RoyalRoad Index Previous Next Galactic Union HQ "Emergency Session 18 of the Galactic Union, for the record," Secretary General Amanda Wilson said as she looked solemnly around at the hundreds of creatures in the chamber. At first, the Galactic Union headquarters were located in New York City, sharing spaces with Earth's United Nations. Then, as many other planets joined it, the UN General Assembly Hall became too small. A new, larger facility was built at Galactic Peace Island, formerly known as Navy Island, a previously uninhabited island on the Niagara between the US and Canada. The new assembly chamber was large enough for every planet to have one permanent seat. Though some would choose to participate in its proceedings virtually, every one of them had visited its spacious halls. The structure itself represented their sacred and collective agreement to resolve their differences together, to face big challenges together, and to guard the interests of all sentience. This was where galactic slavery was banned. This was where the first interspecies anti-piracy military ship was commissioned. This was where the ambassador of Ribb had come to humbly beg to be allowed to rejoin the galactic community. For humans, its location and the extreme technological requirements needed to quickly construct the large hall also served as a convenient reminder to the galaxy of the importance of the species that hosted and built it. "We have received a special petition regarding the issue of sovereignty over a member planet. I yield my time to their representative, joining us via virtual FTL comms," Amanda continued, pointing at the massive viewscreen above her. The screen cleared, and a large parrot like face appeared with intricate red and black paint adorning its features. "Hello Union members, my name is Mollikutta. I am the former Governor of Zakabara Second, and I am here to represent the interests of my people," she said calmly but loudly. There was a hubbub in the assembly hall. Zakabara already had a representative! Eyes began drifting towards the stunned Popptaw at the front of the chamber. "My people of Second split off from Zakabara Prime many thousands of years ago. We have developed a distinct culture, and distinct interests. Our people no longer wish to accept the jurisdiction and administration of our planet from Prime. We would like to ask the Galactic Union to grant us sovereignty over our planet, our resources, and our space." A loud squawk broke through the shocked chamber. It was Popptaw. "This is ridiculous! Zakabara Second is and has been a colony of Zakabara for all of our history! I am the true representative for all of our people, all of our species, and I demand that this pretender be ignored by this chamber from here on out!" The older species were nodding or agreeing silently. After all, Zakabara was not the only species that had a colony or two. Some younger species were looking to develop their own, and their ambassadors were now suddenly worried about whether they'd retain control over them. Mollikutta was undeterred and continued, "unlike the representative from Zakabara Prime, I was chosen to lead our people with a majority voice vote last night." It was not easy convincing the crowd to let her stay on with a promise of facilitating independence, with her being the symbol of the Primers on their planet for months. The flashy entry of the humans in their helicopter at the palace grounds did the trick. Mark promised the mob elections and everything. Humans had a lot of credibility in the galaxy, with their cultural and economic exports. At this point, there was more whispering and even some gasps in the chamber. They were all familiar with the concept of electoralism; that was how Earth and the GU conducted business, but few other species practiced it internally. Mollikutta continued, "my people deserve the right to determine the future of our destiny, not to be treated as second class citizens by an oppressive regime from a faraway planet that does not understand our people or our problems!" The undecided chamber looked to the great powers of the galaxy to see what they had to say. Amanda spoke up simply, "the people of Earth stand with the people of Second." Seeing this, Gubarak, the ambassador of Gakrek quickly followed, "Gaks stand with the people of Second." "The Zeepils of Zeep-zep support the Seconders' right to self-determination." Finally, an electronic tally showed an overwhelming majority of support for the independence of the people of Zakabara Second, with many older species choosing to abstain instead of casting their lot with Prime. A subsequent vote gave the Galactic Union the powers to oversee the transition. As Popptaw stormed angrily out of the chamber, Mollikutta wasn't sure which she found more beautiful: knowing that her people had a brighter future ahead of them, or watching the middle finger that the galaxy had just shown their other oppressors on Prime. Construction Site 1, Gophor Spaceport Grayin's heart sank as she saw Rey and Enrico walk over, hand in hand. She had hoped that it would take them longer to figure out what she was doing here and to start asking questions, but the growing pile of material and chopped wood frame in the lot she'd chosen wasn't easy to ignore. After all, they were easily visible from their neighboring restaurant. And nobody liked competition. "Hello Rey, hello Enrico" she said timidly, not wanting to start a confrontation this early in the business. "Good morning, Grayin," Rey greeted politely, "and N'har. How are things going? Looks like you guys are building some kind of a permanent structure here. Does this have to do with the spaceport?" From the familiar look on her face, Grayin knew the jig was up. She couldn't lie, so she tried confidence. "We're building a new restaurant building here. It'll be a two-story one, just like yours, except we'll also have a front patio. Like one I've seen on a magazine from Earth." Rey smiled broadly and said, "that's very nice. Good luck with that! And don't go anywhere, we'll be right back in a bit." Ah, shucks! They're gonna go get that security guard that they hang around. We should have thought of that, she thought. Maybe if we hired a couple of them, they wouldn't be messing with us. About an hour later, to her surprise, Rey and Enrico came back not with Grob, but with a plastic folder with a stack of papers held in it. "These are the contact information for the construction contractors we had on Earth for the more advanced issues we had when we were building our restaurant," Rey said. Handing her the folder, she added "and we've got our blueprints in there in case you need inspiration, as well as some interior design ideas. And let us know when you need help with water, electricity, and waste management." "Huh?" Grayin was dumbfounded. "You said you're constructing a new building here, right?" Enrico asked affably. "Yes. But why are you helping us?" she asked suspiciously. Surely, they couldn't be naive enough to not recognize the obvious site of a future competitor, right? "Oh, we're not worried about the competition if that's what you're thinking," Enrico smiled. Then he added, "besides, N'har here helped us out a bunch when we were building our business." He went over and patted the stunned N'har on the shoulders. "It's about time we returned the favor." Grayin was not sure if she'd gone crazy, or if it were just these two humans. Perhaps it was both. They were not crazy. Having gone to Hamburger University, Rey was familiar with the clustering effect. Enrico, who had been to a street lined with restaurants, also intuitively understood its existence. Hell, even the food vendors at the spaceport market knew this subconsciously. Businesses tend to cluster. For a long time, economists ignored this tendency because economists were generally not businesspeople. In the 1980s, as the field of business strategy really began to hit its stride, some of them started to take notice and study the effects of clusters. Why do businesses open up next to each other even though they'd face the stiffest competition there? As it turns out, the reason mostly has to do with economies of scale. When you ship something, like say napkins, to a hundred restaurants on a hundred different streets, it is costly. Far costlier than shipping napkins to a hundred restaurants on a single street. Apply that to every consumable good or maintenance need of every restaurant, and what ends up happening is that the cost of doing business in a cluster turns out to be much lower than outside. Sure, there may be strong competition, but clusters also increase foot traffic, which increases the overall pool of customers. This also happens on the labor side. That's why so many IT workers live in the Silicon Valley, why so many prospective actors and actresses live in Hollywood, and why so many jewelers live in Antwerp. In the even longer run, successful clusters make successful cities, and successful cities rake in profits for its businesses. In the case of Gophor, Rey and Enrico could not wait for the spaceport to develop a food court, with an even cheaper supply chain for imported goods from Earth. Additionally, the only logical move for these new buildings later on would be to hook up their utilities to their infrastructure. That would not only decrease their own cost but possibly allow them to earn a profit off that early investment. And it was certainly going to happen sooner or later, so why not maintain a good relationship with the folks who were about to maintain a large workforce and potential customers in the area? They offered the working Gaks some free ice cream (luckily, the ice cream machine was not broken that day), and went back to work. Four Months Later Grayin designated her new buildings Site 1, Site 2, and Site 3. They lined up side-by-side next to the next to the existing McDonald's building. Because many of the construction Gaks who were on her projects also worked with Rey, they were familiar with many of the human invented building techniques that were required. They could employ more workers with their lower pay, and after a short four months, the exterior for Site 1 was mostly completed. After a risky operation that shut down McDonald's itself for a weekend, they also managed to hook their building onto Rey's "utility company". After they celebrated the building's completion, the first thing they did was to ask Rey and Enrico whether they had an idea who on Earth would be interested in their new building. For reasons she and N'har still could not understand, the humans had been genuinely helpful and seemed utterly honest about their intentions to help her succeed. "Hmmm," Rey thought out loud when they asked, "there are a few restaurants that could really round out this spaceport. I think your best bet for the most money would be some kind of a luxury or fine dining establishment for traders." "Yeah, when we started, there were barely enough traders to make us profitable on them alone," Enrico completed her thought. Then he explained, "we got lucky that our business is cheap enough for locals. Now most of our business is with Gaks. But with how many bigger ships are coming in with larger crews, I think you could definitely sustain a restaurant that charged higher prices for less volume." Grayin had seen human commercials for fine dining restaurants. Big empty spaces between tables, fixed courses, and very fancy service. She wasn't sure that it would be the right business model for Gophor, even with the increase in foot traffic. And she knew next to nothing about starting a restaurant business. But she didn't have to run it. She just had to rent it to someone who would. "Okay," Grayin decided, then asked, "so who would you suggest we contact for someone who would be interested?" Rey thought about it for a while, but she realized she didn't know. Her contacts really didn't extend much beyond the company she'd work for her entire life. She replied honestly, "I don't know. You could contact Izzy, who we got to handle our rental deal, and ask her if she could give you a recommendation. That's what I'd do." After getting Isabella's contact information, Grayin and N'har thanked them and started strategizing the call. Chicago, Earth "It's another alien trying to rent us property on line three, Izzy," her secretary said to her calmly, as if this was something he did every week. In a way, it was. Thousands of planets had seen what happened on Gakrek with Rey's franchise. If they were not innovative, at least they could copy. Isabella had to reject many good offworld deals that just didn't have the right infrastructure or didn't make business sense, especially on the smaller spaceports. She did pretty well for herself too. New corner office. New secretary. New frequent flier card for the recently opened Galactic Express chartered flight company, for when she needed to inspect prospective renters or sellers. "From where?" she asked smoothly. She had one of those galactic maps projected onto her office wall, with flags on some of her acquisitions. Some school aged kids are learning galactic geography now, but a textbook couldn't teach you which planets had the best economic conditions and on which ones the bribes were cheaper. No, that's what Wikipedia was for. "It appears to be Gakrek," her secretary replied, "Gophor Spaceport." Isabella frowned. That's where Rey's franchise was. She wasn't sure there were enough local customers there to support two franchises, and if it did, expanding the spaceport one would probably be the smarter move. She picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Isabella at Franchise Realty Corporation, how may I help you today?" "Hello Isabella, my name is Grayin. I am from Gophor, on Gakrek. I am a friend of Rey, and I am trying to rent out my property. She said you might be able to recommend someone we could talk to," came her translated voice through the phone. "Sure," Isabella said, looking up contacts on her tablet. It would be nice to do Rey a favor here. After all, Rey had kickstarted her own offworld real estate career. "What kind of business are you looking for?" "Oh, it's very similar to Rey's building. We have an additional patio out front with space for outside seating, but other than that, it's pretty much the same. She even let us use her blueprints. We're hoping to find a fine dining business willing to take it on," Grayin replied, mirroring what the humans told her earlier. "I see," Isabella replied, still searching but suddenly paying a lot more attention to this conversation. She could add two and two together. If this was a completed building just like their existing franchise and this was a friend of Rey's, the business opportunities here were… "Just out of curiosity, how much are you looking to charge for rent?" Caught slightly off guard, Grayin answered honestly, "we thought we could charge 120,000 credits a month to a big chain, a little more than Rey's because we have more space." Holy smokes, Isabella thought, another unbelievably great deal. Gophor was just the gift that kept on giving. Normally, her managers wouldn't approve a deal renting another piece of real estate right next to one of their franchises for fear of cannibalizing their own business, but commercial real estate was their bread-and-butter moneymaker. Who cares what fine dining restaurant the folks upstairs would eventually decide to sublet this out to? They wouldn't turn down a free win like this one. "In that case, I think I might actually be interested in your space," Isabella said, putting down her tablet. "When are you free to do a walkthrough?" Site 1, Gophor Spaceport Grayin and N'har watched warily as the spaceport manager entered the front of their newly built construction. It was Garber. Grayin knew exactly what he was there for. "Welcome to our new building, Garber," she greeted him at the door with a neutral tone, "how can we help you?" "Ah, Grayin. It's nice to see you," Garber said in a grating snivel, "you look well. I was sad to see you leave our space traffic control tower." You probably just missed skimming off my salary, Grayin fumed, but kept that part to herself. He continued, "as you know very well, we have a tradition of maintaining our spaceport here on the donations of our merchants. I'm here to assess a suitable amount for your new store." "How much do you have in mind?" N'har asked. Garber looked over as if he'd just noticed N'har's presence, and stroked his snout thoughtfully. He knew he wildly undercharged the humans in the other store. He would not make the same mistake here. Garber didn't know how much Rey's franchise was actually taking in income, but he thought a ten times increase would be a fairly safe bet. "I think we can start at five hundred fifty credits a month," he sniffed, "that seems reasonable to me." Both Grayin and N'har managed to keep their composure at this incredibly low figure that represented less than 0.5% of the deal they were going to sign with Isabella later. N'har glanced to his left, where he noticed Grayin was already taking out her wallet. He gave her a slight shake of his head and sent her a telepathic "no" with his eyes. He would rather Garber not come back with a higher "donation" request every time they built a new building here. N'har pretended to haggle with Garber, "that seems like a lot of money, Garber. I hear Rey pays much less than that. And we're going to build several more buildings here in the future." Garber chewed on that thought for a while. After all, he was a reasonable and logical Gak. If what they were saying is true, there will be plenty more credits to extract from them in the future. "Hmm, in that case, I can give you a discount. Five hundred credits a month," Garber said generously, then added, "but you have to donate that same amount for every new building you put on my spaceport. That's my final offer. We all want your business to be successful." N'har almost had to stop Grayin from throwing her GC card at Garber. Constellar Contracting started as a mercenary company on Earth, increasingly taking over the combat roles in humanity's numerous small wars. Due to limited oversight on their operations, they were able to aggressively expand during the early 21st century. Unfortunately for them, peace came to Earth. It wasn't full utopian world peace, but with economic booms happening on every corner of the globe and weather patterns stabilizing with humanity's fix for climate change, there was less motivation for planetary conflict. So Constellar turned to the stars. Even in the great galactic Pax Hominum brought on by Earth's economic expansions, there were plenty of opportunities out there for a corporation offering premium security solutions. After all, there were plenty of conflicts and business to go around in a galaxy of thousands of planets. Olgix was merely one of them. Territorial Space, Zakabara Second "Space Lord, we have an incoming communication for you!" Canouah, the great Space Lord of Zakabara, looked at his subordinate with surprise. His underlings were getting very good at their tasks and normally did not need micromanaging to enforce this months-long blockade. Annoyed, he said, "very well, open it." "This is Commandant Marie Laurent of the French Space Force, representing the Galactic Union Peacekeeping Force. We are here to enforce our mandate under explicit invitation from the government of Zakabara Second, to ensure that their legal territorial space remains clear of hostile ships. And to facilitate the resumption of trade to the planet. Please stand down your ships and vacate this area within twenty four hours to ensure a peaceful transition of power. Thank you for your cooperation." Then the human connection cut out without waiting for a reply. "Someone get me planetary command!" "How many ships do they have?" Popptaw asked from the viewscreen. Clearly, fighting her way out of this situation was in her instinct. "Unknown. We could only find the source of the one ship that brought the message, but once they ended their transmission, they sped into a debris field and vanished among the trash," cursed Canouah. He had heard about how Earth ships could disappear like a worm in the mud, but hadn't truly believed it until he saw with his own two eyes. "We can't fight an enemy we do not see, with weapons we can't match, and numbers we don't know." "So we just give up? We spend all that time and resources building a space fleet for you, and they mean absolutely nothing just because Earth sends maybe one ship?!" Popptaw asked furiously. "No, we can move back to Prime and protect our home from the humans for when they invade us," Canouah said sadly, "but we can't engage them offensively in deep space around Second. It will just be a waste of ships, and as far as we know, they can build many more of them than we can. We should pull our ships back to defend home." "No!" Popptaw screeched. "You won't take one step backwards from our defense of OUR system! That's an order!" "What do you want me to do? Just shoot randomly at empty space until we hit something?" the exasperated space Lord asked. Then, looking at the phone, he realized she'd already hung up. "What do we do, space Lord?" one of his loyal lieutenants asked, looking at him for guidance on the ambiguous and clearly stupid order. Canouah thought for a while. Then he had an idea, "we'll wait out the twenty-four hour time limit. If we see any of them, we'll shoot at a couple of them and tell Popptaw we tried. Then we pull back. I'm not going to let thousands of my birds die just because she forgot to take her pills this morning." Gophor Spaceport, Gakrek "Do you think we should tell them they're pretty much getting fleeced by Izzy?" Enrico asked, looking out their second story window at their neighbors celebrating the deal signing. "Nah, it's not that bad for them. One hundred twenty is below market value, but they'll still make their startup costs back in less than half a year," his girlfriend replied. "Besides, no need to go over and ruin their party. They'll learn to charge a higher price next time. Just like how Izzy learned to put that new utility clause in offworld deals." Most of Grayin's family and friends were here to join in on the celebration. N'har's clan was back on Yis'Meh, but they would be sure to celebrate with them later as well. "Chug! Chug! Chug!" the crowd yelled at N'har as he guzzled down his mug of Earth imported beer. They didn't live on a wealthy planet, but nobody ever accused the Gaks of not knowing how to have fun. In one quick motion, he quickly drained his cup, and then turned around to plant a big sloppy kiss on the sensitive snout of a surprised Grayin. The crowd went silent for a second. Then, unanimously, they roared their approval in a loud cheer. A beet-red Grayin returned the favor. Territorial Space, Zakabara Second "We see a ping again, commander!" Rekala reported. The humans had some strange technology that allowed them to disappear into the background of orbital debris around Second, but from time to time, they would show up on the radar as they maneuvered. His commander mulled over this latest development and her orders. "How far are they from us?" she asked. Frowning at the radar, Rekala replied, "The ship radar thinks it might be about 320 kilometers away, but its signature is weak and that's at the very edge of our detection range." "Are they within the MAR?" she asked. This was a loan word borrowed from humans. Many of their technology had been public knowledge, and the nerd birds who scoured the Internet for valuable information had found an air-to-air combat tactical guide. It became standard training material for Zakabaran spacecraft crews. In this case, MAR stood for Minimum Abort Range. It's the range at which the target would no longer be able to avoid missiles fired from the spacecraft by firing their thrusters. "No, commander, way out. They'll have over half a minute to respond if we fire now," Rekala replied. His commander contemplated the information. Their standing orders were to fire warning shots at the humans, but not to destroy them. She doubted that was even possible in the first place. "Alright, let's load up our missile and fire it at the signature. Let's see what they do." At the very least, this should be a training experience for the crew. Like most of the Zakabaran fleet, they'd only fired a missile once before, and they had to retrieve and top up the fuel in it after the exercise. Some crews had not even been allowed to train with the system at all. "I have a lock, commander," Rekala said. He didn't want to start an interplanetary war today. But he wasn't going to disobey orders. "Fire," she said with more certainty. He depressed the trigger. An indigenous copy of an old human missile slid out of the cargo bay. And then, nothing happened. It just sat there. "What the hell?" Rekala exclaimed, "it worked last time!" When air-to-air missiles were invented on Earth, they encountered many issues. Early missiles were generally unreliable. One of those problem missiles was the American-made AIM-4 Falcon. The Falcon had bad combat performance. It was designed to shoot down enemy bombers rather than fighters. It ended up doing neither. The American planes that could only carry missiles, specifically the Falcon, were often outclassed in dogfights by Soviet made planes over Vietnam. It achieved few combat kills. The biggest problem with early experimental Falcons was that it was completely enclosed in a tube before deployment, so it could only lock-on after launch. This meant that early tests of the Falcon involved firing the missile at where you see the enemy planes, and then hoping that the seeker on the Falcon would also see and track the target on the way. This was the model that the Zakabarans copied. However, the engineers on Prime were not stupid. They knew this was an issue from the start. They solved this problem on their copied missile; it had a radio that allowed it to communicate targets with the ship's radar before it fired. The lock-on could be done before firing. The second biggest problem with Falcon was that the seeker was slow because its coolant took a long time to cool. It would take many precious seconds to lock onto enemy planes. The engineers on Prime disregarded this problem. This made sense because ships would have plenty of time to see the enemy in space before they were in range. Combat in space happened much more slowly than in an atmosphere. Unfortunately for Rekala and his crew, the coolant in the radar seeker was consumed as it tracked a target. After they fired their missile in the training exercise, they retrieved it and topped off the fuel. They did not refill the liquid nitrogen for the seeker. When the missile deployed, its radar turned towards what the ship told it was an ugly human target… and saw absolutely nothing. "Alright, let's get out of here before the humans see us!" "They're moving away from us now," the sensor operator reported to Lt Col Riku. "Hmm… I wonder if they even saw us." University of Zakabara Prime "So they can only be fired once?!" Canouah shouted at the lead engineer angrily. "Well… if you want to use it again, you need to refill the coolant as well," she told him. "Why weren't we made aware of this?!" "You never asked! We didn't realize that you were going to fire them multiple times! And oh yeah, you may need to manually reset the onboard computer." "What?!" Canouah asked, confused. "Why the computer?" The engineer fidgeted uncomfortably and explained, "there were some bad memory leaks in the guidance program, so we just doubled the onboard memory and figured that it was a problem that would solve itself when they hit their targets and exploded." That… was simultaneously the most brilliant and idiotic thing he'd ever heard. Canouah shot her a withering glare, and then he picked up his radio to his lieutenant. "Yeah, pull back our ships to the line the humans drew. All our ships. We need time to refit and rearm them." "If we start a fight out there now, we'll do no better than the frogheads." This marks the end of the Gakrek arc, but their impact will still be seen in subsequent chapters. The missile memory leak is a reference to a commonly known engineer meme/story. Here it is in its entirety: I was once working with a customer who was producing on-board software for a missile. In my analysis of the code, I pointed out that they had a number of problems with storage leaks. Imagine my surprise when the customers chief software engineer said "Of course it leaks". He went on to point out that they had calculated the amount of memory the application would leak in the total possible flight time for the missile and then doubled that number. They added this much additional memory to the hardware to "support" the leaks. Since the missile will explode when it hits it's target or at the end of it's flight, the ultimate in garbage collection is performed without programmer intervention. 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Great DD on XXII - Plant biotech company working with cannabis/tobacco/various other plants. Huge catalysts coming soon.
Image from 2/4 XXII is a plant biotechnology company working primarily with tobacco and hemp/cannabis. "Our primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the harm caused by smoking by bringing our proprietary reduced nicotine content tobacco cigarettes – containing 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes – to adult smokers in the U.S. and international markets." "Our primary mission in hemp/cannabis is to develop proprietary hemp/cannabis plants with valuable cannabinoid profiles and agronomic traits and to commercialize those plants through a synergistic portfolio of strategic partnerships in the hemp/cannabis industry." XXII can achieve these things through methods mentioned in their patents. They have patents for controlling nicotine production in tobacco, but they also have patents to control the production of cannabinoids and terpenes in the cannabis plant. "We are delighted to receive this patent, which is the result of work carried out by our own scientists. This important, new technology will allow us to genetically modify hemp/cannabis plants to modulate their cannabinoid and terpene profiles in order to tailor these plants’ therapeutic qualities and enhance the consumer’s hemp/cannabis experience," said Juan Sanchez Tamburrino, Ph.D., vice president of research & development at 22nd Century Group. "Our patent application describes eight promoters, which are essentially molecular on/off switches, covering all of the major steps in the cannabinoid biosynthesis pathway. Typically, developing hemp/cannabis plants with new cannabinoid or terpene profiles could take 10 to 20 years using traditional breeding methods. Now, with the combined technologies and know-how of 22nd Century and KeyGene, we expect to shorten the development timeline to create new, differentiated, hemp/cannabis plant lines in just 4 to 5 years. Doing so will provide the Company and its potential licensees and customers with significant competitive advantage as hemp/cannabis continues to penetrate the life science, consumer product, and pharmaceutical markets.” “We are very pleased to receive this patent which reflects the ingenuity and expertise of our talented scientific team. This new technology allows us to reduce nicotine in any tobacco variety. Importantly, this breakthrough further demonstrates that the FDA’s Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation to limit the nicotine content of all cigarettes sold in the United States is technically feasible and at the same time refutes the claim from ‘Big Tobacco’ that such low nicotine levels cannot be achieved in multiple tobacco varieties,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. “I am proud of the significant R&D gains we continue to make as we work to achieve our mission to reduce the harm caused by smoking and seek to significantly disrupt the $100 billion U.S. and the $800 billion global tobacco industries with our proprietary reduced nicotine tobacco products.” The new patent and allowed claims, published as U.S. Patent No. 10,669,552 and entitled “Up-regulation of auxin response factor NbTF7 to decrease nicotine in a plant,” cover methods of manipulating plant metabolism and alkaloid levels by controlling transcription factor NbTF7, which regulates the nicotinic alkaloid biosynthetic pathway. The patent enables the Company’s use of next-generation gene modification technologies that afford greater flexibility for genetic control over nicotine levels in virtually any variety of the tobacco plant. EDIT - 2/10/2021 -
"22nd Century Group announced today that it has developed and launched a new, cutting-edge technology platform that will enable the Company and its strategic partners to quickly identify and incorporate commercially valuable traits of hemp/cannabis plants to create new, stable hemp/cannabis lines. The platform incorporates a suite of proprietary molecular tools and a large library of genomic markers and gene-trait correlations. The platform was developed in collaboration with researchers at KeyGene, a global leader in plant research involving high-value genetic traits and increased crop yields. This is a major breakthrough. Quickly and easily identifying the genes responsible for specific traits in a plant is a powerful tool for 22nd Century Group and the hemp/cannabis industry as a whole,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. “That is why we are even now beginning discussions to license this platform to strategic partners to help them improve their plant breeding techniques and to optimize their hemp/cannabis cultivars. We continue to make great advancements through our partnership with KeyGene, and this newly developed molecular breeding platform has the potential to result in exponential growth for the Company’s revenues and create new value opportunities for our stakeholders, including shareholders.” "Using this new breeding technology, 22nd Century has already characterized millions of high-value single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs are molecular markers or guideposts within a plant’s genome that indicate important variations in Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences. Targeting these newly identified SNPs, 22nd Century was able to locate and isolate specific sections of genetic code from genome assemblies present in the Company’s state-of-the-art hemp/cannabis bioinformatics database. 22nd Century’s bioinformatics database continues to grow and already contains hundreds of hemp/cannabis genomes and thousands expression datapoints across a wide array of hemp/cannabis varieties and phenotypes. The ability to identify specific genetic variations allows researchers to isolate high-value traits, like increased CBD or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) production, and then introduce those traits in new plant lines using modern plant breeding techniques, including trait tracking using molecular marker profiles and the Company’s proprietary accelerated breeding pipeline. " Paul Rushton, the inventor behind the Cannabis patents for XXII, recently stated on linkedin that it's a good time to invest in XXII. He was a little sour that he wasn't mentioned for his work. :( https://preview.redd.it/m54isyq0bsb61.png?width=540&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9b20bb531a27469b5610f45f6a9e5dc260e7c3d https://preview.redd.it/wtjubwey54c61.png?width=566&format=png&auto=webp&s=a68bbb184fb806142f208e4f1f2ee4aa166c2483 I reached out to Paul to try and get an idea of how the cannabis patent works and how it could provide value for the company. Here was his response - https://preview.redd.it/x3j9l88dyzc61.png?width=469&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6ba4ecf6b7e38661ac9a89f8bc9a58519e8b81e XXII also works with hemp, the other side of marijuana. Using their patented processes, they are able to grow 0% THC hemp. Hemp was legalized in the 2018 farm bill and is determined by having less than .3% THC (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana). Hemp/Marijuana with more than that amount of THC is usually illegal to use and must be destroyed. Using XXII's patented process and technology, you can get a much more reliable hemp grow. "Hemp crops are tested for THC levels; under U.S. federal law, crops containing above 0.3% THC are required to be destroyed. Currently, farmers cannot obtain crop insurance to protect against this risk. 22nd Century has developed a solution to this problem by creating industrial hemp plants that contain zero THC." The Global Industrial Hemp Market size is expected to grow from USD 3,528.72 Million in 2019 to USD 18,812.81 Million by 2025 at a CAGR of 32.17% during the forecast period. Onto their tobacco - The idea behind their low-nicotine tobacco is VLN (Very Low Nicotine) cigarettes. 22nd Century has 18 publishes clinical studies, with another 27 clinical studies currently ongoing, (Heavily funded by the National Institute of Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the FDA.) that show that using VLN cigarettes lead to decreased nicotine consumption, decreased cigarettes smoked over time and increased quit attempts. Quit rates while using VLN + NRTs (Nicotine replacement therapies) were higher than when using NRTs alone.Withdrawals were less severe using VLN than using other NRTs. https://preview.redd.it/2ns5nvopwah61.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=f50778558daad2d24e61445985c82a41b28810a6 Here you can see that an immediate swap over to VLN can lead to a 50% reduction in CPD. Even dual-use of VLN with regular cigarettes leads to a decrease in CPD. On top of this, studies were done to measure compensatory use in response to using VLN, and they show that compensatory smoking does not occur, even in vulnerable populations. Because cigarettes smoked per day decreases when using VLN, exposure to toxicants outside of just nicotine will also occur. There is a rigorous process to put tobacco products on the market. First there is the PMTA (Pre market tobacco product application) which allows a company to put it’s products on the market. XXII received this approval in December 2019. They have not brought the product to market just yet because they want to make sure it can be labelled appropriately so consumers know what makes it different. Then there is the MRTP (Modified risk tobacco product). This essentially allows the company to make specific claims in regards to modified risk/exposure from using their products. XXII is seeking a MODIFIED EXPOSURE claim to put on the packaging. They want to label the packaging to say that VLN has 95% less nicotine than leading brands and helps reduce nicotine consumption. https://preview.redd.it/e8nfcri91bh61.png?width=626&format=png&auto=webp&s=96ccf5edb33ee4bd952f9c87364aeaaf34d2e95d In the TPSAC meeting on Feb 14th 2020, the FDA preliminarily substantiated these statements. - https://preview.redd.it/clfu44qg1bh61.png?width=717&format=png&auto=webp&s=f70bcb6d3841bda2d7a9f40b35d4735ecc5b929a Mish, the CEO of XXII, has been saying since about September that they have been in close contact with the FDA and feel that it is a matter of WHEN, not if, MRTP approval happens. They were expecting it in Q4-2020, but that did not happen. No new timelines have been announced. Soon after saying this, Mish proceeded to purchase 100,000 shares of XXII. Mish continues to say that even a small percent of the market (.25%) would be enough to drive stock price up to $10. According to CDC and the WHO, there are over 1 billion smokers in the world. Over 34 million in the US. 2/3 of Adult smokers want to quit, and 1/2 of adult smokers made an attempt to quit in the past year. Less than 10% of smokers successfully quit. Not only this, but according to a perception study done by XXII, 9% of participants DEFINITELY would use VLN. 16% are very likely to use. 34% are somewhat likely to use. https://preview.redd.it/qbbw409y5qb61.png?width=1276&format=png&auto=webp&s=29149dc518a92a7b2d75b095511711c266815c5b XXII has said previously that they currently have the ability to supply 1% of the smoker population, increased to 2-3% with minimal investments. Last week, XXII put out an update that they are SIGNIFICANTLY increasing their VLN crop growing program in support of anticipated demand. "This new planting for VLN® tobacco is in addition to the Company’s sizeable inventory of VLN® tobacco, which is earmarked for the launch and initial sales of 22nd Century’s VLN® reduced nicotine content cigarettes. 22nd Century’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application for VLN® cigarettes is currently in the final stage of review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Once authorization is granted, 22nd Century will begin marketing its VLN® cigarettes, which contain 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarette brands. Having the only combustible cigarette with a modified exposure claim authorized by the FDA could serve as a catalyst for 22nd Century’s commercial sales as capturing even a small fraction of U.S. tobacco sales could result in exponential growth in the Company’s revenues and market capitalization." “There are more than 34 million smokers in the United States and research shows that a majority of these smokers are looking for alternatives. When shown samples of VLN®, 60 percent of adult smokers in our studies indicated an interest in using VLN® cigarettes. Additionally, in a 2019 U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey, 80 percent of U.S. smokers favored reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes. We believe adult smokers will be very interested in VLN®, and this new crop of VLN® tobacco will help us to fulfill the expected demand based on our latest sales projections.” They've also said they have been in talks with companies who are very excited to feature the first and only MRTP approved combustible product, and that they will have a rollout and be on shelves within 90 days of MRTP approval. And they said they are not giving out raises or promotions until MRTP approval is received. This was 5-6 months ago, too. Mish described this MRTP approval as a home run scenario which I think we can all agree he is right. However there is also a GRAND SLAM scenario. The FDA and various other groups have been working for years to limit the nicotine content in tobacco. In 2017 the FDA created a comprehensive plan for tobacco which included limiting nicotine content in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. Then in 2018 they released an article titled "How Could Lowering Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes Change the Future of Public Health? ". The same year, the NEJM published this report titled "Potential Public Health Effects of Reducing Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes in the United States" indicating that such a standard could save millions of lives in the US alone. Considering there are only 34 million current smokers in the US, that seems HUGE. Imagine for the rest of the 966 million+ smokers in the world. Trump's administration took the nicotine standard off the board close to the end of 2019 (oddly, right before the FDA under him approved the PMTA for XXIIs cigarettes). Soon after, elected officials, attorney generals all were contacting the FDA requesting they reconsider implementing this nicotine policy. - Kamala Harris & 22 other democrat senators - https://preview.redd.it/c2it63fz5qb61.png?width=874&format=png&auto=webp&s=fa502bd2c430a297fb24626ece2c570d2cdad680 Xavier Becerra (California AG) and 5 other AGs - stating they support the nicotine standard and want it to apply to all tobacco products. https://preview.redd.it/a9e0t4816qb61.png?width=672&format=png&auto=webp&s=c7fa2206c8958e6d6e746cec3b02c7be695cf4f1 Representative Pallone https://preview.redd.it/k2glwd546qb61.png?width=604&format=png&auto=webp&s=bb2fca66dea03eb1d1a0b92424b087d6f19da397 Two days after Pallone's tweet, this article came out about nicotine mandate talks being resumed. Xavier becerra and Kamala Harris are obviously close to Biden, but so is David Kessler who has vocally supported a nicotine mandate since 2010. On December 8th, XXII announced the the FDA/NIDA and others have submitted an order for 3.6 million of XXII's variable nicotine cigarettes for study purposes. This provides continued optimism in the FDA's goal to limit nicotine content in cigarettes. There is already mountains of evidence supporting a nicotine mandate. This mandate would heavily benefit XXII. They are the only company in the world that can produce tobacco with virtually no nicotine. Other companies have attempted to create low nicotine cigarettes by extracting the nicotine from regular tobacco in a variety of methods, but all of these methods influence the feel, flavor, and smell of the tobacco going into the cigarette, and it shows. See Philip Morris's 'Next' cigarette.) Given this, if a mandate goes into effect, big tobacco has a couple choices. Find some alternative method of extracting nicotine that somehow doesn't fuck up the plant (yet to be found and proven), They could spend decades working on science that xxii has already figured out and patented (obviously the worst choice), or they can work with xxii to produce their tobacco. XXII has already said that they are open to licensing with all tobacco companies. Biden has announced that his administration will lead with a CDC, NIH, and FDA free from political influence. They will lead based on science. https://preview.redd.it/j7apzkqoced61.png?width=1449&format=png&auto=webp&s=14ab5b6b83ab21b7bd39f276e5b1de15ae5750fc And although no permanent FDA commissioner has been named, Janet Woodcock has been named acting head while they vet other candidates for the permanent position. Woodcock, along with ex-FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb and Mitch Zeller, wrote a letter outlining the FDAs comprehensive approach to tobacco. https://preview.redd.it/0nz1qk5ceed61.png?width=914&format=png&auto=webp&s=d00840ca6dae8d1987443335ec626aafe282c587 Most prominent on the list of candidates for the permanent role is Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, who seems to be a large proponent for the nicotine mandate. https://preview.redd.it/rvtekc91ded61.png?width=634&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6faa84f3e6f59b74feb72c6ec52457dec5d86c1 To top all of this off, a report came out recently stating that cigarette sales in 2020 did not decline. Compared to 2018-2019 year over year sales, which shows a 5.5% reduction in sales, 2019-2020 year over year sales were flat. Another report came out showing nicotine promotes breast cancer metastasis (Cancer's ability to move around the body). "Smoking has a profound impact on tumor immunity, and nicotine, which is the major addictive component of smoke, is known to promote tumor progression despite being a non-carcinogen. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic exposure of nicotine plays a critical role in the formation of pre-metastatic niche within the lungs by recruiting pro-tumor N2-neutrophils. This pre-metastatic niche promotes the release of STAT3-activated lipocalin 2 (LCN2), a secretory glycoprotein from the N2-neutrophils, and induces mesenchymal-epithelial transition of tumor cells thereby facilitating colonization and metastatic outgrowth." As the vaping epidemic continues, we are discovering possible health issues related to vape use. In addition studies are showing students who had previously tried an e-cigarette are 3x more likely to try a regular cigarette. "Scientists at the University of Hawaii found e-cigarettes promoted cigarette smoking among young people. The researchers interviewed more than 2,000 high school students in 2013 and again a year later. About a third of those students said they had tried an e-cigarette by the time they were first interviewed. A year later, students who had previously smoked e-cigarettes were about three times more likely to have tried a regular cigarette, compared with those who had not used e-cigarettes." Recently, James Mish, the CEO of XXII, wrote an opinion article on the nicotine mandate that was, in my opinion, very well written and not at all pumping his company. You may be thinking 'Oh, but I bet Big tobacco has been working on this behind closed doors...' But in 2018 Big tobacco stated they would not be able to produce this kind of tobacco for 12-20+ years. XXII has it now, and is willing to work with these companies on licensing. https://preview.redd.it/0u21qk5u9ye61.png?width=712&format=png&auto=webp&s=172a565df4695d7449c495500102a70c026226a2 https://preview.redd.it/y3zzw5xz9ye61.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a71569e697be7e322684a54ea359dd727c3ff01 The public health and economic impacts of tobacco use are immense and seemingly ignored. The WHO says tobacco use alone accounts for a quarter of all cancer deaths globally. According to the CDC - More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. Worldwide, tobacco use causes more than 7 million deaths per year. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the USA, including 41,000 from secondhand smoke. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1300 deaths every day. Not only is it a major public health issues (killing more people than covid), but it ends up also being a major drain financially. Smoking costs the US more than $300 billion each year. 170 billion in medical care and 156 billion in lost productivity and premature death. Aside from the mandate and VLN cigarettes, there is also substantial room for growth into different industries for tobacco - https://preview.redd.it/szmj7kp27qb61.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3bf9e757e38eabe752944de6e4f8184dd33ef82 For example, XXII was just recently granted another patent for "Increasing the levels of nicotinic alkaloids in plants". "Due to the paucity of research, there is a need for identifying genes that increase nicotine biosynthesis and accumulation. For example, because nicotinic alkaloids play an important role in protecting plants against insects and herbivores, it is likely to be advantageous to increase nicotinic alkaloid synthesis in a host plant. From an herbivory perspective, increased nicotine synthesis and accumulation would provide an environmentally acceptable means for mediating plant-pest interactions. " Possibly getting into natural pesticides? Nicotine/tobacco has been used this way for some time (not in a large scale), but they could possibly optimize this. "Cedric Briens and colleagues note that concerns about the health risks of tobacco have reduced demand and hurt tobacco farmers in some parts of the world. Scientists are looking for new uses for tobacco. One potential use is as a natural pesticide, due to tobacco’s content of toxic nicotine. For centuries, gardeners have used home-made mixtures of tobacco and water as a natural pesticide to kill insect pests. A “green” pesticide industry based on tobacco could provide additional income for farmers, and as well as a new eco-friendly pest-control agent, the scientists say." Link "In addition to the more traditional applications for increased nicotine products, such as cigarettes and other tobacco products, recent pharmacological studies suggest a therapeutic role for nicotine and related compounds. For example, several research groups are presently studying drugs that target nicotine receptors as a means for treating cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and age-related memory loss. Singer, “The Upside to Nicotine,” Technology Review (Jul. 28, 2006). Acetylcholine receptor ligands, such as nicotine, have been demonstrated to have effects on attention, cognition, appetite, substance abuse, memory, extra pyramidal function, cardiovascular function, pain, and gastrointestinal motility and function. U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,041. Thus, there are therapeutic benefits of nicotine and related compounds, and thus there is a need for improved methods for producing them." Pharmaceuticals? Another notable area here is the vaccine industry. Who knew Tobacco plants were involved in about 1/3 of all plant-based vaccines? https://preview.redd.it/qmics1dw2if61.png?width=506&format=png&auto=webp&s=b7e8ab02485bf24cd77bef720f507407e56362d4 "Plant-based vaccine production offers better alternative over egg-based and cell-based vaccine production systems, by reducing lead time and increasing reliability and versatility. Furthermore, plant-based vaccine offers greater antigen specificity in disease treatment. Plant-based vaccine production enables manufacturers to create vaccine, which precisely matches the specific strain of influenza virus in patient’s circulation, as in case of flu infection, influenza virus mutates is constantly. For instance, according to Phase III clinical data study published by Medicago, in September 2017, Medicago's VLP vaccine during the phase II clinical trial stage showed higher antibody and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) responses over comparator conventional vaccine. However, several challenges in manufacturing of plant-based vaccines is expected to restrain growth of the market. Plant-based vaccine production is a new technology and involves complex manufacturing and regulatory process. In plant-based vaccine production method, manufacturers use only specific gene, which codes for protein called hemagglutinin, which is responsible for triggering immune system and encodes it into the tobacco plant leaves. In this context, companies need to pursue the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to state that not only plant-based vaccine is safe and effective, but also the hemagglutinin or other proteins, which can be extracted from the plant leaves are according to the mentioned standard and that the manufacturing process yields a uniform and reliable product." It's possible XXII could become a tobacco provider for this as the science is further developed. This is major speculation though as it looks like Medicago has a good foothold in this market. On the cannabis side, xxii is creating proprietary plant lines with essentially customizable amounts of specific cannabinoids and terpenes. With Democratic control, we are expecting to see decriminalization for sure. But now that Dems also have the senate we can expect to see cannabis removed as a schedule 1 drug, opening it up to funding for research purposes. Any of this research is poised to benefit XXII heavily as they have control to customize plant lines for various purposes. Recently, legislation has been proposed to "ensure that research on CBD and other potentially beneficial marijuana-derived substances is based on sound science while simultaneously reducing the regulatory barriers associated with conducting research on marijuana. " XXII also is waiting to announce a third plant franchise until they have established the IP, but it should be soon. CEO has announced that the plant is similar in genome to the cannabis plant, and that the plant will make their franchises into a 'trifecta'. Because of this I think the third plant franchise is going to be hops. It's similar in genome... Tobacco...Cannabis...Beer... What a trifecta. I believe they could control terpene levels in hops which could be very influential in the craft beer industry. Update - 1/28/2021 -XXII just announced that they are moving offices! This is a huge upgrade for them from their previous office. It's in an up and coming area, and it provides them opportunity to further grow their business. They wouldn't be doing this if they weren't preparing for the launch of VLN. Here is an image of the building they are moving to. Pretty large upgrade for them. - https://preview.redd.it/npjsw96hfye61.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=f2f932d7d1e612beb06c3c04f9928292482fd98b "We have experienced tremendous positive change in our organization over the past year and this relocation will help us improve on efficiency, collaboration, and our ability to attract and retain top talent," said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. "We have deep roots in Buffalo, and we are very excited to be moving to the up-and-coming Larkinville District, Buffalo's oldest manufacturing district, to join other organizations that are revitalizing the city's tech and business community." To sum up the expected catalysts -
MRTP approval - "WHEN NOT IF"..."MATTER OF MONTHS" from CEO back in Sep-Nov 2020
Subsequent launch of product on shelves within 90 days.
FDA announcement on nicotine mandate.
Cannabis/hemp monetization announcements
3rd Plant Franchise.
I think the writing is on the wall here. I'm not going to go into any more details here, but if you have any questions feel free to throw them out. For shits and giggles - I did post about this company 4 months ago on 10/11/2020 when the share price was ~.80. https://www.reddit.com/pennystocks/comments/j970vxxii_plant_biotech_company_working_with/ Thanks!
Fine. I won't wear those boots anymore. You win. Another tale of me and dress codes.
This is a long one....again. I'm just long winded. Don't like it, there's a TL;DR. :) (side note, I would read my recess story first if you want to do things chronologically) TL;DR: School says my boots are within code but they don't like them and I can't wear them. So I stop trying to look nice anymore at all. Background (you can skip this part if you like a shorter read): If you read my recess MC story, then you already know I'm not a fan of dress codes for the sake of dress codes. So when I left for boarding school, I was utterly thrilled to go to a school that didn't have any uniform at all! OK-So it's not really that I have a problem with dress codes. I have a problem with conforming. So if you say socks have to be black or blue, 99.999999% of people will assume that you mean navy blue. I'm the person who would show up with sky blue. Just to silently stand out for a day. Just to give a smirk to the 5 other people who'll think "well, they did just say blue!" Just to highlight to the bureaucrat who wrote the rules that they're not as airtight as they thought they were. In short, I am (as my hubby would say) a brat. It's just fun (to me) to show people that "eitheor" doesn't always have to be your only choices. We'll just say I was an "adventurous dresser". I liked unusual combinations and had I been encouraged instead of discouraged (and taught how to sew) I very probably would have ended up as a low level fashion designer. Clothes were like paint to me after an entire childhood in the same plaid. I wanted to mix colors and textures and brushes. Boarding school is not really a colorful, choose your own adventure kind of place. Well, though I was a precocious child, I was never a rule breaker (save for very calculated rule breaking in my previous story). My mother always said "VooDooDaughter's obedient and well behaved. She will bend a rule into a pretzel. But she'll never intentionally break one." She was the kind of parent who had to carefully word rules and restrictions when leaving me to my own devices.... but also be careful not to put ideas into my head, at the same time. Basically if you give me the impression that you believe something is ironclad, I'll pick it apart just because I enjoy the mental exercise of seeing if it really is ironclad. But if you're a jerk, I'm going to find the worst way to show you it's not iron clad. My mother firmly believed that "Critical Thinking is the key to success in life. If you can assess a problem and find a path to a solution then you don't need to know everything. You just need to know how to find answers." (Mind you, this was about a decade before google and smart phones so I don't blame parents today for different mentalities....but I do still think I would raise my kids this way if I were going to have any.) So I had been raised to believe that the people who get ahead in life are the people who don't just say "Apple" when asked what that red round thing on the desk is. You pick it up. You turn it over. You note the feel and the weight. You mark the smell and the reflections in the wax. And you file that away for later. Never know when someone's going to ask you what the bottom of an apple looks like when there are no apples to look at, right? Anyhow, when you spend your life mentally picking up every problem, question, and object so you can flip it over, turn it inside out, change the colors, etc. Mundane things like school handbooks actually become a bit fun. The Story: I went to a boarding school with two types of dress code. We had "Classroom Dress" which was exactly what it sounds like. We were basically expected to look like young professionals. All the normal rules you would expect. Skirts below the fingertips for girls, shirts and ties for the boys. The handbook was pretty specific, as most are. The alternative was what we could wear in our free time "Town Dress" and it was the standard we were expected to dress to when seen in public off campus or just spending time in the students' lounge. This was more relaxed but still rules to keep the girls from wearing anything too sexy or the boys from looking too ragged in torn/cut off/worn out clothes. That sort of stuff. I had a pair of knee high suede moccasin boots with fringe at the top, just below the knee. Actually, I had two pairs. One in black. One in brown. They were the most comfortable, warm boots I ever owned (long before the days of uggs). My mother and I fought constantly over these boots and it was a great triumph to me that she'd allowed me to spirit them away to school with me. Then one day I was approached by a teacher who told me that the teachers had had a discussion and my boots "Weren't in the spirit of Classroom Dress." "But I've read the dress code. There's nothing in there against them." I protested. "I know. It's just been decided they don't meet the spirit of the dress code." She elaborated. "But they're the right color." "I know" "They're the right fabric. Suede is allowed." "I know" "There's no restriction on boot length. You allow riding boots for the equestrian club!" "I know...." "Then WHY?!" I don't really know if I was angry or sad or an even split of both. But I was emotional. "I wish I had better answers for you." She was a teacher I liked and I knew liked me. I realized it's why they'd sent her. I wasn't the sort to make a scene or cause a fuss...... I was the sort to get even. "Ok." I said, and walked off. That night, I studied the dress code front to back. I read every sentence forwards and backwards. I said them out loud. I held up every article of clothing mentioned and studied it as if I were an alien who had nothing but the handbook and that piece of clothing to figure out how it was used by humans. It was a pretty strict handbook, I had to give them that. But they had made 2 mistakes.
The handbook was oddly UNspecific about which items of clothing were to be worn where.
Nowhere did the handbook say we had to make an effort to actually look good. They discussed what articles of clothing needed to be what colors and how far they needed to extend in certain directions (skirts below the finger tips, socks above the ankles, sleeves past the elbows, etc). Shoes had to be reasonable colors like black or brown (like my boots were!) or other earth tones. But it never said they couldn't be elf shoes, for example. Granted, elf shoes wouldn't be "in the spirit of classroom dress". But I digress.
I went to bed furious and with vicious ideas circling in my mind. Debating whether or not I wanted to pull this particular trigger. Eventually I decided I'd wait until morning and if I still felt that way, I would begin phase 1. The next morning, I woke up still pissed and began a mental list of the worst boys in my grade as I walked to breakfast. When I got there, I found a few of them and pointed out that the handbook specified that ties were to be tied in a single or double windsor knot at all times unless it was a bowtie and then it was to be tied in the traditional manner (don't know what that's called). What it DIDN'T specify is what part of the body it was to be affixed to. Nowhere did it specify that ties had to be tied around the neck. Just how they needed to be tied. I told them they didn't have to believe me. Just read their handbooks that night and do what they will with the information. The next day, there were ties on wrists, around eyeglasses, foreheads, ankles, knees, thighs, tied then wrapped around hands as if to stop bleeding knuckles.... anywhere you could attach a windsor knot to the human body, there was a boy in my school with a tie there. I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself. Phase one was a total success. The teachers were annoyed but most found it amusing.... Until we got to math class. There was a kid in class without his tie on. The one who always wore a bowtie. The teacher walked up to his desk and looked down her nose at him. "I understand you boys are having some fun with your ties today. And I think we've been pretty good sports. But if you know the handbook this well, then you know you at least have to be wearing a tie." He raised his head, smirked, and said "Oh I'm wearing one. You just can't see it." The class erupted. Now maybe he just had it under his pants on his ankle. Or tied around his elbow under his blazer. I'll never know. But he went down as the kid who came to class with his tie around his penis. By the end of the day, I was a legend for finding the loophole and he was a legend for what he had put the loophole around. By morning announcements, the dress code had been updated (we were all handed a printed page so we couldn't claim we didn't know) to include specifications about ties around necks and the fun was over for the boys. Phase 2 was a little more in depth - read on if you're not already bored. I studied the handbook and I took mental notes. I had been eyeing the most ridiculous pair of boots I'd ever seen at the mall. They were silver with holographic rainbow interlocking circles on them. They sported a 2 inch platform with a chunky 4 inch heel and laced up just above the ankles. They looked like something Romy and Michelle would have worn in their final Prom scene or Fran Drescher in the Nanny. Ungodly. I knew I couldn't wear them to class but I wanted them for town days soooooooo bad. Like I said, after 9 years in uniform, I was having fun with fashion. I saved for months and "visited" them at the mall every chance I got. I had been slowly talking myself out of such a frivolous pair of boots (they were SO expensive!) but the loss of my favorite classroom boots had reinvigorated my lust for them. And right after my moccasins were revoked, I had managed to save up just enough to afford them. Lucky me! I practically skipped to the store to get my holographic rainbow platform boots that weekend. They were out of my size! I nearly cried. Until I noticed right next to them was the black patent leather version. Until now, they had seemed so tame by comparison. But the dress code had a special section about patent leather footwear. It was specifically permitted but only when wearing pants (there's an old, idiotic, belief that you can see the reflection of a girl's panties in patent leather shoes if she's wearing a skirt). So I could not wear the rainbow boots to class. But their sister boots in black patent leather with silver details were totally permitted (silver, also being specifically permitted on shoes as some might have grommets for laces bwahahahaha!). Still sporting the 2 inch platform and 4 inch heel, mind you. The school didn't have any limits on heel size, assuming high schoolers wouldn't want to be in heels all day, I guess? Something about losing the whimsy of the silver holographic rainbows also had the bonus effect of taking them from a "club kid" mood to a darker "hooker boots" realm. And to think, I would never have even considered the black pair if it weren't for my recent fascination with our dress code. The black boots also happened to be on discount whereas my silver ones would have been full price. So I walked away with enough money to buy a pair of pants to wear with my new boots. A plan began to formulate in my devious brain. I invited my friends to join me at one of the local thrift stores and we spent the afternoon hunting for the ugliest pants we could find that were still within the guidelines of the school dress code. And we did. They were bright orange polyester pants with little grey-green amorphous dots on them. Something akin to an incredibly tiny giraffe print. You almost couldn't make out the green, just that there was a pattern to the orange. Something about the two colors clashed enough that they almost vibrated in front of your eyes, making you half dizzy/half nauseated if you stared too long. And, as luck would have it, I scored a deal on an orange, shag sweater that was the exact same shade! I looked like a half finished sesame street character on top and a lost disco reject on bottom.... oh, did mention they were slightly belled straight legged orange polyester pants? I strolled into class on monday looking like a rejected extra from Saturday Night Fever. My new platform boots had heavy wooden heels that clunked loudly everywhere I walked. I now stood four inches taller making me stand out even more in the halls, and rivaling some of my teachers for presence in the classroom. I watched some of them glare at my new boots and began to figure out which ones had taken issue with my knee high moccasins. I could tell the teachers who were getting a laugh out of it, too. But I didn't' stop there. It became my life's mission to seek out the most horrendous clothing and outfits I could concoct. I didn't care how I looked anymore. I had been so careful when I packed to make sure my clothes had all been suitable. And by their own admission, my boots were within the code. They just hadn't liked them. I had done my utmost to dress within their rules and they had arbitrarily decided something wasn't good enough because they didn't like it. So now I wore something hideous every single day so they had to see me in something nobody liked. Every. Single. Day. After all, what could they do? Just tell me EVERY SINGLE DAY that I wasn't dressed appropriately but never in violation? At some point I would cry it was personal, maybe even racial. By their own admission it didn't violate the rules. And I was certain to never violate the rules. That just wasn't my style. Plus, at this point in a battle of wills, you can't afford to get sloppy and give the other side any advantage. (Mom always said I was stubborn) The nice thing about boarding school is the girls are happy to share clothes around with anyone who will share back. So instead of just one closet, I had like 30 to pick from just in my dorm. Sure most of my clothes matched each other by intent and planning. But they looked absurd with clothes picked by/for other people. Someone might have a loud shirt they only wear with a black skirt. But I'd pair it with a printed skirt from 3 rooms down in clashing colors just because I could. Still within code. I wore those hooker boots any time I didn't have on a skirt. I invested in more polyester than a school should legally be allowed to have on campus for fire safety reasons. I sought out every consignment, vintage, second hand shop in town (and there were a lot! it was a largely hippie town so the pickings were fantastic). I put together 3 piece suits (with ties) that made me look so butch they actually asked my mother if I was gay at her parent teacher conference (apparently dressing badly makes you a lesbian?). I braided my bangs into a single braid and would put heavy earrings at the end to weigh it down then swing it around like a pendulum over my desk or book during class by swirling my head (only if I was bored in a class of a teacher I suspected of costing me my boots). Anything and everything I could do to be visually assaulting to the senses, I did. At the above mentioned parent teacher meeting, they asked my mom if she could speak to me about my clothing and she asked, surprised, if I was breaking any rules. They explained about the boots. Mom told me she laughed and said there was nothing she could do. "If there's one thing my daughter hates, it's being punished for a rule she didn't know existed or a rule that never existed in the first place. If you want to make a rule today to stop her, she won't do it tomorrow....I bet you never saw those boots again. But you took away something she loved for seemingly no good reason. She sees that as a punishment even if you only saw it as a request. And now she's punishing you back. Simple as that. I suggest you just let it go and fix your handbook over the summer. Otherwise, you'll run out of paper, trying to print daily changes to keep up with the loopholes she'll find. My daughter loves finding loopholes. I should never have given her so many riddles as a child." Upon hearing this, they admitted that the only reason my new boots had been "ignored" thus far is that; this having been my reaction to the banning of the first pair, some were fearful what I might find to wear in retaliation if a second pair was banned. And, obedient student that I was, I never did wear my knee high suede moccasins again. Random Conclusion stuffs: They never did come after me for a single other dress code issue...except once when my skirt was too short (honestly not intentional, each teacher measured slightly differently). And I didn't return the next year for entirely unrelated reasons so I don't know what changes they may have made. I'll include a photo of the boots. I've kept them all these years later just for the smile I get when I find them in the bottom of a box while looking for something else. And here's the last shirt I'm sure I have from those days. It's literally the ugliest piece of clothing I've ever owned and I can't bring myself to throw it away because I think of this story every time I see it and laugh. And I know somewhere is one photo of me in my orange shag outfit. If I ever find it, I will share that, as well. I had a blast tearing that dress code to shreds. So remember to take your problems, turn them on their side, flip them inside out, look at life from a funny angle and you never know what cracks you might find. And it's another great story of my awesome mom totally having my back.... Though looking back as an adult, I'll bet she was a little pissed they banned her boots, too. I mean, after all, if they had been more specific in the handbook, she could have kept them at home the entire time instead of in my closet at school, gathering dust! Miss you, Mom! edited for grammar edit for comments: No, I'm not a lawyer in my adult life. It just wasn't my path. But I'm self employed, starting a business in an industry I'm extremely excited and passionate about and I enjoy nearly every single minute of work I have put into it. I'm blessed and thankful to love what I do. another edit: This took place in the mid 90s.
This thread was originally posted 3 and a half years ago and has since been deleted by the author. I believe it deserves a second go:https://np.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/6j16ei/911_truth_megapost/ I've been looking into 9/11 for a few months now and I decided to throw together some of my most compelling information and links and share. Please share your thoughts and any additional info.
World Trade Center - Flights 11 and 175
WTC 7
World Trade Center Building 7 was a 47-storey, fireproofed, steel-frame building completed in 1987. On 9/11 2001, it was hit by debris from the North Tower WTC 1 collapse at 10:28 AM. The official government narrative claims that this debris ignited fires that burned for several hours and weakened WTC 7 until it collapsed at 5:20 PM. This narrative has been doubted by skeptics who have studied the collapse -- notably the 2,800+ Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth (AE911). Noting the sudden initiation of the collapse, the complete destruction of the building, the lack of structural resistance, freefall speed, and symmetrical fall into its own footprint, AE911 insists WTC 7 was brought down via controlled demolition.
The 2004 9/11 Commission Report did not mention WTC 7. After complaints from architects and engineers about this anomalous collapse being swept under the rug, the US Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began a formal WTC 7 study, initially attempting to blame internal diesel tank fires and denying freefall collapse speed. However, with AE911 Truth pointing out calculations of freefall speeds from video, and that diesel fires could be ruled out by lack of smoke, NIST was forced to concede on both of these points before their final 2008 WTC 7 report. Still, NIST officially claimed that WTC 7 collapsed "primarily from normal office fires." By ignoring sheer studs and other structural components of this modern steel-frame building, NIST concluded that the failure of column #79 somehow initiated a sudden universal "progressive collapse." Here is NIST's computer model of the initiation of collapse alongside video of the actual collapse. Does it match? Video: https://youtu.be/pmdcMb5D9gM AE911 Truth asked to see the data behind this simulation to understand how NIST reached their conclusions. Their request was denied because it might "jeopardize public safety." NIST Letters Denying Requested Info: https://cryptome.org/nist070709.pdf https://cryptome.org/wtc-nist-wtc7-no.pdf
Larry "Pull it" Silverstein
Owner of the WTC buildings Larry Silverstein says that he decided loss of life in WTC 7 was so heavy that he should just "pull it." Whatever that means! Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34XrI2Fm6I Silverstein built and owned WTC 7 since 1985, and acquired the WTC towers in July 2001. After 9/11, he fought in court for a double insurance payment, claiming there were two terrorist "occurrences." He didn't win the $7.1 billion double payment he was hoping for, but he was awarded for 1 & 1/3: a payout of $4.55 billion. Other interesting statements by Silverstein:
his wife thankfully reminded him of his dermatology appointment on 9/11 and insisted he go, making him skip his customary breakfast at the top of WTC 1 that morning: https://youtu.be/9ScGZCqEyGM
Regarding the new replacement building for WTC 7, "the first design meeting was in April of 2000." ... 17 months before it was destroyed?: https://youtu.be/j-_WYHwUtcI?t=28
What Was In WTC 7?
WTC 7 consisted exclusively of government agencies and financial institutions, including the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, as well as Secret Service and CIA offices. http://www.wtc7.net/background.html
Previous High-Rise Fires
Before and since 9/11, no steel-framed high-rise buildings have ever collapsed from office fires. We are told that on that day, three did: WTC towers 1, 2, and building 7. Past examples: 1991, Philadelphia, PA – One Meridian Plaza burned for 18 hours, gutting 8 of 38 floors. A FEMA report said "beams and girders sagged and twisted," but "continued to support their loads without obvious damage." 2004, Caracas, Venezuela – Parque Central building burned for 17 hours, gutting 20 of 50 floors. It did not collapse. A segment on previous high-rise fires: https://youtu.be/l0Q5eZhCPuc?t=746 A 9 minute video, Steel Buildings Don't Collapse From Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnnjIzamnJo Of course, WTC 7 was hit by debris, which did some damage. Also, WTC 1 and 2 were hit by airplanes, but they withstood those impacts well, like they were designed to.
1993 Seattle Times Article, "Twin Towers Engineered to Withstand Jet Collision”
John Skilling, WTC head structural engineer:
Our analysis indicated the biggest problem would be the fact that all the fuel (from the airplane) would dump into the building. There would be a horrendous fire. A lot of people would be killed… The building structure would still be there.
January 2001 Interview with WTC Construction Manager
WTC Construction Manager Frank DeMartini:
The building was designed to have a fully loaded 707 crash into it. That was the largest plane at the time. I believe that the building probably could sustain multiple impacts of jetliners because this structure is like the mosquito netting on your screen door—this intense grid—and the jet plane is just a pencil puncturing that screen netting. It really does nothing to the screen netting.
Aman Zafar took hi-res photos on 9/11 from a distance across the Hudson River -- some of the best photographic evidence from that day. They show pretty clearly how undamaged the lower 90ish and 75ish floors of the towers were. Were these massive marvels of modern architecture really so fragile that one to two hours of fires fuelled by office furnishings and jet fuel (essentially kerosene) in the top floors was enough to suddenly reduce thousands of tons of structural steel and concrete into clouds of dust and a pile of debris barely taller than the lobby? Note the upward and outward ejections of debris. Could fire and gravity do that? Photoset: http://www.amanzafar.com/WTC/
Fire and Steel Temperature
Even if we're generous and claim the fires burned as hot as 1500°F (which is unlikely -- though NIST claims 1800°F), they would have to heat thousands of tons of structural steel beams to at least 1000°F for significant weakening. These beams would be fireproofed and would meet building codes created to protect against fires. Is it plausible that fires could do this to the buildings in just 56 minutes in the case of WTC 2 and 1 hour and 42 minutes for WTC 1?
Fire Department Tapes
The tapes of FDNY comms show firefighters ascending the stairwell of the South Tower WTC 2 and dealing with "two isolated pockets of fires" at the 78th floor. They are convinced they "should be able to knock it down with two lines." The firefighters have no concern about collapse, even to the last minute. This doesn't sound like they are discussing a building with 1000°F raging fires burning so intensely throughout that they could have heated the beams on every floor -- in an under an hour -- to weaken them enough to initiate an immediate total collapse with negligible structural resistance. FDNY Tapes: https://youtu.be/VGzMnmWYec0
A compilation of WTC 2 collapse footage where the use of controlled demolitions is apparent. Video: https://youtu.be/qhyu-fZ2nRA
Raw 9/11 Footage from Hotel Window
This footage from a hotel window across from the WTC towers shows a close-up view of the lower floors, demonstrating how undamaged they were. Note: Some graphic images of jumpers, bodies. Video: https://youtu.be/kZi4o2OBLEI Some points of interest: @14:40 - "can hear more explosions!" @19:15 - News in background is unsure of what has hit the Pentagon @19:40 - Sparks emitting from corner of tower
Barry Jennings witnessed explosions inside WTC 7 that left him trapped in the stairwell. His testimony contradicts the official NIST report that there were "no witness reports" of explosions. NIST's draft WTC 7 report was released 2 days after Jennings passed away in unclear circumstances 2008. Video: http://dai.ly/x26mumq?start=4919
WTC 7 Collapse Foreknowledge
Firefighter Foreknowledge
At least 60 firefighters demonstrated foreknowledge of the collapse of WTC 7 at 5:20PM. More than half of them spoke in certain terms (i.e. “is coming down” vs “might”). Considering no steel high-rise building in history had ever collapsed from fires (except the Twin Towers that morning), how were they so certain that this modern, 1987, 47-story, fireproofed steel-frame building would collapse? It seems they may have been told by somebody. Graeme MacQueen has looked into this a bit: (9 pgs) Article: http://www.journalof911studies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2008MacQueenSeven.pdf Discussion of this at the 2011 Toronto Hearings: https://youtu.be/xqqelDq4P48?t=3630 With ReThink911: https://youtu.be/rNJ6WYFwR-o
News Foreknowledge
Jane Standley of BBC reported on the collapse of WTC 7 (AKA the Soloman Brother's Building) at 4:54 PM -- 26 minutes BEFORE it collapsed. The building is visibly standing behind her as she reports it has collapsed. BBC "loses connection" with her mid-conversation. BBC's official explanation for this was that they received an erroneous report from Reuters on a confusing day. Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltP2t9nq9fI Later, BBC contacts Standley again for a report. She describes the situation but when they bring up WTC 7 (@ 2:12), the audio cuts out. Coincidence? Video Clip: https://youtu.be/gsqAHhTWEH0?t=40 CNN Report the collapse 67 minutes early: Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpWK8IwJH0w ABC News:
another building in the World Trade Center Complex, which was not struck by an airplane, is in danger of collapsing...
For the third time today. Its reminiscent of those pictures we've all seen too much on television before when a building was deliberately destroyed by well-placed dynamite.
PNAC Describes Benefits of "a New Pearl Harbor" in 2000
The Project for the New American Century, a neo-conservative think-tank that included many Bush Administration members such as Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Paul Wolfowitz, wrote a report in September 2000, a year before 9/11, called Rebuilding America's Defenses. It outlined a plan of massive military expansion, with a goal of ultimately fighting and winning "multiple, simultaneous major theatre wars" to consolidate US global hegemony. They stated that their ambitious
process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event -- like a new Pearl Harbor.
Zelikow Describes How US Gov Could Exploit a Major WTC Attack in 1998
Philip Zelikow was a member of George HW Bush's National Security Council during Desert Storm, co-author of a book with Condoleezza Rice in the mid-90s, and would go on to be part of George W Bush's transition team, as well as the author of National Security Strategy 2002 AKA the "Bush Doctrine" of pre-emptive warfare. Despite these conflicts of interest, he would become the executive director of the "independent" 9/11 Commission. In 1998 -- nearly three years before 9/11 -- with Defense Department bigwig Ash Carter and former CIA Director John Deutch -- Zelikow co-authored a paper in Foreign Affairs entitled "Catastrophic Terrorism":
If the device that exploded in 1993 under the World Trade Center had been nuclear, or had effectively dispersed a deadly pathogen, the resulting horror and chaos would have exceeded our ability to describe it. Such an act of catastrophic terrorism would be a watershed event in American history. It could involve loss of life and property unprecedented in peacetime and undermine America's fundamental sense of security, as did the Soviet atomic bomb test in 1949. Like Pearl Harbor, this event would divide our past and future into a before and after. The United States might respond with draconian measures, scaling back civil liberties, allowing wider surveillance of citizens, detention of suspects, and use of deadly force. More violence could follow, either further terrorist attacks or U.S. counterattacks. Belatedly, Americans would judge their leaders negligent for not addressing terrorism more urgently.
Emergency Crew Arrived in NYC For Terror Drill Day Before 9/11
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was holding a terror drill set for 09/12. Personnel arrived in NYC on 09/10. FEMA Member Tom Kenney on CBS:
To be honest with you we arrived on late Monday night [Sept 10th] and went into action on Tuesday morning..."
The reason Pier 92 was chosen as the command center is because on the next day, on September 12th, Pier 92 was going to have a drill. It had hundreds of people here from FEMA, from the federal government, from the state, from the state emergency management office, and they were getting ready for a drill for a bio-chemical attack... The equipment was already there, so we were able to establish a command center there, within 3 days, that was 2 1/2 to 3 times bigger than the command center that we had lost at 7 World Trade Center.
Drills Simulating Hijacked Planes Confuse Air Traffic Control
War games diverted much of the Northeast US air defense to Alaska, while other war games simulating hijacked airplanes flying into buildings confused radar operators on 9/11. Video: http://dai.ly/x26mumq?start=1422
The Lone Gunmen Pilot
In March 2001, 6 months before 9/11, the pilot episode of the X-Files spin-off series The Lone Gunmen aired. The premise: the heroes unravel a government conspiracy to fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center to increase arms sales. Just an odd coincidence? Make of it what you will. 9/11-relevant highlights from episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIdhoc0PRr8
WTC 7 Evaluation
Structural engineer Dr. Leroy Hulsey and his students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are in the midst of conclusively debunking the bogus official claims of the NIST report with their two-year WTC 7 Evaluation. Using a sophisticated computer model of WTC 7, down to each beam and rivet, they have concluded that "normal office fires" could not have caused the collapse that occurred. Their report will be released August 2017. WTC 7 Evaluation Website: http://www.wtc7evaluation.org/ WTC 7 Evaluation Intro Video: https://youtu.be/C-VNjYXU-CE
Pentagon - Flight 77
Official Story
The official story tells us American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked at 8:51 (5 minutes after the first WTC strike) and, piloted by terrorist Hani Hanjour, flew without being intercepted for 45 minutes. Over the Pentagon, it pulled a high-speed 330-degree turn before knocking over five light poles, accelerating to 853 km/h, skimming above the Pentagon lawn to strike into the first floor of the building at 09:37. 64 died on the plane, 125 in the Pentagon.
Hani Hanjour's Flying Skills
Pilots say this would be an extremely difficult manoeuvre and would be nearly impossible for an inexperienced pilot like alleged hijacker Hani Hanjour, whose flight instructors said he could barely handle a Cessna weeks earlier in August. US Navy Top Gun and 27-year commercial pilot Ralph Kolstad has studied the official flight path and says,
I have 6,000 hours of flight time in Boeing 757s and 767s and I could not have flown it the way the flight path was described... Something stinks to high heaven!
Newspaper articles quote Hanjour's flight instructors saying he "could not fly at all" and was "a terrible pilot." In the summer of 2001, a New Jersey flight instructor "declined a second request" to take the alleged would-be hijacker in on a small-plane flight "because of what he considered Hanjour's poor piloting skills." (Quotes from David Ray Griffin's book, The New Pearl Harbor: Revisited)
Pentagon "Plane Crash" Surveillance Video
Although the Pentagon was arguably the most secure building in the world, this is the only publicly available footage of the alleged crash of Flight 77, released almost five years after the incident in May 2006. (A second camera right next to this one captured nearly identical footage that was also released). This footage does not prove that a plane hit the building. Video: https://youtu.be/zac9vt3a4Ug
from my close-up inspection, there's no evidence of a plane having crashed anywhere near the Pentagon... The only pieces left that you can see are small enough that you could pick up in your hand. There are no large tail sections, wing sections, fuselage, nothing like that anywhere around which would indicate that the entire plane crashed into the side of the Pentagon...
Video: https://youtu.be/7BNqgNvUhRQ Interview with April Gallop – A Pentagon employee who experienced the blast and crawled out of the blast hole to the lawn. Gallop says she
didn't see any evidence of metal, airplane seats, no luggage. Nothing that would give me any indication that it was a plane that had hit the building... There was nothing on the inside that would give me any indication that there was a plane.
Video: https://youtu.be/EIy9hjB3DGk Interview with and exclusive footage by freelance cameraman Bob Pugh, who was at the Pentagon minutes after the explosion. @06:20 -
I'm looking for wreckage, and I don't see anything discernible. I can't find a piece of anything that I recognize. I can't see the tail, I can't see the wheels, I can't see the engines, there's no chairs, there's no luggage, there's no logo...
Gas Station Security Camera Footage Confiscated by FBI
December 11, 2001 National Geographic Article, "Three Months On Tension Lingers Near the Pentagon": A CITGO gas station employee who worked on 9/11 says the gas station's security cameras were close enough to the Pentagon to have recorded the moment of impact:
I've never seen what the pictures looked like... The FBI was here within minutes and took the film.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta's Testimony
Dick Cheney's Timeline
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta testified to the 9/11 Commission about his experience in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) bunker under the White House on 9/11. Mineta said he arrived in the PEOC bunker at 9:20, and Vice President Cheney was already there at that time. The 9/11 Commission Report ignored Mineta's testimony and wrote that Cheney arrived 38 minutes later at 9:58 (and thus AFTER the Pentagon attack). Multiple others have also made statements suggesting Cheney was in the bunker earlier.
Stand-Down Order?
Most importantly, Mineta mentions
a young man who would come in and say to the Vice President, 'the plane is 50 miles out'... 'the plane is 30 miles out'... When it got down to 'the plane is 10 miles out,' the young man also said to the Vice President, 'do the orders still stand?' And the Vice President turned and whipped his neck around and said, 'of course the orders still stand! Have you heard anything to the contrary?'
Video: https://youtu.be/qjR0gGXV-04 Were they talking about a stand-down order telling the fighters or anti-air not to engage? At the very least, while the 9/11 Commission Report attempts to paint a false narrative suggesting US leadership was unaware, confused, and unable to make decisions in time that morning, the facts seem to suggest they had a lot more knowledge and control than is admitted.
Video Removed From 9/11 Commission Website
Video of Mineta's testimony was originally available on the 9/11 Commission website, but it was removed. When questioned about this the National Archive said it must have been lost in a "snafu." It has since been recovered and is now widely available on the internet.
Wedge 1 an Unlikely Strike Location
Why would the terrorists strike Wedge 1 of the Pentagon? The section directly opposite would have been a much richer target and easier to approach. It was public knowledge that the Defense Secretary's office and the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and those of other top-ranking officers, were located on the opposite side of the explosion zone. Instead, Wedge 1 had obstacles on its approach (a raised street with signs, light posts, the Pentagon control tower), and was, according to the LA Times:
a portion of the building that had already been renovated. It was the only area of the Pentagon with a sprinkler system, and it had been reconstructed with a web of steel columns and bars to withstand bomb blasts. The steel reinforcement, bolted together to form a continuous structure through all of the Pentagon's five floors, kept that section of the building from collapsing for 30 minutes--enough time for hundreds of people to crawl out to safety. The area struck by the plane also had blast-resistant windows--2 inches thick and 2,500 pounds each--that stayed intact during the crash and fire. It had fire doors that opened automatically and newly built exits that allowed people to get out... While perhaps 4,500 people normally would have been working in the hardest-hit areas, because of the renovation work only about 800 were there Tuesday, officials said.
With a series of straightforward interviews with 13 independent eyewitnesses of the low-flying plane at the Pentagon on 9/11, who are certain about what they saw, Citizen Investigation Team demonstrates that the government's oft-repeated official story of a southern Flight 77 approach was impossible. All 13 witnesses -- including two police officers -- are sure the plane flew directly over the Navy Annex and North of the CITGO gas station. This suggests the official flight path is false, and the knocked over light poles on the bridge south of the Pentagon and the path of internal damage were staged. Images of CIT Witness Flightpaths vs. Official Story: http://www.citizeninvestigationteam.com/pics/closest-north-path-still-misses-poles.jpg http://www.citizeninvestigationteam.com/pics/north-south-citgo.jpg In the section from 59:40 to 01:13:30 in the video "National Security Alert" below, CIT interviews a cab driver, Lloyde England, whose cab was supposedly hit by a light pole knocked over by Flight 77 during its approach along the official-story southern flight path. Featured on the news, his cab windshield was smashed but his hood was oddly undamaged considering the forces at play. After persistent questioning by CIT, England eventually admits his role in a conspiracy to stage the incident:
This is too big for me, man. This is a big thing... I'm not supposed to be involved in this. This is for other people. People who have money... It was planned.
Hi-res photo of Lloyde England's cab at Pentagon: http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/pentagon/images/1-1.jpg A news segment on Lloyde England, from the beginning to 01:28. (The remainder of this video identical to the end part of the longer doc below. I recommend watching it there with more context): https://youtu.be/iAL9gJMSX6M (1 hr 21 mins) CIT Documentary - National Security Alert - the 9/11 Pentagon Event: https://youtu.be/_HlUmmPBoLg
Shanksville, PA - Flight 93
Barren Crash Site
Many witnesses remarked on the lack of debris at the Shanksville crash site. Like the Pentagon, there were no bodies, no identifiable pieces of fuselage, wing, or tail section, no luggage, or seats visible at Shanksville. News mentions a second crash site, 6 miles away, adding to the confusion. Video: http://dai.ly/x26mumq?start=3981
Flight 93 Shot Down?
Witness John Fleegle mentions he saw the lights flicker, then heard engines roar, heard a large boom and saw a "big ball of fire" in the air. He saw a plane flying away that might have been a fighter, but it was flying into the sun and difficult to see. Later he told his story to a retired Air Force member who suggested:
that plane was shot down... they zap the radar frequency on everything before they shoot. That's why your lights flickered."
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWcdSyyppHI Furthermore, while the 9/11 Commission Report claims that shootdown authorization was not received until 10:25 -- well after the crash of Flight 93 at 10:03 - 10:06 -- other accounts dispute this. National Coordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism Richard Clarke wrote that shoot-down authorization was received between 9:45 and 9:50, and a CNN report that aired before the Commission Report was released suggested a similar timeline. (The official story is that the passengers, inspired by passenger Todd Beamer's phrase "let's roll", stormed the cockpit and attempted to reclaim the aircraft before the hijackers drove it into the ground.)
Debris Photos
There are some pictures of supposed Flight 93 debris that were released during the 2006 trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. They don't look very convincing of a plane crash either. Photos: https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=C7A45234-155D-451F-67A019C294E6A905 A lot of the 9/11 evidence released during the 2006 Moussaoui trial is sketchy, nonsensical, or contradictory to previously touted official storylines.
9/11 Commission
Commission Delayed
Historically, when major disasters have occurred, governments have quickly created independent commissions to investigate. Number of days before an investigative commission was formed: Titanic – 6 Pearl Harbor – 9 JFK Assassination – 7 Challenger disaster – 7 9/11 – 411
Barry Zwicker's Criticism
Media Critic Barry Zwicker, author of Towers of Deception, on the 9/11 Commission:
the term 'whitewash' doesn't do justice to the report of the 9/11 Commission. 'Omission-riddled inventive cover-up,' maybe.
The widows of 9/11 victims complained publicly after the Bush administration appointed Henry Kissinger as the 9/11 Commission Director. Kissinger was replaced with Philip Zelikow, a man with many conflicts of interest. This video explains Zelikow's deep connections to Bush and how he was a key member of the 9/11 cover-up. Video, Corbett Report, 9/11 Suspects: Philip Zelikow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1VtozvvG4c
Chairman Thomas Kean Statement
9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean:
we think that in many ways the Commission was set up to fail.
$2.3 Trillion in Pentagon Spending Unaccounted For Day Before 9/11
On September 10th, Donald Rumsfeld pointed out that $2.3 trillion in Pentagon spending was unaccounted for. He spoke of the need for change to a wasteful bureaucracy. But things changed the following morning: Video: https://youtu.be/H_p92dECEpQ?t=10
Israeli Spies
A very interesting four-part Fox investigative series on Israeli spies in America and possible links to 9/11. Concerns that US intelligence wiretapping was compromised by Israel. Video: https://youtu.be/LbkQddEDPs0
Insider Trading
ABC News, 20 September 2001. Before 9/11, put options were purchased betting against stocks of United Airlines, American Airlines, and Marsh & McClellan (based on the floors of WTC 1 that were struck). Somebody made millions. Video: https://youtu.be/QUHZcUwHrJ8
Indira Singh and Ptech
Indira Singh was senior risk management consultant at JP Morgan Chase bank in 2001. She was seeking to equip the bank with enterprise architect software that would provide "god's eye" visualization, mapping, and analysis of transactions, interactions, systems, processes, and personnel in the bank. Many recommended a small Quincy, MA company called Ptech. Their list of clients included the White House, Secret Service, FBI, IRS, NATO, IBM, the Postal Service, and the FAA. However, Singh became reluctant to use their software when she discovered that Ptech's top investor was Saudi Al-Qaeda financier Yassin Al-Qadi, who had been placed on the US terror list in October 2001. Singh's research further linked Ptech to the CIA network that armed the Mujahideen in the 80s. When she told the FBI, they weren't particularly alarmed. In fact, they even actively blocked an investigation against Al-Qadi. Ptech's relationship with the FAA is particularly interesting.
Bonnie: Could you describe the relationship of PTech with the FAA? PTech worked with the FAA for several years, didn’t they? Indira: Yes... They were looking at, basically, holes in the FAA’s interoperability with responding with other agencies – law enforcement – in the case of an emergency such as a hijacking. ... how they would respond in case of an emergency... if anyone was in a position to understand where the holes were, PTech was, and that is exactly the point: if anybody was in a position to write software to take advantage of those holes, it would have been PTech. Bonnie: Was there a reference to PTech having operated in the basement out of the FAA? Indira: Yes. Typically, because the scope of such projects are so over-arching and wide-ranging, when you are doing an enterprise architecture project, you have access to how anything in the organization is being done, where it is being done, on what systems, what the information is. You have carte blanche. If it is a major project that spends several years, the team that comes in has, literally, access to almost anything that they want because you are operating on a blueprint level, on a massive scale. So, yes, they were everywhere, and I was told that they were in places that required clearances. I was told that they had log-on access to FAA flight control computers.
FBI Agent Robert Wright's Investigation Into Al-Qaeda Financier Al-Qadi Impeded
In the mid-1990s... two Chicago-based agents were assigned to track a connection to Chicago, a suspected terrorist cell that would later lead them to a link with Osama bin Laden. Wright says that when he pressed for authorization to open a criminal investigation into the money trail, his supervisor stopped him. "Do you know what his response was? 'I think it's just better to let sleeping dogs lie,'" said Wright. "Those dogs weren't sleeping. They were training. They were getting ready." ... The suspected terrorist cell in Chicago was the basis of the investigation, yet Wright, who remains with the FBI, says he soon discovered that all the FBI intelligence division wanted him to do was to follow suspected terrorists and file reports — but make no arrests. "The supervisor who was there from headquarters was right straight across from me and started yelling at me: 'You will not open criminal investigations. I forbid any of you. You will not open criminal investigations against any of these intelligence subjects,'" Wright said. Even though they were on a terrorism task force and said they had proof of criminal activity, Wright said he was told not to pursue the matter. In 1998 al Qaeda terrorists bombed two American embassies in Africa. The agents say some of the money for the attacks led back to the people they had been tracking in Chicago and to a powerful Saudi Arabian businessman, Yassin al-Kadi. Al-Kadi is one of 12 Saudi businessmen suspected of funneling millions of dollars to al Qaeda and who had extensive business and financial ties in Chicago. Yet, even after the bombings, Wright said FBI headquarters wanted no arrests.
A Warning From History - President Eisenhower 1961
17 January 1961, in his presidential farewell address, Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to warn the American people about the potential dangers of the military-industrial complex. Considering the state of the country since 9/11, his words are more important than ever.
We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, 3 and 1/2 million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. Now, this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence: economic, political, even spiritual, is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development, yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood, are all involved. So is the very structure of our society. In the counsels of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence -- whether sought or unsought -- by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals. So that security and liberty may prosper together.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s 2020. Who the hell still uses fax machines? You’re right obviously. There can’t be many people who are still using them in this day and age, but apparently, my office is one of them. They don’t actually use it of course , but it sits there in the printing room, unplugged and gathering dust. For some reason, nobody ever dared throw it away. My guess is that nobody from management ever took enough interest, or were worried one of the old guard would throw a hissy fit if it disappeared one day. I suppose it’s one of those relics people keep around “just in case”. Whatever the reason, we’ve got one. And despite working in coding, whenever something electrical breaks in the office, I get asked if I can help fix it. (Here’s a life lesson - never show anyone at work you’re good with computers. Suddenly you’ll be working two jobs for the price of one.) Since I’m a sucker for a pretty woman, and too polite to say no, about four months ago when a pretty woman asked if I could fix the fax machine, you bet your ass I quit scrolling on reddit and headed to the printer room. Turned out to be an easy fix - it was just out of ink. But, since pretty much all our cartridges are those rip off branded ones that only work with a specific printer, sourcing new ink meant I had to order some online. After searching the cubicles I finally found the girl to let her know it should be working in a couple of days. I was hoping for “My hero” and possibly a bit of light swooning, but she didn’t even look up from her phone and all I got was a “K, thanks”. She’d just been asked by her manager to do an inventory check and passed it down the line to me. Great. This was back when Covid-19 was still just a rising trend on twitter, before the world went into full blown panic mode. Despite my best efforts to ignore current events, I still got sucked into the standard water cooler conversations that everyone was having, and I forgot all about the fax machine until the ink arrived the next week. Even after filling the fax machine up, one of its little lights was still flashing. The machine was so old, whatever symbol had been placed directly under the electric diodes had long since faded. Despite the missing symbols, I realised it was trying to print something but had no paper. Ink and paper. Heroic fix, right? The moment I loaded it with A4, this ancient little machine snatched the paper and began churning out page after page. It was that archaic nineties sound, when you could hear the ink plotter whirring back and forth. Just printing one page seemed to take almost a minute, but the pages soon piled up and just kept on coming. I supposed that even though the fax machine had been off all these years, it had just instantly resumed whatever print queue was still in its internal storage. If the fax number had been live all this time, it could well be processing every single file that had been sent to our company fax number since nineteen-ninety-whenever. Looking down at the pages it had spat out, I could see how it ran out of ink. The pages were full black and white pictures. The resolution was terrible though. I hovered around for a minute, but this machine would not stop printing. Flicking through the images, I checked to see if someone had accidentally punched in too many zeroes when they chose how many copies to print, but each page was different. They all followed the same format though, a full black and white image, and a big number in the top right corner. I puzzled over it, trying to make patterns out of the numbers, but they were all over the place. 2 782 45 99999999999999 1.315 800 The images didn’t seem to form any sort of logical grouping either. They weren’t adverts or presentation materials. They didn’t look professional or creative. They were just random. People. Things. One was just a weird floaty ball thing; it looked like a space hopper, but for aliens. I let the pile of paper flop back down and scrolled on my phone. Eventually it would print everything, surely? I was getting a little bit too distracted by the girls of ‘GoneMild’ when an abrupt halt to the fax machine’s endless whirring made me look up. It had finally stopped printing. When I moved closer to look, the light was flashing again. Out of ink.... Grumbling to myself, I headed to the supply cupboard to grab the bottle I’d bought. Luckily, I’d had to buy in bulk, so still had plenty left. Since the fax machine was running low on paper, I topped that up too. Knowing I couldn’t spend the whole day standing next to this fax machine looking at abundant cleavage, I scooped up the images, set them to one side and let the fax machine do its thing. Just before I left for the day, I went to go check on it. It had stopped printing, but only because it had run out of ink. Again. Cursing whichever moron had sent an entire graphic novel collection to the fax machine twenty years ago, I tried to see if I could somehow clear the print queue, but the buttons didn’t do anything and there was no display panel, just lights that blinked when it needed something. There’s a joke about my ex-girlfriend there somewhere, but let’s not go there. Figuring maybe it would finish overnight, I moved the fresh stack of printed pictures - still just numbers and images - next to the previous pile and reloaded the fax machine with ink and paper. It dutifully resumed whirring and spitting out new images. It wasn’t a surprise the next day to find that the fax machine’s thirst for ink (and my time) had not yet been quenched. It almost seemed proud of its new collection of prints, and I quickly flicked through to see if this pile was any different, but it was just as nonsensical and bizarre as the rest. I could - and probably should - have left it. But I was curious to see how much longer this queue would last before I reached the end. Without sitting there and counting them, there must have been easily three hundred pages of weird images. How many more could there be? Besides, the ink I’d bought wouldn’t be compatible with any of the other printers our company owned, so I might as well use it. I topped up the machine again and left it humming and chewing through a fresh pack of A4. Halfway through the day, there was a knock at my office door, and an extremely pissed off woman from upper management asked me what the hell I was printing on company time. She practically dragged me to the printing room, whilst I did a less-than-spectacular attempt at explaining the situation. “Look at this!” she said, gesturing wildly at the fax machine. The light was blinking again, as if to taunt me. On top of the fresh stack of paper was the number ‘84’, and an image of a man’s face, close up, clearly in pain. Agony might have been a better way to describe it. Even with the pixelated and crappy monotone quality of the printer, you could see the man’s facial muscles contorting, eyes clamped shut, teeth bared. “I haven’t printed any of this,” I said quickly, holding up my hands, “this is just whatever is left from the last time it was on.” “Even so, you can’t just leave them lying around,” she hissed, splaying the pages and pulling them out to show me. I’d just been looking for patterns, but she was searching for offensive images, and in the stack of hundreds, there were plenty to choose from. Images of fire and blood, people wearing sinister masks, dead bodies just lying in the street. When she pulled them out and lumped them together, it didn’t look good. “This is completely unacceptable! Get rid of them.” She picked up the rest of the papers and dumped them in my hands. As she scrambled around, the only thing I could think to mutter was “it’s still not finished printing.” “Just leave it,” she snapped, pulling out the plug and sticking the fax machine on its old dusty shelf, “it’s 2020, who still uses these things?” She was right, of course. I’d known the only reason they’d wanted it turned on was for an inventory check. Nobody actually wanted to use it. But I guess programmers are naturally curious about how things work. Or I am, at least. I still wanted to see how deep this particular rabbit hole went, but it wasn’t worth losing my job over. I’d not really noticed how bad some of the images were. I turned the pages upside down as I walked back to my office, to avoid anyone else seeing them. Hovering over the bin, I was half tempted to keep them. They were kind of cool, in a weird way. But what was I going to do with hundreds of random images and numbers? I dropped the whole stack into the bin, and forgot about it. I browsed reddit, and when my colleague came in we talked about how crazy this whole coronavirus thing was. That was before the lockdown. We started working from home before the Government shut down the country. It’s been a weird few months - like living in a really boring movie - but I was actually kind of glad to get back to work. I’m a creature of routine, I guess. Not everybody was as eager or as willing to go back to the office as I was, so the place was pretty deserted when I got to work. I did a little bit of catching up with the few faces I saw and knew, then sat down at my computer. No word of a lie, it actually had cobwebs on it. I grabbed some tissues from my drawer and wiped the screen, then as I slid across to throw it in the bin - I froze. The papers from the fax machine. In all the lockdown craziness, I’d forgotten all about them, but even the cleaners had been sent home when it all kicked off. The papers were still in my bin. The top page was still the one that I'd been yelled at for. The pained face, twisted in an excruciating grimace. Only there was a difference now that made the skin on my arms tingle. I recognised the face. The whole world recognised that face now. On a four month old piece of paper, printed in monotone black, was George Floyd. When I’d first seen this image, I had no idea who he was. It wasn’t the face the TV was showing though; the normal photo of him looking into the camera, alive and well. It was the face that you had to go on internet videos to see. Pinned down. Knee on his neck. Dying. For a moment, me and George just stared at each other. Then I reached down and slowly pulled all the papers out of the bin, shaking my head. Was I remembering things wrong? Had George died before lockdown? Even if he had, why was a fax machine printing pictures of his death? I pulled up google, and checked. George Floyd died May 25th 2020. We left the office the first week of March. I just sat there, slowly spinning in my chair, completely unable to process the image in front of me. Then I remembered there were hundreds more pages underneath. Scattering them around the table, my mouth hung open as I began to recognise things I didn’t know the last time I saw them. The weird blob that had just looked like an alien space hopper, my eyes now instantly saw it was the coronavirus, viewed under a microscope. If I’d have been paying more attention at the time, I’d have probably known. There were riots and protests, a police officer with bullet wounds in his chest, a black teenager hung in a noose, the dead bodies in the street were wearing face masks. A shiver wrapped its way around my entire body as cold realisation spilled over me. Only a few images made any sense to me, but every single one had happened after it had been printed. It couldn’t be right. Someone must have changed the pictures. They were so low quality, I must just be seeing things. I snatched the picture of George up. It was him. There was no denying it. It was him. My eyes flicked to the ‘84’ at the top right corner. Should I put them in order? I slid the papers around, searching for an ‘83’ or ‘85’, then I paused. He died almost three months after this was printed… Pulling up the calendar on my computer, I started counting backwards from May 25th. As my finger moved closer and closer to the week we’d left the office, I forced myself to count out loud, but each number just came out in a strangled whisper. “Eighty-one, eighty-two, eighty-three…” My finger pointed to March 3rd and fell away. I couldn’t physically say the number. But it was the same as the one printed in black above George Floyd’s final moments. Casting my mind back, I tried desperately to remember what day I printed off these pages. I knew I got the ink delivery on a Monday, and I was printing for one more day before I got told to stop. March 3rd was a Tuesday. The fax machine hadn’t just printed the future. It had told me how many days until it happened. As if it had been trying to warn me. In that moment, I became extremely aware of how cold it was in my office, and how quiet. My hands slid by themselves to the pile of papers, rummaging around until I could find another to verify. All the rioters were too vague; I needed something more specific. At first I passed straight over an image of Big Ben and empty London streets, but then I realised that it could represent the UK going into lockdown. Only when I pulled out the paper did I see the number. 31080 I couldn’t remember exactly how many days had passed between printing and lockdown, but somehow that seemed a little high. Maybe my day theory was just a coincidence with George. Still, here I was surrounded by hundreds of images that the fax machine had somehow known would happen before they did. I was just about to go and check the machine was still in the printing room, when my eyes landed on a page that made me pause. It showed a man in an untucked shirt and jeans carrying a large box. One that looked a lot like the fax machine. And the man looked a lot like me, even down to the clothes I was wearing. Despite the cold air, I was starting to sweat. Both my arms were trembling with faint shivers, and I puffed out a deep lungful of air, half to hear something familiar and natural, half to break the silence that was digging under my skin. I ignored the man who looked like me as best I could, and concentrated on the number. 128. Frowning, I turned back to the calendar and counted the days. One hundred and twenty eight days from March 3rd would be tomorrow. So, tomorrow I’d grab the fax machine? In the clothes I was wearing today? If I’d not seen the image, I would have gone to grab it and bring it into the office right now. Looking back at the picture, it was impossible to tell where I was going or even where I was. The background might as well have been a snowstorm for all the grainy blots and faded ink. Why was it printing pictures of me, or at least, someone who looked like me? And why such a mundane event? Fighting the urge to rip that page into little pieces, I decided to go to the printing room and see if the fax machine was still there. Weirdly, I was sort of relieved when I saw it was. Maybe I was worried someone might have taken it, and the mystery would be over. Raiding the supply cupboard for the remaining bottle of ink, I scooped the fax machine up in one arm and headed back to the office. I didn’t want to hold it like the man in the picture was, but because of its awkward shape and weight, I ended up doing exactly that. Placing it down on my desk, I unravelled the cord and plugged the fax machine in, topping it up with ink and paper. Almost immediately, it resumed screeching and chewing through the paper. Mind racing, I looked at all the printed images and numbers, spread chaotically all over my desk. Snatching up the image that looked like me, I clutched it in both hands and stared at it so hard, my eyes must have been close to boring holes right through it. It didn’t look like me. It was me. There was no denying it. Desperately glancing back and forth at the number and my calendar, I realised that most of these pages had been printed on Monday 2nd March, not Tuesday 3rd of March. By searching through them like a frantic idiot, I’d mixed them all up. If this one of me had been printed on the Monday, the number was accurate. 128 days until it had come true. The machine had predicted exactly what I’d do, and even though I saw the image, I still did it. I threw up into the bin. Some part of my brain had still been holding onto the possibility that somebody was messing with me, but the page clutched in my shaking hands was proof that this was something else entirely. The fax machine was printing the future. Hundreds of pages of events that happened after they were printed. I threw up again, dry heaving until there was nothing left in my stomach. Wiping my mouth, I screwed up the image of myself and the fax machine and tossed it in the bin. It wasn’t like the others, and I had to wrestle with myself not to grab a lighter and set the thing on fire. George Floyd and the others had been creepy. The image with me in it - that I’d literally just fulfilled - took my soul and shook it. I was sweating so much I began to stain the other papers as I ruffled through them. All the images I recognised seemed significant for one reason or another. The kind of events that history would document. How was I included? Fumbling through my colleague’s drawers, I found what I was looking for. His cigarettes. I normally only smoke when I’m drunk, but needed something to stop my brain racing. As I lit it and took a deep drag of hot vapourised tar, I dimly realised I’d never had a cigarette sober, and there was a reason for that. Puffing out thick plumes of foul tasting smoke and biting down a cough, I searched through the other images. How many had happened? How many were still to come? Were there any that were wrong? Since I’d already messed up the divide between Monday and Tuesday, I decided to take out the ones I knew had happened. It helped a little bit, and stacked together I could see my theory about the numbers equalling days needed some refinement. Images of the riots following George’s death had all sorts of digits on, ranging from 2.6 to 7862027. Since I knew they’d definitely happened, I played around with the numbers a bit, and realised that if I treated the big numbers as seconds or minutes, they would fit the timeline much better. The small numbers generally worked out as months or weeks. Except for some that I could tell were actually days. It didn’t take long for my head to start hurting, and I didn’t think it was the cigarette. So the image showed what would happen, and the number referred to when, in varying time formats. I was trying to think how I could organise the remaining images when the fax machine stopped printing. Out of ink again. God dammit. The top page was just money on a counter, and I noticed something that had eluded me on the other images. The fax machine didn’t print text. Other than the number in the corner, there were no letters or symbols of any kind on the image itself. The bank notes were blank, with Queen Elizabeth’s face the defining feature that let me know it was currency. The top left number on this one was very small. 0.0329 Placing the stack neatly on my colleagues desk - I did not want to mix these up with the others - I reached for the bottle of ink and my heart sank. It was practically empty, with only a few dribbles of black ink at the bottom. Immediately, I jumped online to buy more. With delivery times, I’d likely have to wait a couple of days to print more of the future. I bit off a laugh. What was I thinking? I couldn’t just sit on this, this was more important than some office schmuck waiting for a parcel. I needed to tell someone. The government needed this, or the UN or something. Someone who wasn’t me. Pouring the last remnants of ink into the fax machine, I took out my phone. Who to call? My boss? The police? My local councillor? My fingers hovered over the numbers, wondering how I’d prove it. All my proof had already happened. Only that angry upper management woman had seen them beforehand, and she didn’t exactly seem like someone who I could get easily get on board. I didn’t even know her name. Paralysed, I looked back at the papers, as if they might help me. The one with the money. That was a small number. It should be happening soon. The currency was British. That meant I’d got both space and time within at least some close proximity. But what did it mean? Money on a counter. That could be anything. Everybody in the country had money. I could reach into my wallet right now and put money on the- I took out my wallet and opened it up. Two fivers and a twenty. Comparing the size and the pictures didn’t take long to see that the image showed the same. There were coins on the counter too. I unzipped my wallet and began to dig out my coins. I had four, and the image only had three. Relief washed over me as I figured it was likely just an extreme coincidence. Then, as I pulled out the coins to check closer, one slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor, bouncing and rolling away. I lurched after it, but it disappeared underneath a filing cabinet. Cursing, I examined my remaining coins. They were identical to those in the image. The one under the filing cabinet wasn’t there. This was my money. The fax machine sputtered to a stop and I leapt out my chair, half in shock, half spurred to action. It was my money in the picture. The fax machine was predicting what I’d do again. I placed my money on the table and stepped back, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, of course. I even tried rearranging it, to closer match the image. Nothing. Looking at the fresh papers, it hadn’t even finished printing the latest one. It was still half stuck in the machine. I carefully pulled it out, and my blood went cold. At the bottom of a set of stairs, was a tangled heap of limbs. The face hadn’t been printed yet, but I recognised the untucked shirt. The trainers too, I recognised, even underneath the blood. And tauntingly, just on the edge of the image, was the fax machine. This was me. Dead. Swallowing, I became painfully aware of the number printed above the image. 6. Six? Six what, days? Years? Minutes? Seconds? If I’d had anything left to vomit, it would have come out. I needed to get out of here. I needed to take this machine and prove it was real to someone else or smash it to bits and throw it in a river or burn it or - Forcing myself to take long, deep breaths, I studied the image. What if seeing this image made me panic and leave with the fax machine? What if, in my blind panic, I slipped on the stairs, and that’s what made the image come true? Calming down a little, I realised I could just wait. There were no stairs in my office. If I just didn’t leave for a little bit longer, that ruled out seconds and minutes. I still had seven hours of my shift left, so I could rule out hours too. That just left days, weeks, months and years to worry about, right? And I could worry about them later. So I sat still for a few minutes, sickly smile growing on my face. After what could well have been six minutes, one of the lights on the fax machine lit up, blinking red. That particular LED had never lit up before, and I found myself wishing I could have some idea what symbol would have been underneath it. I decided it was because I’d beaten it. I’d not followed the future it had predicted for me, and so it wasn’t happy. Jokingly, I fed the paper back to it. “Want this back?” I said out loud with a smile. My smile shattered when the fax machine took it. It snatched the paper out my hand and garbled it in reverse, spitting out clean white paper back into the feed tray. There was the briefest pause, and then it began printing again. Once more, it ran out of ink before finishing, and the image came out incomplete. It was almost identical. A mangled body wearing my clothes, blood covered pages scattered all around, and a fax machine lying on its side. Instead of stairs, skid marks of a tyre ran underneath the pages and my body.. My face hadn’t printed this time either, and the number 0.00476 hung ominously above me. Part of me wanted to immediately run the numbers, to see how long I had to avoid roads to stop this becoming true. But part of me knew the truth. The similarity of the images was too striking. The exact same prediction, just a different cause in a different place. Same death, just slightly later. The fax machine was apparently convinced this was my destiny. On my computer, I closed the calculator and opened a Word document. This Word document. In a moment I’ll save it and email it to you. Please note the timestamp. I’ve managed to push back my destiny once. The fax machine has shown me what to avoid and roughly how long for. The blinking red light even tells me when it’s safe. I’ve got a few strategies to survive, but this is my failsafe in case I’m wrong. It’s not like I can stay in this office forever. The pictures are important, and I’m amongst them, which means my actions are important. I can’t sit in my office hiding away, whilst the literal future of humanity sits in my hands. I’m going to get more ink. *** [ error code 54 ] (846) [ highlighted for retrieval and clean up ]
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