12.03.10 

A new underground political group that call themselves, ‘The Fictionalists’ have recently come into the public eye after their living quarters or ‘squat’ was discovered in the Capitol building in Bracknell. The cluttered and unusual scene that the group left behind them, with tools scattered around unfinished machinery and clothes strewn on the floor, suggested that they had been planning on returning to the building to continue what they had started. There has however been no attempts to re-enter the building since the lair was discovered.

The owners of the building and the local Thames Valley police have been left mystified by the squatters, not only on the matter of how the group entered the building without appearing to damage it at all but also by what exactly the ‘Fictionalists’ were doing in the space. Left behind was a baffling metallic machine, the purpose of which is yet to be discovered, a DIY desk made out of pallets and bins complete with computer, printer and group manifestos, and an assortment of sleeping bags, travelling bags, an electronics table and maps and calendars for the groups planned next moves.

The Basingstoke Thames Valley police released an official statement after their investigation and said that after ‘a complete and thorough investigation into all the evidence and possible suspects there has been no leads towards any definite convictions’. They know that there were at least 2 males in the group who were illegally living in the Capitol building, but it is not certain whether or not there were others present with them while they were in the building. The police assured the owners of Capitol that they shall continue in the hunt for the mysterious Fictionalists but in the mean time the business can carry on as before, without worry of any further disturbances from the squatting group.

The Fictionalists left behind a large pile of printed manifestos that they obviously intended for public distribution. These manifestos explained the main objectives and derivatives of the political and social group who claimed themselves to be a ‘postmodern faction of the Situationist International’. The group say they use fiction ‘as a means to attain a level of happiness and fulfilment in life that may have previously been thought impossible.’ The bizarre and highly mysterious nature of the squatter’s entry and inhabitance of the space raises questions especially when thought of in relation to the claims made within the group’s manifesto. Was the Capitol building a place that the Fictionalist group stayed within while building their metal contraption? Or in fact, was the whole scenario a set-up, staged by the group, which is just one of their examples of ‘fiction’ that is intended to add excitement and intrigue into everyday life?

Unless the police find any suspects in relation to this case an answer to what happened is not likely to surface. The extraordinary events did stop here however, the Fictionalists appeared to have another surprise up their sleeve. Once the artists from Reading University entered the site to commence work, a student named Pete Montford claimed artistic responsibility for the work of the Fictionalists. The authorities were contacted over this claim but due to insufficient proof of the validity of his claim, no action was taken against Mr Montford.