Tales from the Loop – Newport 1984 – Spring (March to May)
Newport, but not as you know it.
Newport in South Wales. A Welsh coastal town that had a history steeped in trade. The Docks were a huge source of activity and saw steel and coal brought in and out on a regular basis but as times changed, so did the industry and Newport begun to dwindle into yet another half-forgotten Welsh town left to rot. British Steel built the Llanwern Steelworks and suddenly there was a ‘job for life’ for anyone who wanted one. The discovery of the Loop technology changed everything though.
In the background, Margaret Thatcher is waging war against the miners. Gerry Adams has been shot by the UVF, Neil Kinnock is fighting to keep the Labour Party relevant and Linol Richie is at number one in the charts with “Hello”.
The discovery of this technology brought about a new age of potential. Now, in 1984, it was common to see robots working in menial jobs. Vehicles would hover at hitherto unseen speeds down the M4. Huge floating tankers and smaller speedier dart like craft would be a regular sight across Newport and Cardiff. Despite the relatively quick and drastic advances in technology, people were already desensitised to it. In all fairness, that, in itself was quite odd…
Then there was the Loop itself.
Llanwern Steelworks, first built in 1962 was bought out in 1979 by XXXX The Swedish company, with a heavy involvement from a young local businessman by the name of Matthew Terrys, that revolutionised…well everything. There were many sites looked at throughout the UK but for some reason (That nobody seemed to know or understand), Llanwern was chosen and British Steel were made an off that they couldn’t refuse.
The construction of the Loop created several thousand jobs and brought money and talent to this relatively small Welsh town. With the advanced technologies in the fields of heavy machinery and robotics, coupled with the huge influx of workers, the Steelworks was transformed into a fully functioning Loop Energy reactor. The reactor provided enough energy to power the whole of the UK (and more besides if the conspiracy theories were to be believed).
The year is now 1984 and four friends aged 12 struggle to grow up in this now normal landscape. They each have their own problems at home but manage to find their escape through video games, roleplaying, breakdancing and various less legal practices such as sneaking into old derelict buildings to play Laser Tag.
But the Loop appears to have changed a lot of things and the adults either can’t or won’t see it. This means that it will be up to them to investigate and save the day.
Cruising for a Musing 