1 DANGER THING ”there exists a world of possibilities for your average joe & jane. this is what a typical per- son in the World sees when they open their blinds in the morning. a set of branching paths growing muddier & less defined, as they fade off into the distance ”this world is not accessible to all. there exist a chosen few, a rare few, who find they would sacrifice their lives for those of others, who have sworn off mundanity & shed their names like ill-fitting clothes. they abandon the sense of the World, its basic logic of either/or, to do the impossible ”in the story you are about to hear, take care! your eyes & ears may deceive you. for you are about to leave the world of practical possibility behind ”enter a life of danger, intrigue & mysteries inconceivable to the human organism ”you are about to enter the life of an AGENT” ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ the ceiling fan spun around lazily. Charlot- te ”Charl” Gibb sipped her gin & coke. a copy of Atlas Shrugged sat open in front of her, to add character to the place a stereo-V hung from the ceiling, showing the scene at the capital. thousands of young men & women were marching with signs on their backs, though you couldn’t read what they said from the stereo-V, the image was so grainy. & the speaker was kaput outside the Cheap-o-Sleep, the streets were empty. except for one man, an old guy wearing a gray-black business suit, rolling a grey-green bag behind him. probably another traveling salesman the receptionist snorted. after a long minute, the old salesman finally reached the screen door 2 he knocked three times. Charl tsked & slowly put her drink down ”whadya want, bud?” she snarled the salesman took off his hat out of respect to her, as a lady. ”im sorry, budd-y, but my car just broke down outside & i need a place to stay” ”take a tube home, that’s what they’re there for.” she turned back to her drink he looked downcast. ”but, then, i would have to leave my car for God-knows-how-long &, well, i just couldn’t bear that.” the old guy started to whimper & whine. ”it’s a landcar, you see. an antique. i just couldn’t stand to lose it, i’d be heartbroken” ”gee, well, that’s a shame, guy” ”i collect antiques. i’m an antique collector.” he smiled proudly ”it’s always good to remember your roots. but listen, i’m sorry, bud, but the boss says no ne- wbies after midnight.” she leaned over the desk. ”y’never know what sorta creep might try to get in, y’know? it’s policy” ”y’know, budd-y, i can pay you in U.S. Amerikan dollars” ”no kip. when from? before the big one, i s’pose” the salesman puffed out his chest. ”i’ve got a five dollar bill from 1979” ”’79? fuck me. & you’d be willing to give me one if i were willing to look the other way, huh?” ”yes, that’s right” ”i dunno... boss might get suspicious. a bill from ’79 ain’t worth getting fired for” he tapped his chin. ”i could always just leave my car here for the night, go home, & come back in the morning? to get it repaired. you would just need to watch it. that is, if you’d be fine taking care of an antique landcar for 6 or more hours, budd-y...” she pursed her lips. ”just gimme the money & take your key. boss’s a drunk, probably’ll never 3 notice a thing” he nodded. Charl walked over to remove the latch from the screen door. she made sure to quickly close the metal security door after him, in case anyone else needed a room at 2:30 in the morning the salesman stared at the desk. she gave him the key for room 402, which he gladly accepted he nodded at the copy of Atlas Shrugged. ”good, elevating reading” ”it’s just for character,” she spat, ”i don’t read that schlock. listen, now you got your key, so gimme the bill” ”sure!” he absentmindedly looked through his wallet before handing her a dark green slip of paper she sniffed at it, not quite remembering what a dollar bill should smell like. ”you’re alright, guy” he smiled gormlessly & walked upstairs ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ time passed. Charl finished her drink & fumed at the stereo-V someone was clomping down the stairs. it was Issy Waltraut Feigenbaum, neé Paige, a newlywed chatterbox from West Texas she walked in front of the desk in her frothy white dress & heavy black combat boots, pacing back & forth a few times before mustering the courage to speak Charl lifted her eyes from the stereo-V for a second. they were doing a talking head piece just then, so there wasn’t much to watch except softly vibrating jowls ”hey, Charli,” she glimmered, "how ya doing?” ”good, just watching the news. i think they’re doing a piece on Can-D use back east” ”oh, that’s just a shame. y’know, those kids just need to get a job. that’ll set ’em all right 4 straight. having one of those good ol’ clock-in, clock-out, blue collar jobs. a little regularity. structure. that’s why God invented work. well, that & the whole original sin thing” ”well, not much chance of that. don’t think jobs like that exist anymore” ”no?” she seemed honestly surprised ”yup. things are just gonna keep going down the can, so the docs say. terminal civilizational decay” the young wife put her hands on her hips. ”oh, that’s just malarkey! these things ain’t so black & white, y’know? after all, there’s a bright side to everything, y’know?” ”no. what’s the bright side of those kids in Raleigh dying from Can-D?” ”i dunno. what’ve those nasty old talking heads been sayin’?” ”dunno, sound doesn’t work” Issy pursed her lips. ”how’d y’know they’re talkin’ about Can-D then?” ”i dunno. just a guess. hopefully it’s lucky, lol. what were ya gonna complain about?” she played nervously with the hem of her dress. ”oh, it’s no complaint. i just- just thought that y’all should know... i’ve been hearing strange noises comin’ from across the hall. weird chanting an’ all such stuff... ”y’know, i ain’t one to judge others for their beliefs, but i think this man might be, like, a satanist or a buddhist or somethin’ like that...” Charl snorted. ”is it latin? he might just be catholic” Issy nodded with fear in her eyes. ”yeah, or catholic! i just thought y’all might want to take a look at it...” the receptionist grimaced, then looked down at the newlywed’s perky tits. ”good thing for you the customer is always right. i think i know the room number” 5 Issy marched back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Charl followed closely behind, master key in hand it was almost dawn & Charl could only imagine that Issy & her husband, Heinrich, had been up for hours trying to gather the strength to disturb the motel receptionist’s silent vigil, the chrizzo freaks that’s what she was there for, for them to bother! fucking idiots ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ the two women stopped on the fourth floor. orange light shone through the windows. Charl stepped forward to politely knock at the old guy’s door Issy immediately grabbed her from behind. the receptionist let out a surprised grunt. even with her combat boots, Charl still stood a foot higher than Issy, with an extra 20 pounds of muscle. but she had been caught entirely off guard Charl attempted to kick back at her assailant, but only succeeded at losing her balance Heinrich emerged from the newlyweds’ room, a burly man wearing a stained wifebeater & a red vinyl jacket. he grabbed Charl by the feet while Issy nuzzled her head, keeping her from making too much of racket as they carried her back to their room they tossed her through the door. the newlyweds calmly stepped through, closing it behind them Charl tried to charge them, screaming, ”help! help me! Lord, fuck! Jesus fucking Christ, please! somebody help me!!!” ”don’t say the Lord’s name in vain, bitch!” Issy, standing guard, smacked her to the ground with a baseball bat ”oh, fuck!” Charl clutched at her gushing nose. her white denim top turned red with blood. ”why 6 the fuck are you doing this to me? i’m on y’all’s- ” Heinrich stamped his boot over her mouth ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ time passed. someone knocked politely on the door Issy was busy tying up Charl. Heinrich replaced his boot with a ball gag, before tossing her with ease onto the bed grabbing as many blankets & comforters as she could find, Issy layered them over Charl to try & obfuscate her presence the knocks continued at their steady pace. Heinrich finally answered the door. there was a man in a grey-black business suit Heinrich smiled placidly at him. ”Hallo, mein Nachbar. Wie geht’s? [hello, my neighbor. how’s it going?] why are you awake at this early hour?” ”oh, well, mein Nachba-r, somebody had knocked at my door & i saw your door close when i went outside to check. i was wondering if it might’ve been you” ”Nein, nein. [no, no.] we have been busy-” Issy bolted up from under the sheets, where she had been laying with Charl. ”Heiny! y’don’t tell e’erbody about that sorta thing in Amerika! ”maybe learn a li’l somethin’ about etiquette, buster brown!” her face bright pink, she turned to face the salesman. ”i’m real sorry about that, mister-" ”Luzzatto. Dante Luzzatto.” he bowed slightly Heinrich chuckled. ”yes, Herr Luzzatto. we were just having normal marital relations, as my young wife was referring to” ”w- ell, mein Nachba-r, i wouldn’t be one to interrupt normal marital relations, if y’know what i mean! ha! ha!” ”ha ha!” echoed Heinrich ”so, what,” the salesman asked casually, ”are you on your honeymoon?” 7 ”yeah!” Issy chirped, ”we’re just on our way to myrtle beach. I’m from Odessa & he’s from all the way in Hamburg! ’parently, it ain’t just a food, it’s also a whole darn place!” ”it is very warm [warm] in texas in the summer months...” Heinrich muttered Dante nodded sagely. ”well, have fun, you two kids! g’night, meine Nachba-rn! ha! ha!” the newlyweds smiled at each other ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ as he began walking back to his room, Issy checked their captive Heinrich seemed to have discreetly choked her out. she was like a doll with its strings cut they untied the unconscious body & threw her in the closet. Heinrich jammed a chair under the doorknob the newlyweds were in Elm Springs for a very specific purpose & they didn’t want to leave any unnecessary bodies Heinrich gave Issy a glare. she knew what it meant. letting Charl knock on that door had been an easily avoidable mistake Issy stripped down to her black jumpsuit. her husband took off his jacket & put on his matching suit. she took a swig of whiskey. they both donned masks, bright blue with spikes that pressed into their faces. the spikes weren’t sharp enough to cut open skin. it was just pressure ”Hast du den Hauptschlüssel, Issy? [do you have the master key, Issy?]” ”Ja, es ist ins- [yes, it’s in-]” she squeaked. ”er, it’s in the hallway” Issy cracked open the door. ”oh, fiddlesticks!” ”Was ist das Problem, Liebchen? Hast du den Hauptschlüssel? [what is the problem, dear? do you have the master key?]” 8 ”Nein! Dieser alte Verkäufer [that old seller] must’ve taken it. Was sollen wir tun? [what should we do?]” ”Wir müssen jetzt warten. [we must wait now.] keep watch, until der Verkäufer leaves his room” Issy nodded & set up a stool by the door. she stared through the keyhole. time passed ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Elm Springs, Arkansas Cheap-o-Sleep franchisee Gern Hasselbach stumbled into work to find nobody working the front desk Atlas Shrugged was still open to page 46, thank Christ. but fuck, the woman who got paid to keep it there was missing. not to mention the speakers still didn’t work the customers were quietly dining in the main lounge, enjoying their biscuits & gravy & such. a smartly dressed redheaded woman emerged from among them. everyone’s gazes followed her boss lit a cigar & pretended not to notice, just silently watching shapes rise & fall on the stereo-V. there was a woman with a stick, pointing it at the shapes. she seemed very concerned about one one of them maybe it was another heat wave? fuck knows they didn’t need one the franchise owner felt a tap on the shoulder ”excuse me,” the redhead asked sternly, ”i had a question about checking out early, but it seems that nobody’s at reception at all. are you the owner?” ”lucky guess. what’s your question?” ”would I be able to check out early? i paid for three days, but i need to head out right now. it’s urgent” boss snorted. ”you want your money back, is that it? damn leeches. listen, you made a deal with me, and-” 9 the woman backed away, stuttering slightly. ”i- i don’t want my money back, actually. i- i’m on per diem, it’s not my money, really ”no, i just wanted to know... if it would be okay for me to check out early?” dollar signs lit up in Gern’s electronic eyes. ”check out any time you like, then! why the fuck should i care? ”say, though, have you seen my gal Charlotte?” ”Charlotte? the receptionist? is she missing?” ”it seems like it, &- oh! fuck! that bitch! she’s taken the fucking master key with her!” ”this seems like a private matter,” the redhead muttered as she made for the door ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Issy & Heinrich were dressed in their PJs now & busily tearing through a large plate of scrambly eggs the newlyweds nodded to each other. they were supposed to be checking out now. they had only paid for one night Issy tapped her husband on the shoulder. that redhead, she’d left her room key behind with her biscuits & gravy. how careless. how wasteful Heinrich finished his tea & got up to go to the bathroom. on the way there, he knocked her table. he didn’t think anybody noticed Issy cleared the dishes like a good wife & the two met back in their room. everybody was down at breakfast except for them & a few live-in artists, & they probably wouldn’t be up ’til noon perhaps, she thought, artists sleep in so late because, when they see the sunrise, they think to themselves, ”how could I ever make anything half as beautiful?” & become disheartened. but what’s wrong with the sunset, then? they slipped their criminal uniforms back on before opening up the closet. Heinrich tried to smash Charl over the head with the now-empty of 10 whiskey. but Issy stilled his hand. she instead grasped the terrified receptionist by the scruff the newlyweds working together maneuvered Charl into a chokehold. moving quickly, they dragged her over to room 404. the redhead’s key fit Issy sat Charl on the bed, then looked down at the unconscious body. in their panic, neither had noticed that the receptionist hadn’t stirred she removed her mask the domestic terrorist started hyperventilating. ”how’s this s’posed to work, Heinrich? if they find her alive, she’ll identify us! why don’ we just wait in here for Ms. Banks & give ’er two cold knocks?” Heinrich nodded sagely. ”that sounds like a better idea than trying to frame Ms. Banks” ”besides, we want her dead, don’t we?” ”ha ha! that is right. i suppose this time i am the one who has taken an unnecessary risk!” ”he he!” she giggled, ”c’mon, lemme shut the door, you get somethin’ to club ’er with” as Issy went to shut the door, Heinrich’s avian eyes darted around the room. they finally settled on a bottle of whiskey, seemingly identical to the one in their room, except still full with her husband taking hold of the bottle, testing the weight in his hands, Issy pulled Charl into the closet by her curly black hair the receptionist’s unconscious body twitched & spasmed slightly, but her eyes stayed bolted shut, even as she started to groan the two of them took position at either side of the door. time passed Issy lay on the bed, filing down her nails to distract herself. but Heinrich held his position exhausted, he finally put down the bottle & yawned. the German looked around the room Issy rushed over to peek through the keyhole, just in case somebody was outside, but of course there was nothing 11 Heinrich’s eyebrows jumped up. he turned to face his wife with a start ”Meine Liebe, hast du gesehen, dass das Bett gemacht ist? [my love, have you seen that the bed has been made?]” ”Ja, meine Liebe. Aber ich habe das Bett nicht gemacht. Was denkst du? [yes, my love. but i didn’t make the bed. what are you thinking?]” ”Das Bett ist gemacht, es gibt kein Gepäck, und der Wandschrank war leer! [the bed is made, there is no luggage, and the closet was empty!]” ”But, meine Liebe, how coulda she checked out when we got the key?” ”Ich weiß nicht. Oh, Gott, hilf uns! [i don’t know. oh, God help us!]” he fell to his knees & buried his head in his hands. ”they will find the receptionist! we will go to prison! they will leave the Antichrist to run free! Oh, Gott, hilf uns...” ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ Gern sat behind the reception desk, reading Atlas Shrugged for the 10,000th time & smoking a fine Virginian cigar that lady had some badge & handed over a good sum in exchange for her checking out without her key. she must’ve really been in a hurry! not that the boss cared all that much no new customers had come in so far today. boss took a sip of chicory coffee two young techies came in around 10:30 to work on the stereo-V & speakers. they said there was nothing wrong with the speakers or the stereo-V individually. well, nothing having to do with the lack of audio it was the connection between them that had become distorted somehow. this meant the techies had to constantly check it to see if their latest bodge had worked 12 so, occasionally, the boss had to listen to some unearthly chatter as the two were gradually brought into alignment just before deciding to shut up shop & read in the lounge, one of the techies tapped Gern on the shoulder ”um, boss, there’s a woman in a black suit knocking on your door.” she pointed ”eh, her again. i hope she’s not looking for her money back. ha!” Gern slipped a guilder in between the pages & returned the book to page 46. as the boss rose, it became apparent this was a different woman. her hair was blonde, she was much younger, & she wore a gray tie with her suit. she also had sunglasses on, & an earpiece. classic spook this was finally it, the boss gulped. ’ol Ayn Rand had finally been banned! the franchisee adjusted a lime green cravat & made for the door. the woman in the suit snorted ”good morning, Boss Hasselbach. i understand you are the owner of this establishment...? ”let me cut to the chase. i’m Special Agent Sadler, CBI. i’d like to ask you a few questions.” she flipped open a notepad the boss chuckled nervously. ”what’s all this about, officer?” she sighed. ”i’m not, strictly speaking, an ’officer.’ would you please let me in?” ”okay, if you insist” the franchisee unlatched the door & stepped aside to let her pass. Special Agent Sadler took up a position at the bottom of the stairs. the bulge of a raygun was visible on her hip ”we have been made aware of some suspicious activity at your Cheap-o-Sleep, including, but not limited to, the disappearance of persons & objects ”given the recent presence of Secretary of State Anneka Banks, we think this might be tied to a plot of national importance” 13 the boss blinked. ”the Secretary of State was here?” ”yes. she says you were rude to her” ”well, now, nobody told me that she was the Secretary of State! so excuse me, ma’am, but i’m just a working class two-bit salt of the Earth pig shit smol Bizness owner & i’m too busy doing Bizness to feed my families to keep up with things like who the Secretary of State is! ”i just run my business, i run it well, & one day i’ll die fat & happy! ha ha ha ha!” ”thank you, boss. i suppose we can expect your full cooperation?” ”well, sure. i’d like to know where Charl is as much as the next rat fuck. why, i’ve been looking for her all morning myself! i had just sat down to take a short break, that’s all” the Special Agent scribbled something down. ”may i see the Secretary of State’s room?” ”well, unfortunately, two of the things that are missing are the key to that room & the master key for the whole place. i can show ya to it, but i can’t show ya inside, gotcha?” Sadler rolled her eyes. ”the government in exile will pay for any & all damages accrued” ”well, alrighty then, hot dog! it’s room 404!” first thesis of objectivism: any deal where you come out better than the other guy is a good deal. corollary: if that ”other guy” is actually nobody, but in fact the government, even better! the boss was gonna have to get a locksmith anyway, but now the feds would foot the bill. hot dog, indeed! Special Agent Sadler nodded & began to make her way up the stairs. the boss considered following, but then noticed her reach down towards the bulge of the raygun. she obviously expected this to get nasty so Gern just took another puff of that fine Virginian cigar, leaving such things to the proper authorities 14 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ most of the guests were probably off doing touristy things, Tiffany Sadler reasoned. then, she thought, what’s there touristy to do in Elm Springs, Arkansas? regardless of the reason, the hallway seemed empty. she pulled out her hair pins & got to work on the lock meanwhile Issy, still holding out hope beyond hope, looked back through the peephole. still nothing Heinrich paced around the room. Charl seemed to have woken up. she was banging on the closet door. he moved in to make sure she stayed put then, the receptionist went quiet. Heinrich & Issy shared a knowing look. she was undoing her gag. they cursed themselves & each other, for not checking the dyke for a pocketknife Issy heard footsteps outside. Sadler could hear someone struggling inside & redoubled her efforts. it’d be hell to pay back at the Rat Borough if the Secretary of State ate it the young wife checked the peephole again. despite still seeing nothing, she grabbed the whiskey bottle & got into batting position. the Special Agent, hearing commotion inside, readied her raygun Heinrich grabbed a side table with both hands & positioned himself at the other side of the door all four of them held their breath. the lock finally clicked. the door opened inward. Sadler took a cautious step through CRASH! broken glass & cheap whiskey rained down on the scene. Issy slammed the door on the Special Agent’s face, over & over again, as if propelled by some unholy power Heinrich stood back in shock. she snarled at him, pulling Sadler’s bloody & convulsing body inside before slamming the door shut behind her 15 he put his head in his hands. it was like a devil had become his wife the thing that had been Issy pulled out two small plastic bags. one had a strand of curly black hair, Charlotte’s, while the other looked empty Issy grabbed a shard of glass & made for her own throat Charl began shouting through a crack in the closet door. Heinrich ran towards his wife, tears streaming down his face ”Meine Liebe! Warum tust du das? Weißt du nicht, dass Selbstmord eine Todsünde ist?! [my love! why are you doing this? don’t yoy know that suicide is a mortal sin?!]” she sniffled back, hands shaking as the shard approached her pretty white neck. ”i’m so sorry, Heiny, but i gotta do this fer a still higher power. Ich kann es nicht erklären, zumindest nicht dir [i can’t explain it, at least not to you]” Heinrich screamed in agony. ”Meine Liebe! Wir können immer noch gemeinsam weglaufen! Es ist nicht zu spät für uns... [my love! we can always still run away together! it is not too late for us...] ”if the Antichrist lives, but we live still, then our task is not over but merely incomplete. Bitte, mein Ami-Liebchen... [please, my Amerikan sweetheart...]” Issy’s face went pale. ”i’m sorry, Heiny, but I am merely an image on a screen” she fell to her knees. Heinrich wept openly, like a woman. he knew it was unseemly, but he could not stop himself her blood splattered against the door. her face smacked down on the floor. time passed ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ then, she stood back up again. calmly, as if nothing of interest had happened 16 Heinrich let his fingers open slightly. but it was not his wife & lover who stood before him. no, he found himself confronted with something wholly Alien, an indistinct shape nearly colourless but totally opaque, & only roughly humanoid he jumped back, reaching for the bedside table ”Wer sind Sie? [who are you?]” Heinrich snarled it spoke with a perfectly flat affect. ”Hallo, Herr Feigenbaum. Ich bin ein AGENT von S*C*U*M. Es tut mir leid, dass meine Figur dich verletzt hat. ”[hello, Mr. Feigenbaum. i am an AGENT (of/from/belonging to) S*C*U*M. i’m sorry that my (character/piece/routine) has hurt you]” ”Wer sind Sie?! [who are you?!]” he shouted, brandishing the table as a makeshift club ”Ich bin ein AGENT von S*C*U*M. Nichts mehr, nichts weniger. Bitte geh jetzt weg, oder du wirst ins Gefängnis gehen. Nochmals, es tut mir leid. ”[i am an AGENT (of/from/belonging to) S*C*U*M. nothing more, nothing less. please go away now, or you will go to prison. again, i’m sorry]” ”Ich werde meine Strafe akzeptieren. [i will accept my punishment]” he muttered sadly ”O.K. Tschüss ⋆ [okay. bye ⋆ ]” it turned away from him ”Tschüss...” he snorted rage filled his belly, then his heart. he screamed, ”Tschüss?! Das ist alles, was Sie zu sagen haben?! Tschüss?!!! ”[bye?! that’s all you have to say?! bye?!!!]” his eyes still red, he considered whether or not to punch this apparition before he could make a decision, Heinrich was overcome by pink light. instinctively he turned away, eyes clamped shut when he opened them again, Tiffany Sadler stood before him Heinrich immediately reached for the bedside table, before noticing that Tiffany Sadler was still lying on the floor, dead 17 Sadler-B was carrying a white body bag. she carefully placed Sadler-A inside & zipped it up. entranced by this, miracle or witchcraft he could not say, Sadler-B handcuffed Heinrich before he could act then she pulled open the closet door & let Charl, kicking & screaming, fall onto the bed. the duplicate Special Agent comforted the traumatized secretary, gently patting her back & keeping her well away from that brute Heinrich with the body bag over her shoulder, Sadler-B led Heinrich downstairs, past the reception desk, & into a white helicopter marked with the caged eagle of S*C*U*M ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ inside the motel, the owner kept smoking & reading Ayn Rand. she was good at writing, boss thought Charl was exhausted from the night’s hijinks. having freshly received the master key back from Dante’s tender care, she returned it to its proper place on the rack behind the counter the techies were busy packing up their gear the receptionist went to the kitchen & came back with a styrofoam cup of chicory coffee. a splash of seafoam green on the surface, something Sadler-B had left her with to help with the trauma, she’d said. the whole thing would soon feel like a bad dream, she’d said Charl wasn’t sure if she wanted that. but she’d already missed one day of work. & she’d already set her heart on spending Dante’s bill to get horn implants. chicks loved horns the boss coughed loudly. Charlotte smiled back, unconvincingly ”so, finally got the stereo-V fixed while i was kidnapped, huh? ya figured that’d be the best time? the best thing you could do with your time?” 18 her tone was light, but her whole body was shaking the franchisee’s electric eyes rolled in their mechanical sockets. ”look, Charl, it’s been on the calendar for a month now, if you ever read the damn thing!” she looked down. ”so, uh, ya tried it out yet?” boss’ head shook vigorously. ”no, i don’t care about that. just got to the part about the trains... they sound beautiful” ”oh, i’m sure that’s a good part...” Charlotte coughed. ”c’mon, you old fart! let’s try it out” she turned a knob behind the desk from ”off” to ”on.” it was still tuned to the government-funded news ”-police are baffled today as to why protesters have voluntarily ended their planned 39 day march on Richmond after only one day ”when interviewed, protest organizer Ronnette Dickinson-West said that they had all ’changed their minds on some important issues’ ”this strange turnabout has been called by some commentators a ’miracle,’ by others an ’act of divine grace, mercy on this World of sin’ ”we now turn to Erika with the weather. Erika?” ”yes, Maxine. now, tomorrow we are expecting highs of-” tired & bored, Charl switched off the stereo-V. it was a lot more fun when she had to guess what they were saying lazily stirring her chicory coffee, she decided to go check up on that old salesman’s antique car ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ”when the innocent terrorist dies from death, ”over the body of an agent of law, ”carrying the skin of the Antichrist, ”& the hair of their innocent victim, ”there will be peace, silence & security in the heartland 19 ”& the law will be Word ”& the Word, law ”& the law will be fact ”& the fact, law ”amen” – S*C*U*M STANDARD ISSUE HERMETICAL CODEX, 1st verse, 40th Rite