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| All Images: Bristol Floating Harbour, February 2023 - August 2025 |
[Reconfigured Appropriated Texts]
Helicopter downdraft suddenly whips the surface - called-in from a remote control centre. The air rattles as gaudy vehicles rapidly assemble [The unit should be brightly coloured and response times are a critical factor]. Concrete is electrified in blue. The routines must be enacted according to each specific risk-assessment and there are also electronic systems available to help speed up and automatically record audit information. According to protocol, the immediate environment is surveyed for hazards and all control measures implemented. 5G technology has been placed around the water at specific ‘trigger’ entry points. It’s obvious something sinister is going on!
All rescue equipment should perform with low latency if deployed correctly. It may also be doughnut shaped. Inflatables are launched and key personnel take up a watching brief at decision points in pathways. Static crackles over radios and shouts are diced by the rotors. With all agencies represented, smart connectivity can make an immediate and positive impact on people’s lives, but sadly, we've turned peoples' deaths into memes over here, instead of sending a message. The line must be able to float, be highly visible and have a maximum length of 25m plus any expected maximum drop. It should also have little or no memory [a full version can be found at the back of the manual to photocopy and laminate].
There is a LOT of water, and is both hazardous and potentially toxic [short-term E-Coli levels in water can be caused by storm water runoff, which can carry with it animal faecal matter]. Metallic waves reveal nothing - but what lies beneath? volunteers have recovered a motorbike, novelty Christmas clothing, bikes, and an inflatable sex doll amongst other things. Extreme temperatures may freeze all good intentions, and probably give you cold water shock. That can cause you to gasp for breath, inhale water or panic, and can lead to drowning. Once unearthed or disconnected, we are easily lost at sea. Hidden currents can make it difficult to swim back to shore, even for the strongest swimmers. Stretch out your arms and legs. Lie back in the water.
The Basin collects lives as well as time. Complete drainage is of course possible, and the ROV is fitted with advanced sonar technology - enabling it to pinpoint individuals in reduced visibility. The methodology utilised provides a novel, useful, and relatively economical tool for future monitoring, but the service has not purchased the ROV and bodies may still drift far from understanding [all are subject to the daily flushings]. One of many reviews has been from a tidal expert, who recommended additional areas we could search further up.
That search goes on to no avail. Definitive tragedy is suspended. Localised mystery blurs into folklore and online theory. So-called psychics have climbed on board offering nothing beyond crackpot suggestions which merely muddy the already muddy waters. The investigation is subject to complaint, but our drone unit has been deployed 16 times during the searches carried out to date. Furthermore, each report is carefully assessed and triaged by detectives from our investigation team. We have detected the obscure impression of a lone CCTV wanderer, intoxicated and entrapped by the system in the early hours. He passes from one camera to another, struggling for focus. Momentarily, he gathers a little resolution, but is mostly a phantom trudging through static, snow and pixels. This footage is grainy and taken from a distance, however due to the timing, the location and the family’s views, we accept the new hypothesis. Zoom-in, push the image, study it once more.
The system becomes a maze after dark. It’s very dark, and when it is dark, it’s pitch black. In my mind, down there is a very unsavoury area [specifically, the second poorly-lit bridge area]. Few pass, fewer still lurk in the darkest wedges [motives are best left alone there]. The last call was truncated and the phone subsequently stifled, but we have carried out enquiries regarding the AirTag. Sadly, there is no data for this, due to there being no connection to a named personal account. A taxi out, then? - or some other, more dangerous ride? [there is ‘no evidence’ suggesting a serial killer is at loose, but 28 deaths remain unexplained]. Family members retrace the route with torches. As you go around this corner, it’s really not pleasant, but without love, where would we be right now? Circle the perimeter, cross the bridges, then spiral back down [he must have just thought, "How the hell am I going to get out of here?"]. A young man’s cloned face haunts the Basin, gazing across from multiple vantage points. The surface remains impassive. We wish for a happy ending, or at worst - a probability scale to make a proportionate judgement.
Written without A.I. [For better or worse]
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