
Patrick
We’ll go down.
Ludya
We won’t. We’ve got this.
Patrick
Why take my phone and send so many messages, though? You don’t even know my code.
Ludya
3265, your birthdate. You really should update to biometric recognition. Far more secure.
Patrick
What the hell are we going to do?
Jonathan
It will help if everyone is equally motivated to move this forward. Pat, you’ve got your phone back, but please text as you would normally.
Patrick
In the middle of the night?
Ludya
Scroll through Diamond Angels as usual, perhaps message one or two of your favourite ladies?
Patrick
If we all have to text, why isn’t Cameron texting? If he’s not texting, where is he?
Jonathan
He’s driving. Calm down, Pat. We’ll all help you. We’re doing this for you.
Patrick
But these messages are evidence. We have to delete this thread. Get rid of it for ever.
Ludya
Nothing is gone for ever. Even when you think you’ve deleted it, it still exists in the cloud, waiting for you to make a wrong move.
Patrick
Shit! What can we do?
Jonathan
Calm down, Pat. It’ll be fine. So long as you *don’t* make a wrong move.
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Tilda Ricci
This is very worrying. So something did happen in Somerset?
Karen Carpenter
Cameron’s driving, but they don’t say why Alyson isn’t messaging.
Ben Sketcher
Any one of these texts could have been sent by someone else. Gela hasn’t arrived at RD 8 yet. Mae has just sent her an email asking where she is.
Karen Carpenter
How do you know that? Mae isn’t part of the college, so she doesn’t use Doodle.
Documents sent to me by Gela Nathaniel while I waited in the queue:
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Mae Blackwell, RD 8 Systems Ltd
Date: 30 May 2024
Subject: Your student group
Dear Gela,
Are you here yet? I’ve bumped into your student group, hard at work setting up their installation. The clay head covered in metal things is enormous, but very effective. We like the juxtaposition of highly engineered components and this central piece that brings us back to the humanity of technology. I hope the tech team can assemble the tunnel in time. Our guests will be arriving in an hour and we’d love to lead them through it towards the head.
I understand Jem convinced the tech department to set up the screen further away, so there wasn’t a clash of soundscapes. I expect being blind means she is very sensitive to sound. Shall we meet up for a chat as soon as you’re here?
Mae
WhatsApp chat between Mae Blackwell and Gela Nathaniel, 30 May 2024:
Mae
Where are you?
Gela
Jem said they put a weight inside the clay head. I need to see what it is. Don’t want anything that will damage your incinerator.
Doodle message group MMAM ( FTP ), 30 May 2024:
Jem Badhuri
Where’s Gela? I want to show her my head before guests arrive and start prodding it. Gela, where are you?
Ludya Parak
Guests are already arriving.
Jonathan Danners
Don’t let them in. We haven’t secured the tunnel. Tell them to stay outside.
Ludya Parak
I could ask, but don’t have a lot of sway, seeing as I don’t work here.
Patrick Bright
I’m with Gela in the corridor by the toilets. Found her sitting on the floor. She’s not well at all.
Alyson Lang
They’ve had champagne out getting warm for an hour. Gela, did you have some?
Jonathan Danners
No, I told her.
Ludya Parak
Told her what?
Patrick Bright
What the fuck?
Jem Badhuri
What did you tell her to make her ill?
Jonathan Danners
That we had half an hour to get the installation up and chat with guests about it. Don’t know why that should make her ill. Like Alyson says, it’s probably the champagne.
WhatsApp chat between Mae Blackwell and Gela Nathaniel, 30 May 2024:
Mae
Everything OK, Gela?
Mae
Did you find out what was inside the head?
Mae
Whatever it is, please don’t worry about our incinerator. I’ve been assured it can handle anything!
Mae
My PA said she saw you open the clay head. She said you seemed shocked by what was inside and reeled back, then staggered away, looking most upset. If you’re not feeling well, perhaps have a sit-down outside?
WhatsApp chat between Ben Sketcher and Jem Badhuri, 30 May 2024:
Ben
Is everything OK, Jem? Patrick says he’ll help me get into the event, but he can’t do that until after the guests are let in.
Jem
Awesome! I feel so excited now the whole class is together again.
Ben
Except Cameron.
Jem
He’s still sick and did nothing for the installation. Before you see it, you should know that I’m not happy with what they’ve done to my head and am not responsible for anything that happens as a result. They’ve weighted it inside, but Gela and I have been working for weeks and we already took its top-heavy alignment into account with a wider plinth – whatever they’ve done could’ve destabilised it. Gela was fuming when she heard and said she’d have to take the weight out while I kept an RD 8 lady busy in the tunnel. Then Gela screamed. I thought the whole thing had fallen on her! But when the RD 8 lady and I ran back through the tunnel, Gela said she just gasped because the head wobbled, but it’s fine now. She was shaken up and shouted at me to help her replace the clay on the access hatch, then immediately had to dash off to the toilet. I want you to know, Ben, if there’s anything wrong with the head it’s not my fault.
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Ben Sketcher
I’ve been Jemmed.
Karen Carpenter
Oooh-er!
Ben Sketcher
As soon as I arrived, the missing student miraculously turned up. Now there’s more excitement to keep me guessing. I suspect Jem got me here on false pretences, so that I see her artwork. Thanks to Patrick, I’m waiting outside to do exactly that. I wonder if the docs he sent were all part of Jem’s plan.
Tilda Ricci
Jem always gets what she wants. One must applaud her ingenuity.
Karen Carpenter
I’d give her extra marks for cheek! Now you’re there, you might as well enjoy it, Ben. Can I ask how you knew Mae had just emailed Gela?
Ben Sketcher
I received a stream of documents from an unknown number. Correspondence to and from Gela Nathaniel. Either Patrick or Jem must have given her my number. I’ll forward them.
Documents sent to me by Gela Nathaniel; they date from April last year:
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 3 April 2023
Subject: [Website Message]
Dear Alyson,
I hope you don’t mind me contacting you through your website. I was at the rally in Trafalgar Square on Saturday and got talking to your brother-in-law, Jonathan. I teach undergraduate and postgrad art at Royal Hastings and remember visiting your exhibition at the Brewer Gallery years ago.
Royal Hastings is revamping its art courses to better reflect the potential employment opportunities for art graduates. You’ll understand that in the current economic climate each course must justify its place in the prospectus. We’ve had our class sizes reduced already, staff are not being replaced, we lost a studio building to the sciences last year and the whole department is under scrutiny. In short, if we fail to adapt, then our funding will be cut further and art at Royal Hastings will dwindle to nothing.
So I am planning a new MA tailored to build skills that are useful to commercial companies and corporations. I wonder if you’d be willing to pop in and chat with the class one afternoon? Any time from December to March, depending on your schedule. It should only take an afternoon and, as I see you’re based in Guildford, it shouldn’t be too far a journey. I can pay your travel expenses myself.
Yours hopefully,
Gela Nathaniel
To: Gela Nathaniel
From: Suzie Danners
Date: 4 April 2023
Subject: Re: Fwd: [Website Message]
Dear Gela,
Thanks for your email to my sister Alyson, which she forwarded to me. I understand you were in London on Saturday. I was there with my husband, Jonathan, whom I believe you were talking to on the march from St James’s.
I’m a production engineer currently working in corporate sustainability. Jonathan is a climate scientist affiliated to the pressure group AetherGen. We are both committed to direct action against climate change. I have a proposal that may be of interest to you. Can we meet?
Suzie
To: Matilda Ricci
From: Gela Nathaniel
Date: 2 June 2023
Subject: MMAM ( FTP ) intake
Dear Tilda,
Just to update you on the inaugural Multimedia Art MA . I have found some excellent candidates, all keen to build on their artistic and/or business skills. I’m confident they will form a creative team that will ensure the first arts-based industry collaboration is a success.
Alyson Lang is already an artist with a growing profile. She will provide a bedrock of flair and experience for the group.
Jonathan Danners’ family has an art gallery, but he has so far not explored his own artistic side. He will bring his commercial and hands-on management experience to the team.
Ludya Parak is a jobbing graphic designer. She is looking to gain wider practical skills and grow her business, which has plateaued.
Patrick Bright runs an art-supplies shop, but has always nurtured a passion – and skill – for drawing. His experience running an art-adjacent business will benefit the group.
Cameron Wesley discovered a latent artistic ability while recovering from corporate burnout. His marketing acumen will be invaluable.
Jem Badhuri gained a First in her fine-art BA and brings not only a youthful outlook, but also passion and ability in the more unusual mediums of 3D and sound.
This course will help transform Royal Hastings’ art department into a powerhouse for commercial art.
Best,
Gela
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Tilda Ricci, 2 June 2023:
Tilda
Thanks, Gela, but we need to observe best practice throughout the admissions process.
Gela
They are fully representative. Ages range from twenty-one to fifty-eight. One has Eastern European heritage, one is from China, one is Bengali and has a disability, one is a mixed-race man with a working-class background and although we have two white men, one is Irish and the other has suffered two awful bereavements.
Tilda
The panel approves – your inaugural year is go! I look forward to hearing how successful it’s been.
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Ludya Parak, 4 September 2023:
Ludya
Suzie and Jonathan want to know who the other three are.
Gela
Aspiring artists keen to learn new skills. There’s no need for them to know any more.
Ludya
Only there kinda is. We gotta make sure they’re not gonna get in the way. Compromise things.
Gela
How could three art students who are strangers to each other possibly compromise you?
Ludya
They just want to be sure. We’re investing a lot of time in this. We need the others to be good stooges who will say everything was fine.
Gela
I can’t predict how people will behave on the course. It’s up to you to appear normal.
Ludya
If we pull out because we don’t like someone you’ve chosen, then that’ll look bad for you, so best all round if we’re across the recruitment process.
Gela
It’s not recruitment, it’s admissions. A young BA grad from West Mids, the owner of an art shop where I’ve bought my personal supplies for years, and a man who burned out of his marketing job and discovered art in rehab.
Ludya
S say it was left in your room by whoever.
Gela
With my phone camera? They’re old-fashioned dot-matrix sheets. The ink is very pale.
Cameron
Second thoughts, I’ll come round and photograph them. Return it as if nothing out of the ordinary.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 14 November 2023:
Gela
Suzie’s portfolio was shoved into my section of the cupboard with a Postit saying ‘Left in studio’. No idea who found it, probably a BA student.
Suzie
Thank God! No one looked in it?
Gela
You’ll have to check it yourself.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 16 November 2023:
Gela
Griff saw you with a woman in the studio this morning.
Jonathan
Presumably you’re asking Suzie that? Probably Alyson delivering things to make S’s workstation look busy.
Ludya
Nothing for you to worry about, Gela.
Gela
If Griff has seen a stranger in the studio who slips away by the back door – before he has to clear away empty wine bottles – it’s something for me to worry about. You can’t get sloppy about following studio protocols, you just can’t.
Jonathan
I’ll make sure no one else comes in. It was probably nothing.
Gela
Where is Suzie anyway?
Jonathan
London. Just for the day. She has fires to put out.
Gela
Makes a change from starting them. I’ll have to mention the stranger to her on Doodle to cover my back, if Griff escalates it.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 17 November 2023:
Gela
Ludya, Jonathan tells me you’re accepting a payment from Jem for doing her Assignment Three project. Is that true?
Ludya
What the fuck, J? What’s the problem if I have a side-hustle?
Jonathan
You’re pocketing a backhander to do someone else’s college work. I’ve noticed and – if I was on this course for real – I’d say something like a shot.
Ludya
You’d snitch.
Gela
We need to have a discussion about it on Doodle.
Jonathan
It’s not in the spirit of the MA .
Ludya
Snitching on me is not in the spirit of our actual working relationship.
Gela
Messaged you on Doodle, Ludya. Make your response sound spontaneous and defensive.
Suzie
It’s not like Jem can do the 2D herself. If I was her, I’d ask for special consideration to skip it altogether.
Ludya
I’m a good graphic designer. Gela wants all her MA students to do well, and if Jem submits an amazing 2D project, I don’t see what the problem is.
Jonathan
I’m not saying it’s not up to Gela to decide. This course is a means to an end. You’re being PAID to focus on the real task, not work a ‘side-hustle’.
Gela
The message is up on Doodle now.
Ludya
If the ‘real task’ paid me enough to cover rent and support my family, I wouldn’t have to take on extra work. If Jem won’t ask for a more appropriate project, then I’m happy to help her overcome her limitations.
Gela
She’s determined not to submit a special-consideration form for the entirety of the course. She doesn’t identify as having a disability, and we have to respect that. Please respond to the message on Doodle, Ludya.
Jonathan
But it’s OK for her to pay someone to complete a project on her behalf? Fraud. Unbelievable. Make your Doodle answers sound angry, Luds.
Ludya
I’ve responded to the fucking message and I AM angry, FFS !
Gela
Thank you. As a student with a registered disability, Jem is within her rights to request additional help with her coursework. I see her enlisting Ludya to do so as perfectly reasonable – in essence. But thank you, Jonathan, for flagging this on Doodle.
Ludya
Yeah, thanks, comrade.
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Cameron Wesley, 21 November 2023:
Gela
This is your second ungraded assignment. Your work isn’t worthy of even a discretionary pass – what’s wrong?
Cameron
Lots on. Other work. I only need to go with them to Somerset, then I can relax.
Gela
You can’t! We agreed you’d do the whole course and write me a testimonial for the corporate side.
Cameron
You write it and say it’s from me.
Gela
They agreed to stay on the course whatever happens. If they can, you can.
Cameron
Can’t make any promises. It depends.
Gela
On what? You’ll stop them doing whatever they’re planning, won’t you?
Cameron
It’s complicated. Not necessarily a case of stopping these people. Sometimes it means just watching them. Getting a feel for their capabilities and power structure. We often let them get away with things because it leads to something bigger and better. You can lose the battle if it means you win the war.
Gela
I don’t understand that, but I know I have four – including you – students who have agreed to complete my course WHATEVER. For that, I need you chatting with them about your work on Doodle, sleeves-up in the studio and engaged. You don’t have to be good. In fact be bad, but BE THERE.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 30 November 2023:
Ludya
That Doodle group is a festering pit of jealousy and resentment.
Gela
I’m shocked you weren’t more careful.
Jonathan
We thought we were alone at the sink. Pat must’ve been skulking. It was only a peck on the cheek.
Ludya
But after the fire, it looks kinda weird. Like J’s a masochist or something.
Suzie
If they think we’re having an affair, it’ll distract them from thinking anything else. Especially if there’s something weird about it.
Gela
There’s a difference between creating a distraction and causing such a stir that you become the entertainment people want to watch.
Ludya
Hard agree.
Suzie
It’s no big deal.
Jonathan
We’ll have a brief affair that fizzles out. I’m a troubled soul and Suzie’s a free spirit, so it’s not out of our characters, is it?
Suzie
People must have flings on these courses all the time.
Gela
Well, yes, they do, but Jem and Patrick seem particularly indignant that you’re already married, Suzie. They don’t know it’s to Jonathan. We’ll get over it, but if you can stop making out and start fizzling out, the course might settle down.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 1 December 2023:
Jonathan
Gela, can we talk about the final project, how we organise the team and what Mae has agreed?
Gela
I can meet you in the Aviator on Monday.
Suzie
Patrick or Jem might join us. Can you come to the house now?
Gela
Now? What’s the address?
Ludya
Hey. It’s meant to be a safe-house. J, what do you think?
Suzie
Gela’s hardly going to tell anyone.
Jonathan
I’ll pick her up. She’ll have to lie on the back seat.
Gela
I am not lying on any back seat.
Suzie
We’ve trusted her with other stuff, it doesn’t matter if she knows where the house is.
Ludya
Can we take this convo irl?
Jonathan
OK. We’ve had a private discussion and I’ll pick you up from RH on Monday afternoon. The other MMAM s won’t be in. You close your eyes when I tell you to. We trust you.
Gela
Thank you.
Jonathan
BUT you can’t bring your phone – or anything electronic. Smartwatch, tablet, e-reader.
Gela
Where do I leave them?
Suzie
In the tray outside the studio?
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Cameron Wesley, 1 December 2023:
Gela
They’re taking me to their house.
Cameron
I’ll give you a chip.
Gela
Not if it’s something they could scan me and detect. I’ll try to remember landmarks.
Cameron
I’ve got something they won’t have the tech to ID .
WhatsApp chat between Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 1 December 2023:
Jonathan
Are you home safely? Not shaken up?
Gela
It would take more than that to shake me up. Whose house is it?
Jonathan
It’s rented. Temporary. Forget you were ever there.
Gela
AetherGen must have a lot of resources if they can afford to rent a house. Is it a short-term contract or an Airbnb?
Jonathan
Gela, you’re an art teacher, not a secret agent. We’re all clear now on Somerset and how the team will be organised. Thank you. All roads lead to Thorney Coffin.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 6 December 2023:
Suzie
Your face, Luds! Couldn’t stop laughing.
Jonathan
You OK, Ludya?
Gela
Are you injured?
Ludya
A fellow student threw a piece of unfired clay the size of a conker at me. I’m not terminally ill.
Suzie
She got you right between the eyes and, to be fair, that’s dead impressive when you can’t see shit.
Ludya
Yeah, unprovoked violence is hilarious when you’re not the victim, Suze.
Gela
She was demonstrating something fascinating. Sound is multidimensional, so she can judge where your forehead is by the sound coming from your mouth. I wonder if her brain balances lack of sight by utilising a function we’ve forgotten we ever had, like echo-location? They say the body compensates for deficits in the senses.
Suzie
So in selecting a stooge who can’t see, you accidentally got us one with superpowers.
Gela
I didn’t say that. In fact it’s a problem for me that she doesn’t want to acknowledge her disability, because she has additional needs and we all want to accommodate them.
Ludya
It’s because you’re so ‘accommodating’ that she doesn’t learn not to be so … Jem.
Gela
This is an open, inclusive course and we should all remember that Jem can’t read body language or facial expressions. She doesn’t see people’s reactions to what she says and does, therefore she’s more outspoken than most. The upside is: we always know what she’s thinking and doing.
Ludya
I’m going to escalate my complaint to the department. It’s only what anyone would do irl.
Jonathan
Absolutely not. It will draw attention to us.
Ludya
You let Suzie complain about the keypad.
Jonathan
Because it meant we could access the studio out of hours. If you kick off about a disabled student, it could jeopardise things. You take one for the team and DO NOT complain about Jem. That’s an order.
Gela
She was only demonstrating the importance of sound to the human aesthetic experience.
Ludya
She could have got my eye! How can you talk about teamwork when you find violent bullying so hilarious/interesting?
Gela
She was making a point in her own way.
Jonathan
She is determined to get a binaural ASMR soundscape. She’s not concerned with what the client does or doesn’t want and, as project leader, I’m walking a tricky line.
Ludya
Does it matter, either way? Jeez, we’re not here to do an art course. Just let her pitch that idea! You’re taking the whole thing way too seriously.
Jonathan
We have to get to Thorney Coffin. Jem could totally derail that if she convinces RD 8 to have binaural sound – for which we can hire the equipment. There would be no reason for RD 8 to invite us down there.
Gela
Mae has intended to invite you down there from the word go. Whatever Jem says in the pitch meeting, you’re going. It’s part of the course – visiting clients, working with them, etc.
Jonathan
You’ve not said that before.
Gela
I’ve had further chats with Mae since then. I don’t tell you everything. Regarding Jem, let her speak at the pitch meeting, as I’m sure she will anyway. I can chat with Mae afterwards.
Ludya
I don’t want her at Thorney Coffin. It’s too risky.
Gela
You have to take Cameron and Patrick. That’s not negotiable. It’s insurance against scrutiny.
Ludya
Fine, but not Jem. Jem does NOT come to Somerset. Full stop.
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Cameron Wesley, 11 December 2023:
Cameron
Mae is primed. Knows enough, anyway. Whatever idea they choose, the team will be invited to the museum.
Gela
Why not arrest them the minute they get there? Or NOW?
Cameron
Have you seen Minority Report ? They haven’t done anything yet. Strategy. It’s not in their interests to run this unit in. They’d rather neutralise their plans, but keep them active. What are they like behind the scenes?
Gela
Every bit as infuriating as they are on the course. I can send you our WhatsApps.
Cameron
They communicate on WA ? Yes, please send.
Gela
They don’t give details, it might just be useful to you, re personality and hierarchy.
Cameron
Got them. Thanks. Don’t let their apparent bungling fool you into thinking they aren’t dangerous.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 2 January 2024:
Gela
Happy New Year!
Gela
OK, so you’re not online over the holidays. FYI , Mae sent me a New Year’s e-card. It means she sees me as more than a mere work acquaintance. Good news.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 11 January 2024:
Jonathan
How did Jem take the news she isn’t coming to Somerset?
Gela
I’ve devised a programme of treats for the two of us. She’ll be fine.
Suzie
We’re also ditching Patrick and Cameron.
Gela
What? No! You need stooges, you said. That’s why the three of them are on the course!
Suzie
Things change. It’s too risky. J will redefine the sourcing team to us three.
Ludya
Pat and Cam won’t be bothered.
Gela
That’s not the point. I need Cameron to be there because he hasn’t put in the hours yet. Pat has to go – he’s in charge of sourcing. Surely you want them there to testify that nothing untoward happened?
Ludya
You don’t know what we’re planning to do, though, Gela.
Suzie
We could be planning to blow the place up, in which case we’re saving the innocents by leaving them at home.
Ludya
Suze, stay vague, FFS .
Gela
It wouldn’t be anything like that.
Suzie
If you don’t know what we’re planning to do, why are you so sure of what we’re NOT going to do?
Jonathan
Let’s keep focused. Gela, you’re working to our old plans, but things have changed. I’ll tell them, in my role as project manager.
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Cameron Wesley, 11 January 2024:
Gela
Bad news. You and Pat are bumped from the sourcing trip. They’re going to Thorney Coffin on their own. Sorry, I tried, but they were beginning to sound suspicious.
Cameron
Don’t compromise yourself by protesting too much. I’ll speak to the boss, see if there’s a way she can insist more of us go.
RH WhatsApp group members Ludya Parak, Suzie Danners, Jonathan Danners and Gela Nathaniel, 15 January 2024:
Gela
You’re still talking to the group as if everyone’s going to Somerset except Jem. When will you tell Pat and Cam they aren’t invited?
Jonathan
Changed our minds again. It’ll be better to have a couple of them there.
Ludya
To be fair, Cameron probably won’t come, and Patrick’s been so down these last few days he could cry off too. You might have to come instead, Gela.
Gela
I’m Jem-sitting, remember. Pat is uncomfortable with Suzie and Jonathan flaunting their relationship. He’s a sensitive soul.
Suzie
Cool. He’s focused on that. Seems I just can’t keep my hands off my honey.
WhatsApp chat between Gela Nathaniel and Cameron Wesley, 15 January 2024:
Gela
When will this nightmare be over? They want you and Patrick on the trip to Somerset now. Don’t know why they changed their minds, but they have.
Cameron
Probably a test.
Gela
Of what?
Cameron
Of you. To see if you’ve really chosen three innocent stooges to cover their tracks, or whether you’ve turned double agent and betrayed them to a corporate PI. Looks like you passed.
Gela
How can you tell?
Cameron
You’re still messaging me.
Message group: 2024 Examiners, 30 May 2024
Ben Sketcher
That trip to Somerset was planned all along.
Karen Carpenter
What’s happening there, Ben?
Ben Sketcher
I’m still reading the stuff Gela sent me.
Karen Carpenter
Has the event started?
Ben Sketcher
People are joining the queue. Suited people RD 8 want to impress with free wine and nibbles.
Karen Carpenter
And here I am, watching a pasta-bake spin round in the microwave. We’re in the wrong jobs, Ben!
Ben Sketcher
The final essays all point to something happening at Thorney Coffin that changes the dynamics of the course. Jem thought Alyson – really Suzie – didn’t come back, and the rest covered, but we know now that’s not what happened.
Karen Carpenter
Who have you seen so far?
Ben Sketcher
Jem and Patrick. Patrick said Gela ‘opened the head and found it’, so he’ll send me his real essay. Not the one he submitted, or ‘the one they made him write for Cameron’.
Ben Sketcher
He handed me something and said it would give me access to the staff entrance. It’s a small, transparent resin cube. In this light, I can’t quite work out what’s inside it.
Karen Carpenter
A paperweight? Be careful. You don’t want the powers-that-be thinking you accepted a gift from a student!
Karen Carpenter
Everything OK? I only meant they might think it was a bribe, that’s all.
Ben Sketcher
There’s something horrible inside it.
Karen Carpenter
A dead scorpion again? They’re bad enough alive, but something about the way they curl up – ew, they’re even worse dead.
Ben Sketcher
It’s a human finger.
