Adopted my old pup a couple months ago. Periodontal disease had led to all but six of his teeth being removed while he was at the rescue waiting for me to find him.
Vet estimates he is 10 and says the rest of his teeth will probably eventually be pulled, but brushing daily could help stave that off. Problem is, he doesn’t like when I try to even look at his teeth/gums.
Anyone know of a good product for dental chickens like my boy? He does eat a greenie a day. Thanks!

Hi all. Iam a 44yo woman with a BMI of 29.97 (let’s just say I’ve been on the cusp of obesity since I was about 9) and hereditary high blood pressure & high cholesterol. I am under a self funded health insurance plan (Anthem BCBS) via a local town government. It does not cover weight loss medication or programs of any kind. Heart disease runs in my family. My very health conscious father & grandfather had heart attacks under age 60. I’ve been told repeatedly by healthcare providers that if I don’t improve my health I will follow the same path in 10-15 years.
Did anyone have an issue with their insurance coverage denying them and having to appeal?
I am curious whether medical diagnosis potentially covers Wegovy or an FDA approved alternative. I know I can’t afford it out of pocket. Thanks!

Not everything has an opposite we do not live in a world of duality that is just lies hammered into u since birth
We do not inherently need bad to appreciate good, nor is there an opposite good for every bad. Earth existence is clearly unbalanced; leaning more towards bad/pain/selfishness than good/health/altruism.
For example whats the opposite good equivalent of being kidnapped and trafficked for 10 years. Or a lifetime of poverty and starvation. Or literally any debilitating chronic pain
Both new agers, traditional religious people, and non religious people subscribe to these dichotomy psyops in literally every aspect of their life, for anything. It makes me want to cry when ppl say shit like god needed their baby angel back or this incurable auto-immune disease is helping me grow as a person like cmon bro rly 🥺
I do not understand the good in suffering, I cannot see or feel it. What doesnt kill you makes u stronger is seemingly just survivorship bias packaged into a catchy cliche
If this is truly gods plan, god is either shortsighted, apathetic, or actively malevolent

I am 19 years old, and I’ve been lifting weights since the last 1.5 years.
I am curious as to whether having 10 whole eggs in one go have any impact on my health over a period of time.
I’ve been consuming eggs since the last six months and have never faced any issue with digestion or anything in fact I like the taste of it too.
I’ve heard people saying it has a very high amount of cholesterol so it’d lead to heart diseases and even heart failures.
Please help me out whether I should continue the consumption of the same or not.

https://cnduk.org/depleted-uranium-the-last-thing-ukrainians-need/ - March 30, 2023
In a shocking development, the government has announced it will be sending depleted uranium (DU) rounds to Ukraine along with Challenger 2 tanks. As we know from several wars in the past few decades, the health consequences for Ukrainian civilians will be high. DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal and it’s a by-product of the enrichment process used to make reactor-grade uranium. Its chemical and physical properties have made it popular for a range of military and commercial uses: its density and its ability to self-sharpen attracted the attention of the US Department of Defense (DoD) in the late 1950s. The military was looking to increase the armour piercing capacity of munitions and to strengthen the armour of tanks. DU seemed to fit the bill. But its use has had a devastating impact on the populations caught up in numerous conflicts, with the terrible type of health consequences that we associate with radiation impacts.
DU is used for armour piercing tank rounds and bullets as it is so heavy, meaning it can easily penetrate steel. Because of its heaviness, DU has also been used as ballast in aeroplanes, notably in hundreds of Boeing 747s – the early jumbo jets – that were built before 1981. The practice became particularly controversial after an El Al cargo jet crashed into an apartment block in Amsterdam in 1992. 43 people were killed and the cargo, which included 10 tons of chemicals, as well as flammable liquids, gases, and caustic substances burst into flames, along with hundreds of kilos of DU carried as weighting. Although local residents were assured that no health risk was posed, it was apparent that much of the DU had been released as dust particles into the atmosphere.
The risk is not that DU munitions will cause a nuclear explosion. It’s that the impact of their use causes toxic or radioactive dust to be released and if this is subsequently inhaled or ingested in other ways, it has very significant negative health consequences. After the first Gulf War the DoD Office of the Special Assistant for Gulf War Illnesses (OSAGWI) identified a number of DU exposure scenarios including through wounds caused by DU fragments, inhalation of airborne DU particles, ingestion of DU residues, or wound contamination by DU residues.
DU munitions were used on a large scale by the US and UK in the Gulf War in 1991 and in Iraq in 2003. Their use has caused a sharp increase in the incidence rates of some cancers, such as breast cancer and lymphoma, in the areas where it has been used. It has also been implicated in a rise in birth defects from areas adjacent to the main Gulf War battlefields. Other health problems associated with DU include kidney failure, nervous system disorders, lung disease and reproductive problems. A report funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013 showed that more than 400 tonnes of DU ammunition were estimated to have been used in 1991 and 2003, the vast majority by US forces. The report showed that the Iraqi government’s Radiation Protection Centre had identified between 300 and 365 contaminated sites by 2006, mostly in the Basra region in southern Iraq. As well as warning of contamination being spread by poorly regulated scrap metal dealers, including children, it also shared evidence that DU munitions were fired at light vehicles, buildings and other civilian infrastructure including the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in Baghdad – in spite of official assurances of military-only armoured targets.
Its use in the former Yugoslavia by NATO forces in 1995 and 1999 led to the same type of consequences. It was also used by the US in Syria in 2015. The impacts have not been confined to local populations – they have also affected the troops involved in or close to their use, and also military clean-up teams sent to deal with the impact of the DU. The severe health consequences have led to the terms ‘Gulf War syndrome’ and ‘Balkan syndrome’ entering our vocabulary. The Ministry of Defence disputes the risks of DU, yet it recommends ‘ongoing surveillance’ for veterans with embedded DU fragments.
No treaty explicitly banning the use of DU is yet in force, but it is clear that its use runs counter to the basic rules and principles of International Humanitarian Law. In 2006, the European Parliament strengthened its previous calls for a moratorium by calling for an introduction of a total ban, classifying the use of DU, along with white phosphorus, as inhumane. Since 2007, repeated UN General Assembly resolutions have highlighted serious concerns over the use of DU weapons. The UK, together with the US, France and Israel are the only states that have consistently voted against the resolutions.
The British government must put an immediate end to its use of DU – inflicting it on the people of Ukraine is the last thing they need.

Hello, i'm making a study about the effect of medical history of certain patients and their positiveness to a biological test, so i have a table that contains observations (medical history like takayasu disease) and positive cases (lets say for takayasu disease 10) i made a graph and i can see there is a difference between the medical history presented in patients but i want to run a statistical test like wilcoxon or t test, my data does not follow normal distribution what test should i do?

In hindsight, I should have listened to the kill-bill alarm bells in my head when eight-year-old Cassie announced she and her cabin mates were going to skip out on camp activities and play Operation instead.
Though it’s not like I didn’t have things on my mind. Seven counsellors had gone missing—along with our head counsellor who was supposed to be taking care of us.
It started out fairly normal. I mean, one or two counselors wasn’t bad, right?
Lily and Joey had been drowning in sexual tension for a while, so nobody was surprised when they sneaked into the woods for what I could only guess was the most uncomfortable sex ever. But then they didn’t come back.
Teddy and Yuri went to look for them, and then they too also disappeared. It was almost like a wild animal was lying in wait for another unsuspecting teenager to cross its path.
With six of us left, I was definitely freaking out.
I wasn’t expecting summer camp to be like this. I did consider working in my local Sephora, but mom had a preference—and whether I was eighteen years old or not, she was getting her way. So, it was goodbye civilization, and hello Canadian wilderness.
There were fifteen kids queued up in front of me for lunch, and I was having a hard time keeping that optimistic Camp Redwood smile.
I couldn’t help constantly counting how many hours it had been since the latest disappearance, Connor.
He was supposed to be helping with getting the emergency generator going, after the electricity sizzled out.
The boy was gone an hour later. This was happening fast. Whatever was going on with the counsellors was burning through all of us. Would it happen to me?
I had seen so many TV shows and movies set in a summer camp where every camper and counsellor was doomed to die in the grossest way possible. Was that going to happen to us?
I tightened my grip around the stupid ladle I had found myself stirring, a giant pot of chocolate syrup. Watching watery chocolate drip from the edge, I felt nauseous. Of all the summer camp’s mom had to send me to, it had to be the one with vanishing counsellors and zero adult authority. Which meant we were the authority. Twelve teenagers who came to relax and babysit a bunch of little kids before college.
We had to put on brave faces and pretend everything was absolutely fine—and we weren’t all terrified out of our fucking minds.
At the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Harry offering piggybacks to a bunch of little kids, with one of the littles, Eleanor, wrapping her arms around his neck and squealing.
From the look on the boy’s face, he wanted to stop. It was hard to keep a façade when reality was becoming harder and harder to bear. Abandoning his hat completely, Harry was dripping with sweat, trying to twist his lips into the Camp Redwood grin. But looking closer, as he galloped across the cabin with Eleanor holding on for dear life, the guy was ready to collapse. I didn’t blame him.
Entertaining the kids was supposed to be Teddy’s assignment—and he was who knows where. I had taken over lunch duties for Lily, who had joined the long list of the missing.
Harry was supposed to be joining the search party for the missing councellors, but had ended up becoming the little’s personal punching bag.
When I first met him, Harry Carlisle had been the kid who sat on the side-lines and offered sarcastic remarks and crude jokes. Now, he had been reduced to a playground ride the kids pretended didn’t have an off switch.
He had enjoyed maybe the first two rides to raise morale, but now I could see the strain in his eyes. “Ow!” Harry winced when the little girl’s fingers prodded at his eyes. “Hey! Eleanor, not my eyes!” He was dangerously close to toppling over, though managed to catch his footing, ordering all of them off of his back. “Horse Rides are over!” He cupped his mouth, shouting across the cabin when a group of kids surrounded him with equally terrifying faces. Harry backed away and threw his hands up. “Come on, guys, my back isn’t built for all of you!”
“Horsey!” The kids shouted back in a cacophony of giggles.
It was 10 against one.
Against two, if I got involved. Which wasn’t going to happen. There was no way I was putting effort into play-fighting a bunch of eight-year-olds. Harry shot me a hopeful look, though I pretended not to see, busying myself with slightly burned nuggets.
Running his fingers through thick strands of sandy colored hair, Harry pulled a face when a little girl, Phoebe, was brave enough to step forward.
“No.” Harry shook his head, squeezing the front of his counsellor shirt practically glued to him. The temperature still hadn’t let up, and it was heading towards 8PM. Night-time, I thought dizzily. It was almost bedtime, and still no adults. “I refuse to surrender,” He told her. “Phoebe, I am not joking around when I’m saying my back is hurting. We’ve been playing horsey’s for two hours.”
“So?”
“So!” Harry couldn’t yell or hiss, or swear at them. That was a big no-no with kids.
However, I could see he was coming close to breaking that rule. “Because I’m tired,” he said through a Camp Redwood grin, which was quickly twitching into a grimace.
I think all of us had given up with the fake enthusiasm when our colleagues started to vanish. Now, we were just shells of our former happy selves. “And… uh… did you know that if you ride a horsey at this time, the ghosts will come and get you?”
When a boy opened his mouth, his eyes widening with fright, Harry realized his mistake.
“I mean the nice ghosts! Yeah! The uh, the nice ghosts who haunt..I mean play in these woods? It’s a well-known Camp Redwood legend that ghosts don’t like horse rides. In fact,” his lips curved into a devilish smile now he had several faces staring at him. The kids dropped onto the ground to listen, their hands clasped in their laps. This was the quietest they had been all day. I could understand though. Harry had taken the reins around the campfire telling ghost stories for three nights in a row, and the guy was a damn good storyteller.
With every eye on him, Harry lowered his voice into a whisper. “Do you guys want to know what they do?”
The kids nodded with wide eyes.
“They sneak into unsuspecting cabin’s…”
“Harry.”
Rowan’s voice came from outside in a warning. The window was open, and the guy was standing watch to see if any counsellors came back. Since the only adult had disappeared, he had been appointed leader—and the guy was taking himself a little too seriously.
His warning was valid though. Sometimes Harry’s ghost stories were a little too scary for little kids, who’s Imaginations tended to run wild—especially at night. Olive, my cabin-mate, had to give up her bed for a little girl who was convinced Harry’s depiction of Slenderman, “The tree boy” was going to sneak into her bed and turn her into an apple seed.
“Did I say sneak into cabin’s? I meant dance around the woods…” Harry corrected himself. “And they look for their next unsuspecting victim…”
“Harry!”
“Friend.” Harry swallowed his words when a little boy’s eyes went wide. “I mean they are looking for a friend! So, the point of my story is…”
“Horsey rides get us new friends?” Phoebe wasn’t buying it. I could tell from the slight arch of her brow and her widening smile.
The girl shook dark curls out of her face, smirking. I think it was her pleading eyes which won him over. Because, with a sigh which definitely wasn’t joking around, the guy dropped onto his knees and practically spat at her to climb on his back—and she did, plonking one sparkling shoe on top of the boy’s spine with enough force to send him onto his stomach. I might have been imagining it, but since when were these littles so outlandishly spiteful?
The little girl was grinning. Not because she could ride her “horsey” but because Harry looked like he was going to either wring her neck, or wring his own. Mom had a “talk” before I started here, and she made sure to tell me that if adult authority is nowhere to be seen, little kids will start to act out.
I could definitely call it acting out, but I had spent all day with her several days earlier playing with dolls and having a teddy bear picnic when she admitted she didn’t want to swim in the lake with the other kids. Phoebe had been shy and only spoke to me through her teddy bear, so what had changed?
Could the lack of adults really be scaring the kids that much?
“Miss Josie?”
I wasn’t paying attention, half noticing some kids had just helped themselves, piling chicken nuggets and cookies on plastic plates and hurrying to their seats like I couldn’t see them.
Blinking away brain fog, I found myself face to face with Eli, who was probably my favorite camper.
You’re not supposed to have personal preferences when working with little kids, because your opinions could upset them.
However, it was incredibly hard not to like Eli.
Hiding behind a mop of brown curls, the boy was one of the more vocal kids in the group. Eli said he wanted to be an inventor when he was older, and he wanted to make robots. The kid had asked me if I wanted to see his robot collection, but I was too busy with setting up camp activities. Standing in front of me and clutching his tray, the boy was frowning.
“Josie, I just saw some kids steal chicken nuggets.”
I shrugged, shovelling a large portion on his tray. “Well, you can have some extra too.”
Eli’s smile wasn’t as big as usual. “Where’s Teddy?”
I pretended to be oblivious, hastily adding more nuggets to his tray as if I could keep his mouth shut with extra food. “He’ll be back soon! Teddy is just playing in the woods.”
“No, he’s not.”
At first, I thought I’d heard the boy wrong. The kid wasn’t looking at me, counting his nuggets as usual with the prongs of his plastic fork.
I leaned forward with my best smile. “I’m sorry, what was that, Eli?”
The kid lifted his head with a wide grin. “Can I borrow a knife, Josie?”
“Why do you need a knife?”
Leaning forward, the boy shrugged. “There’s a squirrel caught in a trap,” he said. “I want to put it out of its misery, Miss Josie. It’s in a lot of pain.”
That was… dark.
“Well, I can’t give you a knife…” I trailed off, my gaze finding Harry and the growing line of kids awaiting a horse-ride. “But! How about you go and ask Harry for a piggy-back ride?” I pointed to myself with a forced grin. “I’ll save the squirrel!” And when the boy’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head, I reached out, grasped his hand, and squeezed it as tight as I could. “Eli, we don’t need to do that, okay? I’m sure the squirrel can be saved and I’ll make sure to take it to the vet, okay?”
“But what if it doesn’t need saving?”
I squeezed tighter. “I’ll save it, Eli. I promise.”
Eli didn’t look convinced, but he nodded with a grumble. “Okay.” He said, before twisting around and joining the other kids torturing Harry. Immediately, I left my station—whether Rowan liked it or not—and headed outside to look for this supposedly dying squirrel. That was something we didn’t need. The sky was darkening when I made it into the woods, cotton candy clouds blurring through the thick canopy of trees. Eli said it was near the sign pointing towards the lake. Though I couldn’t see anything. Odd. That thought retracted in my head, however, when I stepped forward, and a squelching sound cut through the silence of my own heavy breaths mixing with insect chitters and nightlife buzzing above me and beneath me. The wet sounding squelch twisted my gut, and when I stared down at the ground, I didn't know what I was expecting.
A squashed squirrel, perhaps? In Eli’s words, the poor thing had been on the edge of death. Though, when I was thinking about it, there were no animal traps around camp. That was basic health and safety. So, what the fuck was I looking at? The bottom of my shoe was caked in dried blood, but it was the thing which was stamped into the dirt which sent my heart into my throat. It looked like an eye.
But looking closer as I lowered myself to the ground, I glimpsed something metallic, something glistening around the pupil. I picked up a stick and prodded it, though the thing didn’t move. It was definitely an eye—the eye of some kind of animal, judging from the pigmentation and the color of the iris.
But it was the metallic pieces around the eye which was throwing me off. Part of a trap, maybe? It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a poor critter had been ripped apart, and a wild bear had dropped its dinner near the camp—and the metal encasing its eye was most likely pieces of trap.
Peering closer, though, I glimpsed silver slithers in what appeared to be the destroyed nerve caked to my shoe. After scraping most of it off, I caught glistening pieces of blood stained metal catching the late-setting sun. This time, I pinched a piece between my forefinger and thumb. It didn’t look like a bear-trap. The metal itself wasn’t serrated or old. In fact, it was new.
Which begged the question: What was this thing?
Whatever it was, it had started converting what looked like a critter’s eye, before stopping. Was it a virus? When that thought slammed into me, I fell back with a hiss, swiping my hands on my shirt.
“What are you doing?”
I almost jumped out of my skin, diving to my feet.
Carmel was standing behind me, grasping what looked like her sixth or seventh coffee. The girl had been running to and from the coffee machine all day, and I had been silently counting how much caffeine she was consuming. Carmel had been a well put together and fairly popular girl when camp started. She immediately had everyone following her beck and call, all of the boy’s (and girl’s) following her around.
Carmel wasn't straight. She made that clear on the bus to camp, announcing she wasn’t interested in guy’s, and that she had a girlfriend back home. Still though, the guy’s still followed her because... well, she was pretty.
Carmel was my bunk-mate and had woken me up on three separate occasions at 6am to go through the exact same hair and makeup routine. Now though, there was no sign of makeup or even that she had brushed her hair.
Instead of its usual tidy blonde ponytail, Carmel’s curls were tied into raggedy pigtails with ribbons I was sure she had stolen from a camper’s doll. I think what was keeping her going was coffee.
Carmel regarded me with too-wide eyes and a Camp Redwood smile we all knew was fake. She was grasping onto her coffee cup for dear life. “Josie!” she jumped when I jumped, which almost made me laugh. “Rowan’s having an emergency meeting in his cabin,” she said.
“So, whatever you’re doing can wait.”
Her gaze flicked to the ground. “What… are you doing?”
For a brief moment, I considered telling Carmel I may have found what looked like a virus which turned flesh and blood to metal—before I remembered her reaction when a spider had crept into our cabin.
Whatever this thing was, keeping it a secret for now was probably what was best. Making sure I was standing on the thing, I shrugged. “I was looking for the others.”
Carmel cocked her head, before resting her coffee on the ground. “In the dirt?”
“Footprints, Carmel.”
The girl looked confused before shaking her head. “Okay, whatever. Tell the others I’ll be there in a sec, I just need to make sure the kids are okay. We’re putting a movie on for them in the lunch hall, so that will hopefully distract them for maybe two hours.”
I nodded. “Did anyone find a phone?”
“Not with signal.”
“Carmel.” I had to fight back the urge to yell at her to keep her voice down. Kids were curious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had some littles peeking into our conversation. “You’re okay.” I said softly.
“I mean, we’re not okay, because yes, things are very.. screwed up right now, but we need to be… optimistic.” I exhaled out a breath, searching for eyes in the dark. I tried to smile, tried to keep up that Camp Redwood façade we were all held hostage by until the last day of camp (According to rule 5 in the Camp Redwood counsellor handbook, all counsellors must retain a smile and a positive attitude. If any counselor is caught making a frowny face, or spreading what we call “unhappiness” we will be forced to send the counselor home).
At this point, I didn’t give a fuck—but part of me didn’t want to scare the little kids.
“No, Josie.” The girl grasped hold of my shoulders with a grin rivalling the joker. “I am so sick of being told to keep smiling, because what is that doing? Three of my cabin-mates are missing! I’m the one left, and Rowan and co expect me to keep up this act? We are fucked!"
She cupped her mouth. “F. U. C. K. E. D. We have zero adults, an unexplainable loss of power every few hours which makes no sense in the middle of nowhere—I mean what the fuck is out there which is sucking that much power, huh? There is no explanation! There should be an explanation. I should be able to think, “oh, yeah! That’s why! But no. Things are happening, and I don’t know why they’re happening. Rowan is trying to force us to act like things are okay —but in reality? He is shitting himself, Josie! We are ALL shitting ourselves!”
I took a step back, keeping hold of her hand. Carmel was trembling, her hands clammy and slimy entangled in mine. “He's just trying to keep the kids from freaking out."
She groaned, tears glistening in her eyes. “Okay, yeah! I’m blaming them because they keep acting like everything is okay—”
“Everything IS okay.” I turned to her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile—knowing damn well about the thing I’d found in the dirt. If that thing could spread, it would have a field day in an enclosed space like a summer camp.
I noticed my own hands which had been touching the thing making contact with Carmel, and dropped my hands, inwardly squirming.
If that thing was a virus, I was already fucked.
Maybe Carmel too.
If it was fast acting, it could explain the counsellor disappearances. I was already putting together a plan in my head as we headed back to the main cabin. We had to put together a search party. Some of us would stay with the kids, while a small group would venture into the woods to try and look for traces of the missing. If I was right, we would find a horror scene in the woods, and yes, that would be the time to panic.
If I was wrong, however, there was still hope.
“Are we going to be okay?”
Carmel’s voice sliced into my thoughts, and I took a moment to drink in the camp around us.
Usually, when the sky was turning twilight, it would be bustling with campers and counselors toasting marshmallows on the fire and gathering around to fall asleep to Harry’s ghost stories. Carmel would be knelt with a bunch of kids, watching a YouTube video they had all insisted on her watching, while Rowan would be hiding behind his book with his knees to his chest, his gaze glued to every page he flicked through, ignoring everyone.
Teddy, making funny faces for kids who were scared, and Connor, handing out plates of burgers and hot dogs. I remembered feeling safe and at home, cosy around the flickering orange of the fire as chatter turned to laughter and white-noise in my head. After the kids went back to their cabins, the group of us would resume positions around the fire, but this time it was more… intimate. With Allison in her cabin, we kind of ignored her rules all together.
Making out happened, because of course it did. Beers stolen from Allison’s mini fridge and raging hormones, as well as late-night skinny dipping in the lake did that. Couples went off into the woods, and we all felt completely comfortable and at home with each other.
Looking around at that moment, I felt sick to my stomach. That feeling was gone.
The feeling of family and familiarity and friendship. What I was looking at now was that same log we had all sat on, now turned on its side—hot dog buns and candy wrappers littering the ground. It was a ghost camp.
I could still see Connor’s jacket slung on the ground, and Lili’s bright pink ray bans sitting on a beer can. Because there were no adults to yell at us to clean up after ourselves. I was frowning at the skeleton of the fire when Carmel nudged me. “Hey.” Her voice was shaking slightly. “Josie? You didn’t answer my question.” Carmel wanted me to be the voice of reason, and I wasn’t that. I was just as scared as her.
There was only so much I could sugar-coat, and I gave up doing that after the third counsellor disappeared. All I could offer her was forced optimism.
“Yes.” I said. “Just keep the kids busy, alright?”
“Right.”
When I was twisting around and power-walking to Rowan’s cabin, I shouted over my shoulder, “Give them some of those animal crackers!”
“What animal crackers?”
I turned to elaborate, but Carmel was gone.
When I finally got to Rowan’s cabin, I was sweating through my shirt, and had an idea of what I was going to tell the others. It was… a thing. Which could be considered a disease or a virus—so it was vital that we split into two groups; half of us would search for the others, while the others would look for anything to get in contact with the outside world. An emergency landline, laptop, or cell phone.
I did have one problem, which was lack of evidence. All which was left from the thing I’d found was stuck to my foot. The rest of it was buried in the dirt. It was too dark to search for it, and we would be wasting time doing so.
All of that was in my mind and tangled on my tongue, one single string of incomprehensible gibberish I wasn’t even sure was English, when I stepped into Rowan’s cabin, where four sets of eyes met mine. Olive, cross legged on the floor with her arms folded, Harry, pacing up and down with a brand new bruise blooming under his eye, courtesy of Eleanor almost poking his eyes out—and Rowan himself sitting on top bunk, his legs swinging off of the side.
The guy wasn’t built to be our leader, originally being the laziest of our group, opting for sitting in a tree with a book, rather than helping set up camp activities. Yet he had become our default guy in charge because he so happened to be wearing the head counsellor hat when Allison disappeared. Admittedly, it suited him, the bright red of the cap contrasted his dark curls under a late setting sun through the back window, setting strands of straying hair on fire.
The hat was a little too big for his head, though, slipping over his eyes.
Rowan looked like a divorced father of two, dark circles bruising his eyes, and a very “dad-like” scowl curling on his lips.
With a clipboard pressed to his chest, and a pen he was chewing on, the boy resembled a grown man who had just caught his daughter coming in after curfew. “Josie.” Spitting the pen’s lid out of his mouth, he scribbled something down. I had no doubt he was tracking my attendance for these stupid crisis meetings. His eyes were wild, scanning me for answers. “Where the fuck is Carmel?”
I shut the door behind me, leaning against it with my arms folded. “So, we can swear now?”
“Yes.” Rowan rolled his eyes. “There are no kids here, so go crazy,” he pointed at me with the pen. “Carmel. Where is she?”
“Keeping the kids busy,” Callan’s muffled voice came from the bottom bunk. I could barely see the guy lying on his stomach, his face stuffed into a pillow. “It was my idea to play Shrek for them, but the little shits said they haven’t seen it,” the boy lifted his head, his lips carved into a scowl. “I’m sorry, am I tripping? Everyone’s seen Shrek! Do these kids expect the Minecraft movie?”
“They don’t like that, either,” Harry stopped pacing the cabin. “Eleanor looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if she liked it."
“Fortnite, too.” Olive said, a cushion pressed to her chest. “I suggested playing it a few days ago, and like, zero kids knew what it was.”
“Six counsellors are missing,” Rowan raised his voice over the other’s chatter. “And you’re questioning what games they like?” His eyes found mine once more. “So, Carmel is with the kids? You’re absolutely sure of it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I just saw her five minutes ago.”
“Great.” Rowan said, sarcastically. “I’m sure she won’t go missing under mysterious circumstances.”
“Stop.” Olive shot him a glare, throwing a cushion in his face. “I told you. They’re probably lost—- or maybe they went to get help?”
“We’ve all been trained to know every inch of these woods,” Rowan catapulted the cushion right back at her. “They’re not lost.”
“Well, where are they?!” Callan sat up, bringing his knees to his chest. I had never seen the guy looked this vulnerable. “Allison made sense. She probably had other duties, and left us to look after the kids. But six counselors? All of them disappearing—- our phone signal completely cutting out, electricity cutting off, not once, but twice? What is even sucking all of our power?”
“I got the emergency generator working,” Olive raised her arm. “Connor and I managed it before…” she trailed off.
“Before Connor disappeared.” Callan finished for her. “And before him, it was Joey, Lily, Mira, Yuri, Noah, and Teddy. Which isn’t a fucking coincidence,” he shot Rowan a look, who glared down at his lap. I could tell the boy didn’t want to lead all of us, come up with plans and answer questions we desperately needed answering. His job was to look after us, as well as the littles, and so far, he was doing a pretty good job. I could tell by his expression that he thought the opposite, but he had managed to keep the kids from finding out about something as sinister as someone actively kidnapping counsellors.
He made sure they were fed, entertained, and safe watching a movie—while we were scared for our lives. Rowan was keeping up the façade no matter how scared he was. The boy dropped his head into his lap with a sigh. It looked like he might fall asleep before he slammed the clipboard into his face to wake himself up.
Nobody wanted to admit what Callan was saying, but we were all definitely thinking it. “This was planned.” Callan continued.
“Someone out here is fucking with us, very clearly trying to freak us out. Now they've got six of us. ” He spread out his arms. “How long until one of the littles gets taken, huh? A bunch of 18 year olds aren’t going to satisfy them, so what about when they start taking campers? We are in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere with a serial kidnapper on the loose, and did we really just leave fifteen kids in the care of a girl who thought Australia was in England?”
“In Carmel’s defence, she was black-out drunk when she said that,” Olive murmured.
“Voice down!” Rowan hissed. “Do you want to scare them?!” His gaze flicked to me. “Did you do a headcount during dinner?”
I nodded. “Fifteen kids all accounted for. Ten are in the lunch hall, and five girls are in Cassie’s cabin playing Operation.”
“All day?” Olive spoke up. “Weren’t they playing that this morning? I tried to get into their cabin to give them breakfast, but they just shooed me away and locked the door.”
“Fuck.” Rowan ran his fingers down his face. “Alright, I’ll go and see what’s going on with them. Knowing Cassie and her friends, they’re probably zonked out on stolen candy. When all of the kids are accounted for in the lunch cabin, we gather outside.”
I swallowed, speaking up. “I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something.”
Rowan lifted his head, jutting the edge of the clipboard into his chin. “Go on…”
“I found something?” I pulled a face. “I mean, think I’ve found something?”
I wasn't sure how to explain to a dwindling group of exhausted teenagers that there may be something even more terrifying than potential kidnappers out there. Four blank faces started back at me, and Rowan leaned forward with a frown. “Like, in general? Josie, we don’t have time to go foraging.”
“You could call it a lead,” I said. “But I need your eyes to find it.”
“Uh-huh. But what is it?”
Thinking back to what exactly I had seen, I had no idea how to describe it. “It’s better if I just… showed you.”
Rowan looked sceptical, but nodded. “Alright. Josie comes with me. We’ll check out Allison’s cabin again to look for an emergency line, and you can show me whatever this ‘thing’ is you’ve found. Then we’ll escort Cassie and the other girl’s to the lunch cabin. Every camper needs an escort from now on. The rest of you? Act normal. If the kids see you freaking out, they will also freak out—and we need to keep up morale.” The boy pointed to Olive. “Olive, you sit in with the kids and look after them. Callan, check out the emergency generator. Harry, the kids see you as a playground ride, so use that to your advantage. Offer them horse rides if they’re scared. And with the ghost stories, it’s making it worse. Give them piggybacks.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
Rowan cleared his throat. “We all keep up appearances. If the others turn up, after getting high or… I don’t know, having an orgy in the woods—- I will fucking kill them.” The way he smiled through his teeth, jumping off the bunk, his toes primed like a wild animal, I knew he wasn’t joking. If this was a well-constructed prank the other counselors were playing, I had no doubt Rowan would rip them apart for leaving him as a reluctant leader. To my surprise, the others wandered off with their tasks.
I watched Rowan lift up his pillow and pull out a pack of animal crackers, ripping open the bag and pouring the contents into his mouth. He caught my eye, crunching through mini animal crackers. “I didn’t have lunch,” he said through a mouthful.
I couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief as we headed across camp, Rowan in front of me, while I lagged behind.
“So, what’s the plan?” I caught up to him, almost tripping over a log.
The guy didn’t turn around. “I am completely winging it,” he said through a choked laugh. “I have no idea what I’m doing, and if I’m honest? I just want to go home, dude. I haven’t looked after this many kids in my life, and if I have to smile one more time as a little brat, I am going to fucking lose my mind.” He heaved out a breath. “I am making this up as I go along.”
I laughed that time. “That’s… comforting.”
“Yeah?” He turned to shoot me a grin. “Well, rest assured I am just about as scared—if not more scared than you,” as we stopped in front of Cassie’s cabin, his gaze found mine. “Is it me…” he said softly, “Or does the lunch cabin seem quiet.”
He was right. The windows were dark when they should have been illuminated by the TV screen. Instead of answering, I stepped in front of him, grasping hold of the cabin door. “Cassie?” I knocked three times. “Girl’s, are you okay in there? It’s Josie and Rowan.” I tried the door, and it slid open. Shooting a look at the boy behind me, I turned back to the door. “We’re coming in, okay?”
“Wait!”
Cassie squeaked from inside. “But he’s not finished!”
Ignoring the coil of dread unravelling in my gut, I forced the door open and stepped into unusually milky white light which flooded the cabin. The first thing I saw was eight-year-old Cassie, sitting cross legged with her back to me. She was sitting in a circle with the other girls, no doubt playing their game.
When I stepped closer, however, I noticed something pooling across the wooden floor. It must have been juice or water that they had spilled. I took another step, but this time, clammy fingers wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back. Rowan didn't speak, but his eyes were elsewhere. Initially, they had been drinking in the cabin before they found oblivion entirely. I heard his breath start to accelerate, his grip tightening on my wrist.
I had half a mind to pull away, before I saw the body shaped carcass the girls were sitting around. In the dim light of the cabin, it used to be a person. Teddy. I could still see parts of an identity, freckled cheeks and eyes which were still open, still staring at the sky.
But that was where the similarities to the missing counsellor ended. The thing which used to be Teddy was more of a shell, a scooped out thing resembling a human body. What sent me stumbling backwards, my mouth open in a silent scream, was the almost surgical efficiency of each organ's removal, like it really was a game of operation. His heart, lungs, and intestines were in one pile-- while his brain was cupped between little Cassie's bloody hands— and when my gaze found the little girl, Nina, hiding behind dark curly hair, I was seeing what looked like a toy robot’s head in her hands. In my head, I was thinking about the eye with the metallic pieces glittering around its pupil, and something turned in my gut.
Did I find a human eye?
I was staring at the crevice inside the boy's skull, and the boxes of surgical equipment piled on the girl's bunks, when Rowan finally pulled me back, and I was stumbling straight onto my ass. "We need to go." Rowan spoke through a croak. Cassie’s words rattled in my head. Teddy, I thought.
Teddy wasn’t finished.
"Josie. Get up. Now!" My head was spinning, and I was sure I'd thrown up. I didn’t even realize we had managed to stumble from the girl’s cabin before cool air grazed my face, tickling my cheeks. Something wet and warm, and lumpy was spattering the front of my shirt.
Before I could coerce words, the boy was pulling me to my feet, and I was seeing stars in my eyes, blinking brightly. When the two of us started forwards in a run, Rowan stopped abruptly. I followed his gaze to find several kids surrounding his cabin, where Harry, Olive and Callan were. Maybe I was hallucinating, but Eleanor and Phoebe, both of whom wielding weapons where I had no idea where they had gotten them—looked… taller? Rowan didn’t waste time, dragging me back. “Allison’s cabin.” He spoke in cry which became a sob, pulling me across camp, stumbling over rocky ground.
“We need a phone. Fuck, we need a phone. We need a phone.” Rowan was struggling to stand, occasionally bending over and choking up dust.
“They were playing Operation."
Literal operation.
“But they’re just kids!” I choked out.
Little kids, who had surgically removed every organ inside Teddy’s body.
Little kids, who were hunting the other counsellors down, and would surely be coming for us.
Allison’s cabin was thankfully further into the woods. When we were safe inside and Rowan was locking the door, I dry heaved several times, unable to get the sight of glistening gore splattering the cabin floor from my mind. “Josie.” Rowan was already tearing apart the cabin. “Work with me here, okay? We don’t… we don’t have fucking time to freak out, or to barf—we need to help. Now.” Rowan was almost in tears, and when he hit the ground on his knees, I took over. I searched Allison’s desk first. Nothing of importance, just documents and invoices. Digging through her draw, there was still nothing. We were running out of time.
Abandoning the desk, I went through her suitcase and bags. When I was crawling under her bed to try and find a weapon, Rowan hissed out. “Wait.” When I turned to him, he was still kneeling, but his foot was clamping down on a loose plank. The guy didn’t hesitate, pulling at the loose plank, which, to my confusion, revealed what looked to me like a trap door.
Rowan turned to me. “You’re kidding.”
I could only stare at the trap door revealing stone steps. He peered down, his voice echoing. “Allison has a fucking secret bunker?”
His lips curved into a surprisingly childish grin which took me off guard. “Oh, wow, that’s so cooooool!”
Lifting my head at the sound of loud squealing, I glimpsed a group of littles led by Eleanor stalking towards us. Eleanor had a hostage. Harry. And with the way she was sticking the blade of a scary looking knife to his throat, I figured she meant business.
Their height difference was almost comical. The eighteen year old guy had to hunch over so the little girl could successfully keep him prisoner. Behind them in the trees, I could see something illuminating the dark, an electric blue light bathing their faces.
So, that was there the power was going.
But what the fuck were these eight-year-old’s doing?
“Josie!” Rowan hissed from down below. He had already climbed down.
I joined him, struggling down the stone steps, before replacing the loose plank. If these kids were as smart as I thought, it wouldn’t take them long to realize the loose plank—also a trap door. Allison’s bunker was more of a control room. There were multiple screens lit up, a chair in front of a working MacBook. The phone-line was cut. But that didn’t make sense.
The kids were unaware of the bunker, so who cut the phone lines? Rowan was on the laptop, struggling to get through the password protection, so I turned my attention to piles of cardboard boxes.
When I opened them, I found myself staring at animal crackers.
There were hundreds of them, packed on top of each other. Looking further, digging through the boxes, I found a piece of old crumpled paper which looked ancient.
REGARDING PROJECT SPEARHEAD SUBJECTS:
PLEASE DO NOT INGEST UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. IF MULTIPLE SUBJECTS INGEST, PLEASE USE SELF DESTRUCT.
ONLY USE IN CASES SUCH AS IMMINENT DESTRUCTION TO THE PLANET/THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR.
(PLEASE CONTACT FAMILIES IN ADVANCE. MAKE SURE TO INGEST WITH WATER TO AVOID NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS SUCH AS PSYCHOSIS, EXTREME VIOLENCE. PLEASE APPROACH SUBJECTS WITH CAUTION.
Something ice cold slithered down my spine.
Abandoning the boxes, I searched through a cabinet filled with files which were crumbling apart from age. I picked one at random and flicked through it.
Eleanor Summer’s.
Sex: Female.
DOB: 08/05/1977.
Initially, I thought I was reading the dates wrong. But then, with my heart in my throat, I was grasping for other files.
Eli Evermore.
Sex: Male.
'DOB: 08/03/1979.
“Rowan.” I managed to get out through a breath.
“Mm?”
“They’re not children.”
The boy rubbed his eyes, frowning. His eyes were half lidded, almost confused. “Huh?”
“Eleanor.” I whispered. “Is forty five years old.”
He nodded slowly, turning back to the laptop. “How do you spell… documents? I’m looking for digital versions but I can’t find any.”
“You don’t know how to spell documents?”
“It’s been a hard day.” The boy whined, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry.
Whatever I was going to say was choked in the back of my throat, when a loud bang sounded from above, the sounds of childish giggling coming through the floorboards. But the laughter didn’t sound like little kids. No, it sounded like teenager’s who were acting like little kids. I stared at the boxes of animal crackers, and then at the file confirming Eleanor’s real age.
My own words shuddered through me, and I remembered finding Teddy’s dismembered carcass in Cassie’s cabin. When I had caught her gaze, the little girl didn’t look scared, and somehow, her fingers wrapped around the scalpel looked just right.
Like the little bitch knew exactly what she was doing.
“Helloooo?” Harry’s voice was a hysterical giggle. “Olly, Olly, Oxen freeee!”
“Are you in heeeeeeere?” Carmel joined in. I could hear their footsteps above, dancing across the room.
Clamping my hand over my mouth, I dragged my knees to my chest and prayed they weren’t smart enough to figure out we were right underneath them.
Knowing the truth about them, though? I wasn’t counting on it.
….
That was an hour ago.
We’re still stuck down here, and I can get a connection here—thank god. For some reason, Alison has blocked all social media. We need help. We’re at Camp Redwood, and these kids ARE NOT KIDS.
Whatever Project Spearhead is was designed to keep them here.
The phone-line is cut so we can’t get help from whoever was helping Allison. I am counting on you guys.
Get us out of here!

To whom it may concern: this message is of the utmost importance. Please do not disregard it. I don’t know for sure what website you’ll be seeing this on, whoever you are. Probably something submission-based, hopefully one where it stays up. Regardless, it is imperative that you keep reading. I’ll explain why soon, but before I do, some context is in order.
My brother was a brilliant man. Brilliantly talented, brilliantly clever. It was difficult growing up in his shadow. We were raised in the same nurturing, middle-upper class environment, with two loving parents that encouraged us at every turn, but it seemed there was nothing I could do that he wouldn’t outshine me at. He was no savant, you see. Julian held his own in any situation, whether that be an exam or a party with friends. Hardly ever was he not the smartest person in the room, or the most popular.
Needless to say, I was a jealous sibling. My main source of bother was academic performance. I’m not an idiot, even in comparison to my brother, but I was an underachiever for a long period of my adolescence. I’m not sure what I’d attribute it to. Hanging around the wrong people, perhaps, having my head in the clouds, something like that. I’ve always been intelligent, but for a while I really struggled to knuckle down and use that intellect. For so long, I heard the same tired expression: “if you’d only apply yourself…” I’m sure some of you reading this can relate. It wasn’t until many years later that that sentiment really rang true.
I never outright hated Julian, but I have to admit there was invariably a growing seed of resentment in my heart for him, especially as we got older and his natural aptitude really began to shine. We both had an interest in computer science from a young age, most likely inherited from our father, who worked for Microsoft before they went out of business. I still remember those nights as kids when he’d sit us down in front of his computer and show us all the little intricacies of the code he was working on. Any other children our age would be bored out of their skulls, but there we sat, attentive as ever, our developing minds fascinated by the job’s seemingly endless possibilities. Julian’s other main curiosity, which I did not share, was an affinity towards online horror fiction, though he grew out of that kind of stuff in his late teens.
He knew I had a chip on my shoulder. Mostly, he was apathetic towards it; we were never estranged, but he wasn’t going to let my discontent get in the way of his success. Though I don’t blame him, I suppose that was always Julian’s downfall. He was just too headstrong, too confident.
When we became adults, we parted ways. He went on to study at Harvard while I ended up dropping out of some bang-average local university you won’t have heard of. Following that, things were a little rough. My parents were fairly disappointed. They didn’t cut me off, rather, interacting with them became a depressing chore as they waited for their son to get his life together. At family gatherings, I gritted my teeth at the stories Julian told: developing virtual reality hardware, cutting-edge stuff, pushing the boundaries of the way we interact with technology, all while I was couch-surfing, barely making ends meet as the IT guy at a shitty school in a town I hated. It only made the prospect of snapping out of whatever haze I was in feel more difficult.
It all changed one day soon after I got my first apartment. Julian showed up out of the blue on a dewy morning with an armful of equipment and a huge, beaming smile on his face. I let him in, we talked, and he promised that what he was going to show me would completely blow my mind.
I watched as he paced about my living room setting up all his gadgetry. As soon as everything was ready, he switched on my computer and handed me a thin, plastic headset with exposed wires. Two nodes hung from either side of the thing, which fitted snugly over my temples. While I sat back on the sofa and stared at the monitor before me, he gave me one simple instruction.
“Type something into Google.”
“But I don’t have a keyboard.”
“You don’t need one.”
According to Julian’s wishes, I simply thought about the action, and it happened. The word “something” came up in the search box, and my jaw dropped open in shock. At first, I thought the obvious, that my brother was purposefully fooling me with some kind of prank or gimmick, but repeated tests all came up with the same result. And it wasn’t just searching I could do telepathically, but anything. Literally anything I could think of, limited to the capabilities of the computer, of course. I had total control. There was even a sort of projection in my mind’s eye as it was happening, like the process was actually occurring inside my brain. It wasn’t perfect, but it was nothing short of amazing.
“You’re one of the first people to try it,” he told me once I’d tested everything out. “We’re calling it NeuroWorks, or something to that effect.”
I don’t think that feeling of astonishment ever truly left me. It was then that I realised my petty indignation, the dissatisfaction I felt after so many years of being outclassed, meant nothing in the face of my brother’s achievements, and I would be doing the world a disservice by failing to assist him. Julian departed that night after some drinks and a few laughs, and the next day, I enrolled once again for a degree in computer science. Four years later, I passed with flying colours, and Julian hired me to work for him at his company. There may have been a bit of nepotism involved, but that’s neither here nor there.
The next few years were dizzying. During the time in which I was getting (re)educated, Julian had been working with a team of elite neuroscientists, specialists that filled in the gaps in his knowledge, did all the things he couldn’t. Immediately, I felt I was in way over my head, but as my learning advanced, I gradually got up to speed, and my mood improved quite rapidly. That feeling of pride, like I was finally doing something productive with my life, was nothing short of fantastic, especially in the face of so many wasted years. I was never quite on Julian’s level, of course, but with enough time, I grew to be a valued contributor to the NeuroWorks project. Off the back of a long period of arduous work, the device fully came to fruition, culminating in an international commercial release.
It was a global success, and we made a fortune. Once we’d fully optimised it, it ended up being surprisingly cheap to produce and implement. The result was its adoption in billions of households and businesses. As expected, it completely changed the way we live and work in the virtual world. Worldwide productivity and efficiency increased tenfold. Even now, I’m typing this message with those same two nodes attached at either side of my head, hands-free. As cliched as it sounds, at that point, it truly felt like we were living in the future.
Honestly, I would’ve been happy to stop there. I could’ve moved somewhere green and sunny, spent the rest of my days doing TED Talks and sipping cocktails on the balcony of a villa, not giving a single damn. But not Julian. Like always, Julian had his eyes set on further horizons, on the subsequent stretch of progress. No sooner than a few months after NeuroWorks was released did he come up with his next magnificent idea.
“Consciousness splicing.”
That was how he described it on the day he first sat me down to try and explain. We were outside a café, some pretentious, gentrified establishment in the heart of London, with a coffee each.
“The next stage of human learning, or maybe even existence as a whole. NeuroWorks, compared to this…it’s just a stepping stone, Alex,” he told me. “If we get this right, we won’t just be able to use computers with our minds, we’ll be able to think like them, too.”
I struggled to wrap my head around the concept. “How do you mean, exactly?” I replied.
“Take what makes us sentient. Our minds, our passion, our free will. Everything a machine lacks. How can it be improved? How can it be bettered? What we lack naturally, we as a species, I mean, can be found in a computer. The processing power, the boundless memory, the objectivity. Not to mention the ability to conjure up any kind of information on a whim, the entire collective library of human knowledge, dating back thousands of years. But there are limitations. Computers can’t truly think for themselves. Not yet, anyway. They require input, direction. If we can intersect the strengths of man and machine, cross the gap that separates us…”
He was stirring his drink all the while. Julian had a thing about that: he could never look at you directly when he was thinking, like the image of your baffled face would put him off somehow.
“Okay, but you’re talking purely in theoretical terms, right? We’re centuries off reaching that point. I mean, creating a neural link between a person and Mac OS is one thing-
“I think it’s possible.”
A beat passed before he sighed, grabbed a napkin, and produced a pen from his pocket. I waited as he sketched out a crude, yet complicated diagram. I can’t recall it exactly – it was something to do with the relationship between time, space, and information. Far more philosophical than scientific, I remember thinking.
“The internet is a powerful beast. Our means of controlling it, of accessing it, even with NeuroWorks, are subpar. We just need another breakthrough, and then that could open the door for who knows what else. Traversing through decades online, going back and forth whenever we want-
“Easier said than done.”
“But it could be possible. It could.”
“I disagree. Not in our lifetimes, anyway. And even if it is, it sounds…dangerous. Very dangerous. The number of things that could go wrong, the variables…it doesn’t bear thinking about. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Let’s learn to walk before we run, eh?”
He was quiet after that. The conversation stuck with me for the next couple of years. We were working mostly on maintaining NeuroWorks at that time, delivering a steady stream of updates and enhancements as society began to mold itself around its advent. There was some discussion as to when the next big leap forward would be, the next huge announcement from Julian’s company, but he remained tight-lipped about anything regarding that.
It was then that he started acting…weird. I saw him less and less in what was supposed to be our spare time together. The cancelled reservations and missed family events added up, but whenever I asked him about it, he just shrugged it off. “I’m a workaholic,” he would say. “You know you all mean the world to me, but so does this job.” I tried to comfort myself with that, but deep down, I think I knew he was hiding something. Something he thought would worry me, that was outside my area of expertise. I was going to confront him about it eventually. I just ended up waiting too long.
One night, he rang me out of nowhere. I remember shooting straight up into a sitting position in a pitch-black room – I think I’d been having a nightmare. The metallic surface of my phone was cold and smooth in my sweaty palm as I picked up the call and pressed it to my temple.
“Meet me at this address in half an hour. And be quick.”
I spoke a word or two in return, but the call had already ended. There was a soft blip, and some postcode I didn’t recognise appeared at the top of the screen.
Doing exactly as my brother asked, I got up, got changed, and made the 20-minute journey by car.
The place was a run-down warehouse in one of the rougher areas of town, where property prices were at their cheapest. I parked up and stepped outside, shivering as I cursed myself for not having the foresight to bring a thicker jacket. It wasn’t immediately obvious which building I was looking for, until I saw a flash of light through a broken window in the distance. Cautiously, I approached it, glancing around to assure myself I wasn’t walking into a trap, as stupid as that thought was. The main door being completely boarded up meant an obscured gap in the brickwork was my entry point.
Dodging the tiny droplets of water trickling in from the broken ceiling, I rounded a corner. The main, spacious area of the warehouse had been kitted out as a kind of makeshift workshop, near identical to a setup from NeuroWorks. It was as if someone had carved out one of our labs and dumped it here, beside walls of crumbling paint. My brow was furrowed as I stared from a distance at the scurrying scientists, who flicked me awkward looks as they went about tending to a central apparatus. I recognised a few of them, but they paid me little mind. I’m sure they knew I was coming.
It took me a few moments to realise, but Julian was part of the almighty cluster of machinery in the middle of it all. His body was a biological cog in an otherwise artificial setup; he was on his back, head tilted slightly forwards, arms splayed in a t-pose like he was being crucified. I’ll never get that image out of my head: him lying there, not having quite noticed me yet, sweat upon his brow. He was shirtless, too, wires running up and down his arms and a mesh inserted atop his shaved head, which was next to a monitor. The wires came down in gangly clumps off the side of the ‘bed’ he was on and fed into this gargantuan hunk of steel by his side. It was truly massive, topped with blinking lights and seemingly missing its outer casing. If I didn’t know better, I’d have assumed he’d been kidnapped and experimented on.
He looked at me, directly upwards from his perspective, and said, “You’re late,” through a smile.
I wasn’t smiling. “Julian, what the fuck is all of this?”
“I apologise for not telling you sooner. Truth be told, I didn’t want you to worry. But this is too important for you not to see.”
I was at a loss for words.
“What we’re going to do here, today, right now, will change the course of humanity. And you need to be here to witness it. So get ready. We’re starting!”
He shouted that last sentence, and all the scientists in the room shuffled to what could only be described as their ‘posts’. I merely watched as they started a countdown sequence of sorts, dutifully coordinating the machine through a large control panel. They communicated with short, snappy gestures and mumbled technobabble that I could barely pay attention to. Instinctively, I stepped back until I was at an arbitrarily ‘safe’ distance.
Seconds later, my mouth turned dry and a quiet ringing in my ears began to form. I chalked it up to nerves initially, but it soon became apparent there was some kind of static in the air, palpable interference that manifested in a painful shock as my hand grazed the shiny edge of a worksurface. It seemed to be emanating from the middle of the room, where Julian was. His eyes were closed now, tightly; he gave the impression of someone concentrating very intently on something.
There was a hum, so low you almost felt it before you heard it, slowly increasing in pitch. I suddenly had a headache, and I’m almost certain my hair was standing up under the confines of my flat cap. Panic surfaced within me as I noticed the scientists arguing. I shouted a word of protest, only to realise my ears had popped, and the faint ringing from earlier now sounded like a cacophonous bout of tinnitus.
Something was clearly and utterly wrong. Julian’s deathly stillness as he honed his thoughts had ended, and he was now thrashing around, foaming at the mouth, unable to break free of his confines. I ran back over to his side-
“Don’t touch me!” He managed to force out. I could barely hear him, but the crazed look in his eyes, dilated like a cat’s, convinced me to leave him alone. Instead, I focused my attention on the scientists.
“What are you maniacs doing to him?” I yelled. “Fucking switch that thing off! Now!”
One of them came and pushed me away. His mouth was moving, but I couldn’t make out the words. The noise of the machine was just too loud. There was a collective moment of fear as the tone became ear-splitting. No-one could hear anyone anymore.
Julian looked like he was being possessed. My attention was drawn to the monitor beside him; before, it had been inert, but it was currently displaying a fast-moving, almost psychedelic kaleidoscope of uniform shapes and colours. If you’ve ever seen what a computer looks like when you remove its RAM while it’s running, it was like that, but even more erratic and animated. I was practically hypnotised by it, and as I gazed further and further into its depths, an awful image began to emerge.
It was Julian. I swear to god, I know it sounds crazy, but Julian’s face materialised in the form of this…nightmarish coalescence of text and code. His mouth was open, and his eyes were bulging out of his skull. I turned to my brother to see him doing the exact same expression there on the table, unable to breathe. It made me feel sick to my stomach.
Suddenly, the machine shut down, taking the monitor’s display and oppressive interference with it. Julian’s eyes glazed over, his face went pale as a sheet, and he slumped down onto his back, letting out a huge exhale. It was when he didn’t take another breath that two white-coated men went to check his pulse.
A single head shake between them confirmed what I feared. Gone.
I think I was in shock the whole rest of the night, because I didn’t speak a word to anyone until the morning. They sent me home in a taxi and promised to take care of what had happened. I burst into furious, bitter tears as soon as I put the keys in the door. I was so, so angry at being kept in the dark and lied to for so long, with this having been the culmination. Little did I know that was just the beginning.
Julian’s team called me into work the next day for a private meeting. To maintain the company’s work and appearance, they were going to sweep the whole thing under the rug. Fucking figures, I remember thinking. My first urge, naturally, was to fight this burial, to expose them and bring about some sense of justice, but I was talked down from it. You might call me cowardly for that, but put yourself in my shoes for a minute; I had no real evidence at hand, and it soon became apparent that the scientists were only operating under my brother’s command. Everything had been planned out in advance, even the system that was being followed now, for what would happen if a fatal accident occurred. Telling the world the true events of that night would’ve been a losing battle – already, they’d began cleaning up their mess – demolishing the warehouse lab, scrubbing all evidence from the archives, etc. It was a tough call, but I felt compelled to adhere to my brother’s wishes and keep moving forward with NeuroWorks. You can judge me for that if you want, but I don’t care.
I forgave them all over time. It wasn’t even really their fault Julian had died that night – there’d been a freak malfunction with the equipment, leading to them being unable to turn it off. I won’t go too in-depth; there’s a lot about it that I still don’t understand to this day. Anyway, once the dust had settled, we put the incident behind us and gave up the whole ‘cutting-edge’ angle for a while. We started pursuing safer technological ventures like media creation, but that was when something strange began happening.
You see, Julian’s cause of death seemed obvious initially – most likely a heart attack or stress-related aneurysm – but the autopsy revealed something startling. There was little to no internal damage anywhere in his body: no burst blood vessels or spasmed arteries. Rather, all the electrical signals in his body had simply vanished simultaneously, deactivating his brain. It was as if he had literally been switched off.
None of this ever got out, of course. NeuroWorks, now one of the most valuable, powerful companies of all time, made sure of that. Julian’s death was publicly credited as a stroke due to undetected high cholesterol levels. But it’s certainly interesting considering what came after.
Over the next few weeks, we had virus troubles. A malicious software was making its way through our computer system. There was a bit of a panic to begin with; an internal investigation revealed we had far too much unsecured data that anyone working for a market competitor would be happy to steal and sell to the highest bidder, but the more we found out about it, the more curious we became. The strange thing about it was only partly what it did. Corruption and deletion are pretty bog-standard as far as viruses go, but its effects were largely patternless, like it was picking items at complete random. But it was also when it was doing it. After some research, we found that people had been complaining about this mystery malware they’d designated as ‘WerStar’ (due to the word apparently repeating itself over and over again in damaged code and text boxes) since the beginning of the internet. Despite this, its existence had never been formally documented anywhere, which is extremely bizarre. Whatever WerStar is, it’s completely transcendent of time.
We think we know what’s going on, though. We had our ideas to begin with, and there were plenty of skeptics amongst us, but a recent event has all but verified it. A couple of months ago, I found a .txt file on my computer that wasn’t there the day before, entitled ‘WerStargift’. It was an enormous mass of code that took weeks to fully analyse. Delving into the nitty gritty of the whole thing would take forever, but from what we’ve been able to glean from it (and I promise I’m being serious when I say this), it’s a formula for communicating virtually with the past.
Which brings us to today. Well, our today. We’re sending this message from the year 2050 to what we’ve calculated to be the mid-2010s. Myself and Julian should only be little children. Don’t worry, this isn’t some Terminator-style mission to erase or alter a former timeline. We just need you to tell us something.
The code wasn’t the only thing in the .txt file. There was a message, a message we can’t read. It’s been cobbled together on an old, outdated editor that isn’t compatible with the modern NeuroWorks setup anymore. Believe me, we’ve tried everything, but not even old computers will display it. We think our failure to view it is the whole reason we’re even able to talk to you now. In your time, it should still be legible. You may need to do something with it, view it through a Source editor, perhaps, but it won’t be hard to decipher.
You should be able to communicate with us, too. Hopefully. We’ve tested this with random forums – dozens of messages we made that were supposedly sent in 2012, and had people respond to them in that same year. We’re well aware of the danger associated with this, but at the same time, it’s the only chance we’ve got.
I’m going to wrap this up by apologising. I’m sorry that I haven’t been more specific throughout this message; there’s a lot I’ve glossed over in the pursuit of keeping things relatively short. Maybe this is just a lost cause – the technology we’re using is still extremely unrefined, so there’s a chance this might not even get out there. But it’s been 10 years since Julian ‘died’, and I’d give anything to be able to see my brother again. If this works, if we’re able to somehow establish contact, then we may even be able to reverse the process, to find him a human host.
So, please, for the love of God, please, what does it say? Where is Julian?
...
...
...
https://imgur.com/a/hu9jOuk

They cured me, of every last bit of anything good that I had left in my life.
This is how my they helped me personally:
2017:

• Involuntarily locked me up a in a closed ward which is just an empty hallway with rooms, haven’t seen the sunlight for the whole month of July, no one talked to me, no one explained what is happening to me or what will they do with me
• During this hospitalization, while being completely calm and quiet I got grabbed and stripped by two men while the nurse injected me with some poison, got locked up in a cage where the “doctor” came to openly insult me and threaten me that I’m not coming out for the next three days which caused me terrible claustrophobia to realize that I’m not going to be able to move for 72 hours
• During the “cage incident” I had to witness a guy in the cage next to screaming for hours that he needs water, got refused, screamed and begged for another hour until he had to take his dick out to piss in his own mouth in front of me so that he would quench the thirst he got from the medication they gave him. I’ve lost all innocence here.
• Released me after a month of this type of shit, claiming that I was helped by them and that I’m stable and doing great mentally
• I was naïve as fuck to come back, hoping that they would put me in an open ward so that I could be helped instead of tortured
• They did put me in an open ward, however they suddenly decided that I’m suffering from severe form of schizophrenia and an ECT has to be done immediately
• Threatened me to sign the ECT papers otherwise they would send me to another hospital across the whole country for another 3-6 months
• Fried my brain for a month straight on bi-daily basis because of a diagnosis that I don’t suffer from
• Medicated me heavily, later I rotated through 12 different antipsychotics, usually 3 at a time, for a diagnosis that I don’t suffer from

2018

• Tried committing suicide because I realized how disgusting the whole world is and no help is coming - got hospitalized again, been there for a month and I just spent it lying down drugged out of this world
• During this I haven’t seen my room doctor until the last day, when he came to shake my hand telling me that I’m being released, the guy spent the whole month being away at some psych convention and didn’t know anything about me, great care
• They put me on Invega injections, because my non-existent “schizophrenia” was not going away so they probably thought I wasn’t taking the pills, which I was, cause I was dumb and trusting at this point
• Invega injections killed the last bits of my personality (all my friends left me) and now I wasn’t only mentally castrated but I developed a new side effect called “ejaculation failure”
• I realized that this is not the solution and tried my best not to ever get hospitalized again, just stuck to the regular check-ups because my psychiatrist was the nicest person that I’ve met
• The whole year I spent in bed, sleeping easily for 18 hours a day, never left my home, I was heavily sedated during the 6 remaining hours too (800mg quetiapine, Invega injections, max dose of levomepromazine = 3 sedative APs at the same time)
• Reached my highest BMI of 36 (normal is 18.5-25)
• I kept complaining to my psychiatrist that I sleep 18 hours every day, she did not care, she even wrote it in the papers and did not change the medication
• Lost this whole year in bed and nothing else happened, I was 24/25 y/o

2019

• Another year of sleeping or lying in bed, drugged for a diagnosis that I don’t suffer from
• I tried 2 jobs, both failed in the first week or two cause I couldn’t wake up in the morning or keep my eyes open, had to lie down in the street a couple times cause I had to sleep so bad if I only slept for 12 hours instead of 18
• They put me into some daily psychiatric care where you come every day and leave at around 2PM, soon enough they kicked me out for refusing to get on more antipsychotics, not giving a fuck about anything that is happening to me, only trying to push more drugs
• August came and my leg started to hurt terribly, developed breathing issues, couldn’t even walk upstairs cause I felt like I’m suffocating
• Turns out I got a gigantic blood clot in the main artery of the leg, some of it traveled to the lungs and almost killed me (pulmonary embolism)
• I tell this to my psychiatrist, she acts like it has nothing to do with me taking 3 max doses of APs at the same time and sleeping 18 hours a day for two years straight. I even got a confirmation from another doctor that says I have no hereditary blood clotting issues and that it was caused by psychiatric medication, she won’t admit to this until this day (she is legitimately a nice person, always tried to help me and thinks that the drugs would never do this, but its pissing me off that she didn’t claim responsibility cause it means that it might happen to someone else easily again)
• She switches one AP for another, I still rot in bed, sedated out of my mind
• Another year is over, I slept through it and developed even more chronic health issues
• I’m 25/26 and starting to realize my best years were lost due to illness and psych drugs

2020

• Had a couple psych check-ups, nothing was getting better, 800mgs of instant release Quetiapine kept giving me all types of disgusting side effects, electroshocks in lower limbs, passing out mid-speaking, not breathing while sleeping, waking up with blue lips and pale face
• COVID hit hard and I stopped going to the check-ups for 7 months as they advised everyone to stay at home
• Used this time to get myself off of all antipsychotics, Quetiapine withdrawal was the worst and lasted for weeks, couldn’t sleep for days at a time, puking, terrible anxiety, everything physically hurt, itching, sweating and all types of nasty shit but I decided to get off this poison so I did
• Until this point I really thought I am a schizophrenic but it turns out all the nasty schizo-like symptoms were caused by my overmedication, suddenly I started to have personality and I was more lively
• I was still suffering really hard from psychological pain so I googled “most painful mental disorder”, BPD came out as the answer, read up on it, realized that it’s really no schizophrenia but instead Borderline PD, which to me is even worse and I wanted to die even more after finding out

2021

• After 7 months COVID calmed down, decided to get a psych check-up, told her I’m no longer on APs, she suggests me to take Latuda (another AP), she was really careless as I was already prescribed Carbamazepine which has a terrible interaction with Latuda and no one in the right mind would prescribe it together
• I take it together, the result was explosive puking, couldn’t even manage to get into bathroom in time, this happened multiple days before I decided to Google the interactions.
• First time in my life I started to be psychotic after taking Latuda, auditory hallucinations and extreme paranoia. Told her about the interaction and the psychotic symptoms, she just increased the dose. Another check-up I complained the symptoms got even worse, she increased the dose to the max.
• I didn’t know it was the Latuda causing it so I just stopped taking the carbamazepine because of the interaction, got extreme akathisia from Latuda which felt like being burned alive from the inside, I didn’t take another dose after this but the psychosis stayed
• At this point I was already 6 months in active psychosis with auditory hallucinations and paranoia, trying to survive in the world where everyone was “after me” and no help was in sight
• This is the first time I experienced psychosis in my life and started to believe them, that I really am a schizophrenic
• After 7 months of Latuda induced psychosis she got me on another AP which calmed it down a things got better

2022

• I read up on Latuda, realized the psychosis was caused by it and I was back to thinking I only got the fucking BPD + all the comorbid crap (depression, anxiety, ocd…)
• I looked at myself in the mirror after 5 years of being made completely careless about everything because of the overmedication, realized I’m a BMI 36 fat peace of shit and without all the medication numbing me I got super anxious about my looks
• Stopped taking the meds and I was finally able to start doing things, started working out, doing chores, walking 5 miles every day and I started fasting
• In exactly 180 days I lost 40kg/88lb and went down to 22 BMI but these 180 days hurt like fuck because of the un-medicated BPD and my living conditions at home. I was in a terrible place mentally, suicidal, I knew no medication can fix this condition
• After almost 5 years I decided to trust psychiatry again, got myself hospitalized, spent one month just sitting there waiting for a miracle as they closed off the whole ward because of COVID. They tried getting me on prothazine and MAOI at the same time, which is a deadly interaction but they were careless and almost did me in with this combo
• Nothing changed for the better during this month, at the end of the hospitalization they did psych tests and confirmed BPD without me telling them that I suspected this dg.
• No one said we’re sorry for misdiagnosing me w/ schizophrenia or frying my brain with ECT, or overmedicating me with 12 max dose APs for a diagnosis that I don’t suffer from, or them making me extremely fat for no reason, or giving me 3 blood clots that won’t go away, or them destroying every dopamine receptor in my brain to a point where I couldn’t ever feel any positive emotion again, or that they castrated me and made me asexual
• The day after officially getting the most stigmatized diagnosis confirmed on paper, I was released even more suicidal than before and lasted a couple of days before deciding to go in the psychiatric ER in the same hospital. They just told me to “take a hike in the forest” and I was sent home and they billed the insurance company for something expensive like “anti-suicidal intervention with duration no less than 45 minutes” even though we talked for about 6 minutes; ($$$$$)
• I lasted about 35 days like this before I gave up and try to commit suicide out of all the hopelessness, 80 xans and 700ml of vodka was the only thing that I amounted to, spent 2 days in coma but the outcome could’ve been way worse
• I ended up in the same psych ward, after this suicide attempt they decided that I don’t deserve any psychological help, instead they locked me in an empty room for 5 days where I had to endure all the BPD symptoms all alone, just me, a bed and 4 walls and a bucket they had me piss & shit into because they wouldn’t even let me out to use the bathroom, nurse even complimented me on how much piss & shit I produced into the bucket, lost all my dignity right here at this point
• I remembered all the stories I read and finally realized that honesty only brings you harm in these types of hospitals so I started lying that I’m doing great just to get out of this hell and they just released me, even more suicidal and traumatized than before
• Out of the desperation I order something similar to Kratom, It allowed me to somehow survive the next 6 months without a sui attempt
• The year was over, I was 28/29 and my youth was all gone and wasted in suffering, zero hope

2023

• I kept going to the check-ups, kept googling new medication in hopes of finding something to fix my brain and I started a new antidepressant, It didn’t do much but at least I had no side effects
• I was offered to go to the daily psychiatric care again so I went. I came there, introduced myself as well as I could in front of 15 new people. The main therapist literally tells me that she feels bothered by my presence and starts to ridicule me in front of everyone even though there was nothing wrong with my introduction
• I left and no longer I could say that it’s only me who feels like a burden or annoyance to people if even a paid professional can’t help it but to bully me
• I go home and decide to do what’s been long due, I hang myself with a fucking Ethernet cable, it breaks after 10 seconds anyway and I fall down on my sad ass. Sleeping pills started to kick in so I just went to sleep and left the cable hanging there
• For some fucking reason the next day I decided to look for help in psychiatry again, got offered a hospitalization just to get kicked out after 3 days, they gave me 60 seconds to pack my shit and leave the room, I don’t even know what I did at this point but kicking suicidal people to the curb like a bag of garbage is apparently fine by them, no reason needed. I guess they already prescribed me all types of useless but expensive shit that brings them money every month anyways so I’m of no use to them anymore

It hopefully ends here. I realized that it doesn’t matter how bad I'm doing mentally, every chance I give psychiatry, they only make it worse. I’m almost thirty, they cured nothing, only made me worse, traumatized me further and made me develop new chronic disorders that cause me physical pain, as if the psychological BPD pain wasn’t enough. Not only my youth is gone but the future too as I am unable to get any sort of positive feeling out of anything, I don’t know if it was the ECT that fried my brain or the shitloads of APs that caused me to have this anhedonia but I can’t feel anything. My whole life is just me trying to cope with the BPD pain as it is the only thing I can feel. I don’t know where else to go and I feel like the brain damage is irreversible while the psychiatrists are living their best lives, enjoying the money and the status of god. I’ve been used and the big pharma is hundreds of thousands of dollars richer thanks to me, which they will either pocket or use to make new poisons that will kill or destroy lives of even more people. I don’t know how long I will last but I wish I killed myself in 2016 so that I wouldn’t have to go through all this shit only to come out even more damaged.
Rule #5 says no medical advice and I'm not looking for one, but someone please tell me what to fucking do after all this brain damage has been done or what to do with the BPD, where do I go when things get bad? I'm all alone and I'm scared I will be dumb enough to ask psychiatry for help again, the story proves I'm dumb enough to go back again and never learn.

I’m not an extraordinary individual. Not to my knowledge at least. However, there have been many anomalous things that have happened to me throughout my life. Some of these incidents were harmless while others were downright haunting. Either way, all these incidents were well beyond simply being “out of the ordinary.”
The most recent of these incidents involve my reddit account. Specifically, a post that I don’t ever remember posting. I don’t have any medical or family history of memory-related disorders. I have never shown any signs of such memory disorders, nor do I have any predisposition to them. I also do not partake in injecting any drugs including alcohol or anything else that could cause me to forget certain events. Therefore, I would’ve remembered originally posting the following post and yet I don’t. The original post was titled, “A former work partner sent me a strange email last night, now I fear for my safety.”
I discovered this post this morning after vomiting for the first time in years. However, the vomit wasn’t what scared me. The fact that it was partly black. Closing the lid of the toilet after vomiting in it, I noticed something on the underside of my left forearm. “Subject Number 9: Attempt number 1; Result: Conversion Rejected; minimal to no physical alteration; failure” where the words printed on my arm. That was the final straw and that’s why I’ve decided to repost the original post rather than simply deleting it.
-Original Post-
It happened last night around 11:30pm. I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard a notification sound from my laptop. It was an email titled, "If you get this email, you’ve been selected for a true opportunity. Don’t resist it!" and attached to it, was a Word Document. It was from an ex-coworker whose real name I won't use (I'll be using the name Dave as a replacement). Not wanting to stay up for what I thought was an advertisement or promotion of some kind, I simply saved the attachment after verifying the email's origin.
I then went to bed before being woken up around 3:00 at night to a loud thumping sound and my laptop being turned on seemingly by itself. Upon opening the laptop, I saw that it was opened to the word document while a page to reddit had been open. After reading the Word Document in its entirety, I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t an advertisement; it was a warning. At first, I would’ve assumed it was just a dumb, ridiculous prank. However, following events made me convinced that’s not the case.
I tried to delete the word document and close reddit with no success and laptop will only pull up reddit, email, and Microsoft Word. I then tried to turn off my computer, but it only gave an error sound in response. Worse yet, my phone won’t even turn on so calling for help via my phone isn’t an option. It’s definitely some sort of virus. Furthermore, in the process of trying to leave my apartment on the fifth floor, the door wouldn’t unlock, and the peep hole was obstructed. Following this, I tried to scream for help, but nothing happened. This has only made me fearful and desperate. That's why I've decided to post the document I received here so I can maybe appease whatever virus this is.
To give context, I met Dave when we were both hired in the same group. Long story short, the job simply wasn't for us, and we were both let go the same day right before the end of our job's probationary period. After that, I went to work for a warehouse job to stay paying for the bills. I'll admit it's not the best job, but I won't complain because it pays enough for me to afford my monthly expenses. However, that didn't stop me from being jealous of Dave once I had learned that he had found work in an unnamed experimental treatment facility.
I live in an area on the southeast coast of North America that's known for constant innovation. Dave on the other hand, lived 20 minutes away from me. That's partially why it wasn't so hard for both of us to find replacement jobs. However, it didn't explain his luck as I never took him as the kind of guy to work in the field of Biology and Gene Therapy. He seemed more of a mechanic than a scientist. Regardless, I was happy for him and moved on with my typical life.
That was all about 2 months ago.
The document that was attached to the email was a letter. Any details such as the name of the CEO or the company Dave worked for have been removed. This was the message I saw when I read the document.
-Message Starts-
[My Name], you’re one of the people I sent this to. You need to read everything that is in this document very carefully, word for word and then post this to a site that it is or will be pulled up on your device. I’ve installed a virus on your computer that will only be nullified once this document has been posted onto a specific internet page designated as “Safe to post” by the virus’ code. I’ve done this to ensure that the truth gets out there not to harm you. I’m sorry it had to be this way.
However, I shall give you some context first.
It all started after I didn't make my previous job's probationary period. I had moved to the local area just for that job. So, when I didn’t make the cut, I originally was planning on moving back to my home state. However, that soon changed as two nights before I was going to begin the move. I had gotten a letter from [Removed] Inc. It was a job offer.
"Hello [Removed], we've heard about your recent and unfortunate separation from [Removed]. We would like to extend a job offer after reviewing your skills and experience as we’ve determined that you'd be a better fit here with us and your contributions valued. Your job would be relatively simple, safe, and rewarding. You will be trained, costs covered by us. Should you choose to stay, you’ll enjoy our amazing benefits including, but not limited to, full insurance coverage, competitive pay, and 152 hours of PTO! All we ask is that you're willing and able to work 12-hour shifts, lift more than 50lbs, comply with our reasonable NDAs and do the job with quality and safety in mind. Should this offer pique your interest, don't hesitate to call us or email us!
Sincerely, [Removed].”
“Today’s biological questions are tomorrow’s biological achievements here at [Removed].”
I must've read it twice before deeming it as "too good to be true" However, the truth is, I was desperate. Desperate enough to take the time and reach out to the company. The fact is, I didn't want to go back to my home state. If I had a chance to stay here, why not try and see if the job is genuine. “The worst thing that can happen is I get my time wasted” I thought.
I called the CEO the next day and to my surprise, long story short, it was successful! I was hired! Not only that but the job's hourly wage was $10 more than my previous job and I only had to work 3 days a week! I was told to come in the next available shift for training.
I eagerly began my first two weeks here normal enough. It was mostly training videos relating to our job procedure, receiving hands-on training for simple tasks, and meeting my coworkers. On the first day, I noticed that all the coworkers barely ever talked. I chalked it all up as they simply being standoffish to me, the new hire. I figured they needed to warm up to me.
After the first 2 weeks were done, I had a good idea of what I'd be doing. I would be experimenting on human and wild animal tissue as well as live animals. This was to study the effects of mutating and altering certain genetic codes. I know the last part might seem unethical, but it was to discover cures for diseases using gene therapy. I wasn’t hurting animals; I was helping them. However, the job still began to feel wrong.
It started with me meeting the CEO. Immediately I noticed something was different about her. Specifically, the way she looked for a CEO. She towered above me at almost seven feet in height and her skin was insanely pale. Her hair was jet-black as was the color of her eye’s irises and the shape of her upturned eyes made her gaze very intimidating as well. She looked young, perhaps 25 at the oldest. Furthermore, the way she dressed; she wore a black and grey camo military-style uniform didn’t help. There was what looked to be the patch of a flag or symbol on her left shoulder, but it wasn’t that of any nation or group I recognized. The symbol/flag in question was a red-letter X in the middle of a red outline of an eye with a black background. Her voice was also very off.
After meeting her, I was then made to sign several NDAs and other contractual documents. The documents I was signing seemed standard but something in me felt wrong with it. After signing the NDAs, I was then introduced to Arin, the person I'd be shadowing. Everything went downhill from there. Immediately, within 5 minutes of meeting him, Arin began to give me a list of ominous, strange suggestions that sounded more like warnings.

1. If you hear the CEO seemingly talking to herself behind a locked door with the hallway lights flickering outside, walk away. She’s talking to the voice. Whatever they are talking about is none of your business and you want to keep it that way.
2. If you are working by yourself and the lights turn off. Don't move. You will hear a voice, cooperate with it, answer any questions it has and do what it says. I don't want to have to clean up after another, "unfortunate work accident."
3. Though this is unlikely, if the CEO tells you to meet them in their room. Do not keep them waiting. She doesn't like it when you're late because it is likely demanding your presence.
4. If you have questions about what exactly we do, don't ask. Don't try to tell anyone outside of this facility the nature of our work and its end goal should you find out. It's not us that will come for you, it's the voice.
5. If you happen to see the figure that the voice belongs to, it has respect for you. Keep it that way but avoid eye contact with it.
6. Do not refer to the voice as the CEO or a mental illness. Even if that’s what it seems like, I promise you It not that. You treat it with the utmost respect and legitimacy even when it's not around.
7. None of these suggestions I’ve given you are a "joke" of any kind. Take it seriously.

I didn't say anything, but I was more than confused. I could tell by his face that he was intent on convincing me. In fact, he had the most serious look I had ever seen on anyone’s face. He then said, "I have your back but don't get yourself in trouble. Don't mention what I've told you at lunch either. Everyone learns in their third week. Now, you know what they say about Rome? When in Rome, do as the romans do yeah? Well, you're in Rome so do as we do. Oh, and I'll say this one final time, nothing I've told you is to be talked about outside of the workplace. Don't think about it too hard though. Just don't forget either." My heart began to race slightly after hearing this as I struggled to go about the work routine of isolating and studying DNA strands, reorganizing documents, Injecting certain labelled syringes into various lab animals, etc.
The next 4 days went roughly the same as I got into the routine of things. I got better at my tasks and was even allowed to work alone by the end of the week. All the other coworkers at lunch would say things like, "I went to go work at my station but the door to the room was locked, I then heard the CEO talking on the other end." or "The lights went out at my station yesterday, IT didn't say anything. The lights came on after 2 minutes. IT must've been observing." As these things were said, they exchanged knowing looks with no sign of any joking going on. At this point I was beginning to be convinced that the CEO was insane just by that alone.
The following 4 weeks were almost completely normal. There was no mention of "The Voice" except towards the end of my 4th week when Arin said, "IT must be taking a break or a vacation if it does that sort of thing." before one of our coworkers apparently got a little too clever and said, "IT might just decide to screw off for once." Everyone then stopped to look at him with stern expressions and no one even smiled. No one else said anything about the voice for the rest of lunch that day. The whole event made me nervous even more.
Midway through my 5th week, I had my first encounter with the voice while working the last hour of my shift. I was in a level A biohazard suit and about to mix two separate solutions in a petri dish based on instructions projected on my station's computer screen. One was dark red and labelled, "Human Blood; O- Type" and the other was black and simply labelled, "Black Blood." I was just about to mix them when the all the lights, including the light from my computer monitor cut out. Then, I heard a low-pitched, inhuman voice speak, "So interesting.” It spoke before continuing, “Tomorrow you will be made to do something dangerous but very important. In fact, that's why we brought you here. You are expendable due to your lack of prior experience and knowledge. However, I know you need the money and if you come in tomorrow, I’ll pay you 100k after you complete the task.”
The voice was beyond haunting because of how abnormal it sounded. It was like 3 people speaking at once. One voice was a deep, yet feminine, prominent, and loud voice while the two sounded like a man’s faint whispers echoing the same words. The voice then continued to my dismay, “Now, you were about to mix the two agents. Remember to destroy the petri dish after 3 minutes.” I didn't even ask how it knew to respond with that. I just stood there drenched in sweat and shaking, horrified at the whole experience. Then I thought back to the rules I was told on day seven. There was no doubt in my mind that this place was insane!
The voice then left without a trace as the lights came back on. I then completed the task according to instructions given. I watched as the Human Blood mixed with the Black substance. The entire petri dish became black within 1 minute before reverting to blood. When analyzing the liquid under a microscope, I saw that the cells had their entire genetic code rewritten. There were also what appeared to be stem cell like cell in the blood. They were black and moved through the other cells mutating any that hadn’t been converted. I immediately stepped away from the microscope as I gasped and then disposed of the mutagenic waste by placing it in the incinerator. The day then ended not long after that. I was reluctant to come back but the money promised was undeniable.
When I got to my assigned station at the basement level of the facility the next day, I was greeted by the CEO again who told me we’d be working on a "willing test subject" for an experiment. She also told me that I and my immediate coworkers were the only employees on site except for a few executives that would also be present. I was still shaken up from the previous day’s experience and the weirdness of that current day. However, I was then fully convinced with the promise of an additional 100k being deposited into my account immediately after successfully completing my task. I would've turned back had I known what would happen less than 30 minutes later.
I was escorted by the CEO to an all-steel room except for a panel of heavily reinforced, thick observation glass and door that looked like it belonged in Fort Knox. In the middle of the room lies a medical bed with a tube full of black fluid beside it. Several of my coworkers then stepped in the room with me as they saw my confusion. The door then closed behind them. Then Arin spoke, “So I guess the CEO didn’t tell you. Listen, there’s a reason why our team is the only one here today. It to put you in that bed.” I shouted in protest, “What! No! I don’t agree with this! Please, you can’t do this to me! This is illegal! Stop it!” Arin then replied with the last words I heard him speak, “Sorry buddy, this is why we brought you here. No one’s going to find out! We are all getting 100k individually to do this. You’re not the only one who needs money right now. Now let’s just make this easy for everyone. Get on there!” I then replied with, “Fuck you! I kill all of you!” as they wrestled me to bed with ease. They then cuffed my feet and hands to the bed with metallic restraints. The last thing I remember is a cloth being put over my nose as a strong scent filled my nostrils.
The next thing I remember was my eyes being covered by my hands as cried. I then pulled my hands away to see that they had become elongated, and my fingers had become claw-like. I then looked down at my mutated, blood-soaked body in horror. All around me was death and bodily destruction. I didn’t recognize a single body. The bed, equipment, walls, and floor were painted with blood and littered with human tissue. I immediately froze for a second time before retching. As a towered above the destruction, I realized I was significantly taller than I remembered. Then I looked ahead of me and saw that the tube with the black fluid was empty. “…No” Was the only word I could get out. That was when I noticed that my voice was altered. I sounded like the voice except prominent voice was a demonic version of my original voice and the faint whispering voices that came from my throat afterwards were feminine. Then I heard The Voice call out to me from the direction of the door behind me. I turned and saw the CEO. “It’s okay child, you’re mine now.” Were the words she spoke to me… and they will be the words she speaks to you.
Dear viewer, I am known by many names. One of them is Goddess Cerridwen. I know all of this is a lot to take in but soon it will all make sense. You were meant to worship me and soon you will as well as everyone else revieing “An email supposedly from [Dave’s real name]”. Your device is being tracked as of the time the Virus is installed onto it. I’m on my way to take you. You shall spread the word. It will do you no good, but it will make my name known furthermore so they may worship me.
-Message ends-
After I first got done reading this, I thought it was some ridiculous joke but now I no longer feel that way as the lights have begun to flicker and I’m beginning to hear whispering sounds from my closet. I’m going to try one more thing to escape.
I thought of an idea to get out of this situation and that was to start a fire in my kitchen to trip the fire alarm and get help. However, as I went over to the stove the power shut out and all the light from the outside streetlights seemed to dim unnaturally until no light came through. The only thing illuminating my entire apartment was my now laptop with its now eerie blue glow lighting up the dark world around me.
I decided to do the only thing I could think of, post the document on reddit. However, just as I was about to do this, I heard what sounded like three demonic voices speaking at once coming from behind me. Then I lost all hope of escape as the horror of reality sunk in and froze my body still as Goddess Cerridwen, the CEO, spoke to me, “Once you read the document, I simply manifested myself near your device’s location. That’s how I’ll get the first of the other ones too. You’re mine now. Go on, post it.”
-End of Original Post-
As I’m reposting this on here, there’ve been several local reports of people in my area going missing with no trace. “The first 10 of the missing people had received an email from [Dave’s real name]. However, now people are going missing without having received any previous let-” I turned off the TV after hearing that. The local news had also been saying that some other people had been waking up with words stamped on their arms. Some of these people that had reported these words on their forearms have since gone missing again. It's likely that whatever this “Goddess Cerridwen” is, it is responsible for the disappearances in my area. Furthermore, it's coming for me now and I know this for a fact. I say this because no light is coming through my apartment despite it still being mid-day and the lights of my apartment… have begun to flicker rapidly.

Hello. I have headache/pressure near behind my eyes for a long time. I have been feeling the pain every day for about 2-3 months. It's not much of a pain(3-4/10), but it happens all the time. The feeling of pain and pressure increases while walking. It goes away a little when I sit down and when I lie down the pressure and pain are almost gone. I lie down and nearly 10min later pain is gone. 10-15 minutes after getting up, the feeling of pain and pressure starts again. I don't feel the pain increase when I sneeze, bend over or strain. I don't feel any pain when I wake up either. The pain starts after getting up.
The pain is generally behind my eyes and I feel it all day. I work at a desk due to my job and spend almost all of the day looking at the computer screen. I don't know if the pain has anything to do with migrens. Also about two months ago I had what is called migraine with aura. Lights appeared before my eyes, and then I had the most painful headache of my life. When I took painkillers and went to sleep, the pain was gone after sleep.
I was a little scared when I googled it because I saw serious diseases like brain tumor and aneurysm. I've been feeling it for 2-3 months and I think it's become chronic. I made an appointment to go to the MRI soon, but I'm little scared. Could such a headache be a sign of an aneurysm?

I am my mothers full time caregiver. She is 72 years old, has Parkinson's with dementia, has had a stroke that only was noticed on an MRI, nothing physical or odd happened to make me suspect anything was wrong, has issues with her thyroid, just had a carotid bilateral done that showed plaque in her arteries. She also survived 6.5 weeks on a ventilator with covid pneumonia, but it did serious damage to her. It cranked up her Parkinsons symptoms and took her from being completely independent to needing 24/7 care. She has leftover breathing issues from the damage.
She uses a walker to get around, but she can get around. Last year she went through a spell where she was confined to a power chair because of a magnesium deficiency. I know this isn't the most detailed summary but I just want to paint a picture of how fragile she is healthwise before I get into the real problem, a burst fracture.
Below i have copied and pasted the results of two an MRI and a CT, both ordered by separate neurosurgeons. We have seen 3 neurosurgeons for this problem, and the first two both have said they would not operate. The second one canceled the surgery the day before he was supposed to operate because he felt they could not provide her the aftercare she would need. This CT was taken in November of last year
" INDICATION: S32.001A: Stable burst fracture of unspecified lumbar vertebra, initial encounter for closed fracture (CMS/HCC) M48.061: Spinal stenosis, lumbar region without neurogenic claudication
ADDITIONAL CLINICAL INFORMATION: Ordering Provider Reason For Exam: Technologist Note: Additional: 71-year-old with burst L3 fracture and retropulsion.
There is generalized significant diffuse decreased bone density. There is reversal of the lumbar lordosis, due to their 100% burst fracture of L3, with retropulsion of approximately 13 mm, resulting in severe central canal encroachment at this level. There is fracture of the right transverse process of L3, but appears to be remote. There is also unchanged compression deformity of L2, with fracture at the inferior endplate, and decreased stature of approximately 30%. There is a posterior apex angulation of the lumbar spine at the level of L3, of approximately 45 degrees.
The alignment of lumbosacral junction is preserved.
There is minimal retrolisthesis of L4 over L5. The intervertebral spaces heights above and below L3 are decreased, with vacuum disc phenomenon. Similarly, there is decreased intervertebral space height at L4-L5.
T12-L1: Unremarkable.
L1-L2: There is mild diffuse disc bulge and mild bilateral facet disease. There is ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. There is no foramina narrowing. There is mild flattening of the thecal sac.
L2-L3: There is significant retropulsion of the fracture L3 vertebra, with resulting severe central canal encroachment, without significant foraminal stenosis.
L3-L4: There is significant retropulsion of the posterior aspect of the L3 fracture. There is severe central canal encroachment. There is moderate to severe left and severe right foraminal stenosis.
L4-L5: There is mild retrolisthesis of L4 over L5. There is posterior epidural fat and mild bilateral facet disease. There is ligamentum flavum infolding. These findings result in mild bilateral foraminal stenosis and probably mild central canal narrowing.
L5-S1: There is diffuse disc bulge and endplate spurring. There is mild bilateral facet disease. There is no foramina narrowing. There is anterior epidural fat.
IMPRESSION:
Burst fracture of L3, with significant retropulsion of approximately 13 mm, resulting in severe central canal stenosis at L2-L3 and L3-L4. This fracture results in dorsal apex angulation of the lumbar spine, of approximately 45 decreased. Fracture of the inferior endplate of L2, with decreased stature of approximately 30%. Moderate to severe foraminal stenosis at L3-L4."
This one was done in the beginning of May of this year.
"INDICATION: M48.062: Lumbar stenosis with neurogenic claudication
COMPARISON: None.
FINDINGS/IMPRESSION:
Partially visualized surgical clips in the right upper quadrant abdomen.
Severe compression deformity involving L3 with near complete height loss noted. There is a inferior endplate deformity of the L2 vertebral body also noted. There is resultant focal kyphosis centered around the compressed L3 vertebral body. Mild intervertebral disc degenerative changes present.. Bone density and texture are normal."
While that says bone density is normal, the CT says bone density is bad, the surgeon said her bones were nearly see through. He said that "anything below 110 is bad and hers is 62". I have tried to make sense of this, because her bone density scans have always been normal, and right there it says bone density is normal so I am so confused.
The third and current surgeon has laid out a very grim picture for this. It would be intense surgery and an even more intense recovery but if she doesn't do it she's in danger of making it worse.
I am the only person that takes care of her. I manage all of the medical stuff and generally make most of the decisions with her after lengthy discussion because she gets very confused and overwhelmed easily. On this one I am completely lost. 2 said no, 1 said yes and that it has to be done.
I am worried this will mean she will spend the rest of her life recovering and in pain. I am also worried the stress of everything will further her dementia symptoms. When she is in care anywhere but home things get bad for her with hallucinations and she becomes very angry and suspicious of everyone. At home she isn't like that.
Right now she can get around. She can get out of the house and spend time with her friends and her grandkids. I worry having this surgery will make that impossible and she'll become so depressed she'll just give up. I worry that the state of her bones and the progression of Parkinsons will make doing this pointless in the end.
Please help me understand all of this, I want to do what is best for her, but my head is so twisted around with all of the different information i have no idea what to do. Please help.
.

A cyanobacterium species can acquire iron and phosphate that is otherwise unavailable by dissolving minerals that bind them. March 6, 2023
Black-headed gulls with lowered blood oxygen capacity take fewer but longer foraging trips. May 3, 2023
Starvation leads to more males in Pacific oysters through changes in expression of sex differentiation genes. May 8, 2023
Morphological adaptations in fan worms reduce drag by 50% and friction by 90%, which allows them to retract nearly instantaneously without hurting themselves. May 10, 2023
Whale sharks bottom feed. May 21, 2023
Title says it all: Low water temperature and increased discharge trigger downstream spawning migration of ayu Plecoglossus altivelis. May 22, 2023
Sea cucumber wasting disease epidemic in 2021 in Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, Canada. May 23, 2023
A tiger shark released into the wild after being held in captivity showed no vertical movement and did a lot of turning compared to a wild shark. May 25, 2023

Microplastics, climate denial, contagious skin fungus, warlords, record temperatures, and wheat troubles. This is starting to get serious.
Last Week in Collapse: May 21-27, 2023
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter bringing together some of the most important, timely, useful, depressing, ironic, amazing, or otherwise must-see moments in Collapse.
This is the 73rd newsletter. Sorry it’s a bit later than usual. You can find the May 14-20 edition here if you missed it last week. These newsletters are also on Substack if you want them sent to your email inbox every Sunday.
——————————
Climate and soil scientists are warning that Europe’s soil won’t be able to absorb as much water now, after a season of terrible drought. The feedback loops spell disaster for the continent’s ability to weather the coming drought. France has given up aiming for just a 1.5 °C temperature increase, and are preparing for 4 °C rise by 2100. Scientists claim we are heading for total disaster, but the rest of the world apparently has bigger problems.
The world is allegedly on track for 2.7 °C of warming, and some experts predict that about one billion humans may be forced to migrate as a result of global warming, sea level rise, etc. Iraq is one such location, and countless migrants have already fled. On Twitter, climate scientists report seeing more hostility and climate denial.
Category 5 Typhoon Mawar blasted Guam, and took out electricity, but no humans were killed on the island. In Somalia, over one million people were displaced by drought within the last 4 months.
A ship’s draft/draught) is the distance between its waterline and the bottom of its keel/hull. This determines a ship’s displacement; the heavier a ship’s cargo, the greater its draft will be. The Panama Canal is reducing the allowed vessel draft because they didn’t receive enough rain in the last few months and cannot fully fill the Canal’s locks. As a result, more ships will be forced to make the long journey around Cape Horn—or load up with less cargo to transit the Canal. The supply chain feedback loops are compounding.
Chad saw its highest May temperature last week—47 °C (117 °F), and part of Samoa tied a new May temperature too—34.8 °C (101 °F) . New record temperatures in Southeast Asia again. The ocean around the Cayman Islands has hit 30 °C earlier than any previous year. The average sea surface temperature has been breaking daily records for every day for over two months.
Experts are warning that a heat wave would devastate Phoenix, Arizona, if it knocked out the power grid. Up to 800,000 people (half the population) would allegedly require emergency medical attention for heat stroke, etc. The study concluded that about 12,800 people would die as a result.
Although most of the world is warming, the upper atmosphere is cooling down, forcing scientists and generals to consider its potential impact on satellites and on our sensitive weather patterns. Temperatures beyond roughly 50km out in the atmosphere have been cooled by CO2 levels. Concrete implications from the study are unclear.
About 5,000 Congolese are still missing weeks after catastrophic flooding. Wildfire risk is increasing in Sweden. Heat wave alerts in Sri Lanka.
A study has claimed—again—that species are going extinct even faster than expected. About half of surveyed species have seen population declines recently (especially in the tropics), while 49% are holding relatively steady.
One species at risk of dieoff is the black sea urchin off the coast of Israel—and their dieoff hold grim implications for the health of coral in the Red Sea.
Tick season has begun, and researchers are worried that they can transfer prions from white-tailed deer to humans. Chronic wasting disease has not yet afflicted humans, though it exists in growing quantities among Canadian cervids.
——————————
The danger from fungi is growing as a result of climate change, and the rise of Candida Auris—and a resistant, contagious skin fungus coming out of India—in the U.S. is alarming epidemiologists. The combination of compromised immune systems (from COVID, increased diabetes), climate change, distrust of health entities, health insurance problems, and healthcare worker collapse are creating a terrible convergence of circumstances.
Over 5,000 new species have been discovered in the ocean between Hawai’i and Mexico—and in two months, applications will be accepted to begin deep-sea mining extraction operations in the region. Meanwhile, Shell shareholders rejected attempts to accept new emissions targets, 80% to 20%.
German police are looking into classifying “Last Generation” climate activists as part of a criminal group, amid raids targeting the traffic-stopping activists.
Greenpeace claims that recycled plastic can be more toxic than first-use plastic—but don’t worry, only 9% of plastic is recycled worldwide. A study from Hazardous Materials Advances concluded that recycling plastics produces large amounts of microplastics which later contaminate our land, water, and even air.
The U.S. Supreme Court limited the scope of the Clean Water Act, to exclude certain types of wetlands. This opens up some wetlands to nearby development and pollution.
Some Kansas wheat farmers suffered so much drought and cold snaps that they are abandoning their crops. Across the country, one third of winter-wheat acres are being abandoned, the highest percent in over 100 years. Utah’s Great Salt Lake is drying up, and strong winds are blowing dust, sometimes containing heavy metals.
Locusts in Afghanistan are threatening the coming wheat harvests in an already famine-stricken land. Argentina will face a similar problem if they don’t get rain within a few weeks.
——————————
South Africa is suffering from 33% unemployment and devastating, 10-hour load-shedding (routine power outages) every day. A senior politician is warning that the crumbling nation could become a failed state soon. Power grid troubles are expected to escalate later this winter, by August.
A teenage girl in Guyana set fire to her dorm and unintentionally killed 19 people—because her cell phone was confiscated. What will society do when their water and human rights are confiscated?
Russia is supposedly considering an export ban on gasoline, in an attempt to better control supply & prices within its own territory. Qatar warned Europe that they haven’t seen the worst of the petrol/energy crisis yet.
Global demand for goods is reportedly sinking, and the production of shipping containers is down. More and more Americans are struggling to pay bills as inflation rises. Germany is officially in recession now. South Africa’s interest rates are at a 14-year high.
Some experts are concerned that China may overtake the U.S. with AI development. Others are concerned about the implications of an AI future dominated by the United States. Experts are calling for regulation of AI before it destroys humans.
Cambodia’s ruling party is keeping the opposition party off the ballots in this July’s elections.
The ceasefire in Khartoum is largely holding, but sporadic violence by fighters threatens the fragile “peace” in the city. Once a War “begins,” what role do the civilians have in re-instituting peace—or keeping the conflict going?
The head of the Wagner Group is warning of revolution in Russia, a portent that may also be a threat. The mercenary group is currently handing over Bakhmut to the Russian Army, and claims that about 20,000 Wagner soldiers died taking the city. Meanwhile, a pro-Ukrainian group of ethnic-Russian soldiers made attacks inside Russian territory, and soon withdrew back into Ukraine.
Russia’s former President and PM claimed that this War could last for decades. Yet certain unspecified NATO member states will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, and train about 20 Ukrainian pilots, in an effort to force an earlier conclusion. Yet their impact may not be decisive on the battlefield.
Seven U.S. states agreed on a three-year water-sharing compromise over the Colorado River’s water; whether the pact will hold when the Dust Bowl 2.0 begins is up in the air. Meanwhile, troops from Afghanistan and Iran exchanged machine gun fire and some mortars, over water rights in the Helmand River.
——————————
Things to watch for next week include:
↠ It’s that time of the year again. American politicians posture over raising the debt ceiling, a massive political/economic struggle that usually ends with a last-minute compromise or a short government shutdown. The U.S. is set to default on its debt on June 1st, which would damage trust and cause market bedlam. What’s it gonna be this time?
↠ Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, is rapidly running out of water. The city’s main reservoir only had 10 days left of water—5 days ago. So the city’s supply is set to be exhausted by next Friday. How will the government react—and what will the people do? This might be a signal of what lies ahead for the rest of us.
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-China will be getting 65M COVID cases—every week—if you believe the claims made in this thread and its sources, which include the Chinese government. The world’s second-most-populous nation, once the last bastion against COVID, has resigned to letting rolling waves of coronavirus repeatedly infect the masses. So it goes.
-Some rich countries will fare very poorly in Collapse, judging by the comments on this thread. Do you see your nation among them?
-Climate change may be worse than you think, says a thread and its comments. Even some doomers will be taken aback by the speed and scale of the damage ahead. What are you doing to prepare?
Have any feedback, questions, comments, resources, Collapse tattoos, recipes, aches or pains, spam mail, etc.? Consider joining the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can get this newsletter sent to your email inbox every weekend. I always forget something... What did I miss this week?

Disclaimer that I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice.
Some may have seen my post with the documentary about the discovery of Dr. Lolas in regards to PMDD. In this post I want to collect more research and evidence which could support his findings.
First, here is a summary of the documentary for those who haven't seen it:
The documentary is about a gynecologist from Chile who has found inflamed uteruses in his severe PMS/PMDD patients and he hypothesized that the inflammation might be because of infection. He then went on to treat these patients with antimicrobials (antibiotics, antivirals) and anti-inflammatories and for most of them their severe PMS/PMDD symptoms vanished, others are much improved. In some cases though the inflammation and resulting damage was so severe that antimicrobials alone were not enough and he had to remove some of the inflamed/damaged tissue surgically. Apparently he has been doing this approach successfully for several decades and he has documented all of his cases on video tapes.
Here is an excerpt of the Wikipedia article about Dr. Lolas:

"The so-called Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) form the large part of his experience, which has permitted him to develop an innovative approach to the treatment of this disease. His innovative approach refers to techniques he has perfected over the years to deal with the chronic inflammation of the uterus, mostly affecting the cervix, with which he has obtained impressive results in controlling and eradicating the symptoms of this condition, thus preventing the need for major surgery. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Lolas_Talhami
Following is an excerpt of a study Dr. Lolas and colleagues have published in 2015:

"Both PMS physical and psycho-affective symptoms respond to local anti-inflammatory and antibiotic treatment of the uterus, showing a stable improvement after the treatment has ended. The results of this study suggest that the clinical pattern of PMS can be explained as an inflammatory mediated response to uterine infectious or traumatic insults. Further evidence is urgently needed in order to validate this innovative approach for widespread use in severe PMS/ PMDD cases."

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279154566_Is_Premenstrual_Syndrome_a_Uterine_Inflammatory_Disease_Retrospective_Evaluation_of_an_Etiologic_Approach
Here are the results from an older study in 1988 (not done by Dr. Lolas):

"Thirty patients with well-defined symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome were randomly treated with the antibiotic doxycycline or placebo. The antibiotic-treated group showed a highly significant reduction of symptoms. Subsequent antibiotic treatment of the original placebo group similarly diminished the symptoms in this group. A 6-month follow-up demonstrated that the improvement in symptom scores was permanent and independent from the presence of the antibiotic. An unexpectedly high percentage of endometrial biopsy cultures yielded positive findings for mycoplasma, Chlamydia trachomatis and anaerobic bacteria. An infectious aetiology, possibly a sub-clinical endometrial or ovarian infection, behind certain cases of pre-menstrual syndrome is postulated."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3049185/
There might be more studies, but next I want to focus on why it could be that the symptoms fluctuate according to the menstrual cycle every month. There have been several studies in the past few years that have shown that hormones change how "much" your immune system fights against pathogens:

"The fluctuating levels of estrogens and progesterone during the menstrual cycle and the associated changes in immune function have been proposed to influence the response to mucosal pathogens. Studies performed in mice reveal a reduced protection from bacterial infection in the genital tract in response to progesterone. Also, viral infection appeared to be enhanced in dioestrus (corresponding to the secretory phase with high progesterone levels in humans), while viral replication was reduced during the estrogen-dominated preovulatory phase."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7151910/
Regarding the symptoms, there has been a lot of research in the past few years between the connection of inflammation and psychiatric symptoms:

"Extensive research has already linked chronic inflammation to psychiatric and somatic disorders having common features with severe PMS/PMDD, including depression, anxiety, migraine, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Thus, in recent years, numerous studies have investigated a possible association between peripheral inflammation and PMS/PMDD, even though the results seem controversial. "

https://facultyopinions.com/prime/reports/b/11/11/
So hypothetically, if there is an infection in your body (doesn't necessarily have to be in your uterus) and because of the influence of hormones the immune system only gets to fight it properly ~2 weeks out of the month - and then the other 2 weeks the infection can flare again - this could theoretically mean an infinite cycle of chronic inflammation and therefore symptoms depending on how your hormones affect the immune response. So if the ~2 weeks of "normal" immune response are never enough to clear the infection or suppress it enough, antimicrobial treatment could break that cycle (as Dr. Lolas claims).
Some may wonder, if the claims that he has treated severe PMS/PMDD patients successfully for several decades is true, then how come his findings haven't spread like wildfire in the medical community?
Well, let me give you an example from the past:

"The medical elite thought they knew what caused ulcers and stomach cancer. But they were wrong - and didn't want to hear otherwise.
For years an obscure doctor hailing from Australia’s hardscrabble west coast watched in horror as ulcer patients fell so ill that many had their stomach removed or bled until they died. That physician, an internist named Barry Marshall, was tormented because he knew there was a simple treatment for ulcers, which at that time afflicted 10 percent of all adults.
In 1981 Marshall began working with Robin Warren, the Royal Perth Hospital pathologist who, two years earlier, discovered the gut could be overrun by hardy, corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Biopsying ulcer patients and culturing the organisms in the lab, Marshall traced not just ulcers but also stomach cancer to this gut infection. The cure, he realized, was readily available: anti­biotics. But mainstream gastroenterologists were dismissive, holding on to the old idea that ulcers were caused by stress.
Unable to make his case in studies with lab mice (because H. pylori affects only primates) and prohibited from experimenting on people, Marshall grew desperate. Finally he ran an experiment on the only human patient he could ethically recruit: himself. He took some H. pylori from the gut of an ailing patient, stirred it into a broth, and drank it. As the days passed, he developed gastritis, the precursor to an ulcer. Back in the lab, he biopsied his own gut, culturing H. pylori and proving unequivocally that bacteria were the underlying cause of ulcers.
For their work on H. pylori, Marshall and Warren shared a 2005 Nobel Prize. Today the standard of care for an ulcer is treatment with an antibiotic. And stomach cancer - once one of the most common forms of malignancy - is almost gone from the Western world. "

https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-doctor-who-drank-infectious-broth-gave-himself-an-ulcer-and-solved-a-medical-mystery

I am now 28 years old and have been struggling with body odor since I was 10 years old. I am partial to food, have a strong preference for food, and have lived an irregular life since I was a child. Dairy products, in particular, didn't seem to suit me, and I would get diarrhea when I ate them.
​
No matter how careful I was about hygiene, no matter how careful I was about my living environment, people always laughed at me for smelling bad and always coughing.
​
People often told me that I had an unclean stench as if I hadn't bathed. I had a sour stench.
​
What makes me different from others may be that I get tired easily and I have localized hyperhidrosis (I was checked in the hospital and it is not armpit odor). However, since puberty at age 13, I seem to have a kind of greasy skin.
​
I had tried various methods, but nothing worked, so I gave up. However, because of an accident, I broke a bone and needed to be hospitalized for two months. I was scared to be admitted to the hospital. I was desperate when I heard that I could only take a shower three times a week during the hot season of June. I thought I would be ridiculed by the people around me and that life would be miserable. But it turned out to be different. Amazingly, the people around me didn't have trouble breathing or coughing. It was like heaven. I think what changed was that I stopped sweating so much and my oily skin improved. My stools also became very healthy. Usually my stool was dark brown, but during my hospital stay I had no diarrhea, my stool was a very healthy color, and I had regular bowel movements every day.
​
I began to think about why this was the case. I noticed a few differences in my living environment.
​
Sleep schedule
I usually couldn't sleep because of stress, and I only went to bed at night and got up during the day. However, after being hospitalized, I went to bed as late as 9:00 p.m. and woke up at 5:00 a.m.
​
Changes in diet
In my normal life, I like to eat meat and don't like vegetables much. I have a preference for food, I don't like vegetables and fish, I mainly eat meat, and even if I say I eat vegetables, I just eat potatoes, cabbage, tofu and so on.
​
However, during my hospitalization, I ate barley rice and vegetable-based food every day, and could hardly eat meat. It felt a little inadequate for someone who likes heavy meals like me, but it was healthy.
​
Clothes
No matter how much I wash my clothes, people say I stink. I tried to bleach and get rid of the smell. During my stay, they provided me with clothes.
Also, I noticed that when I wore my friend's clothes, people around me rarely said I smelled bad. However, the family member I lived with did not have a body odor problem and it was not like the laundry was a problem. The difference between me and the family I live with may be in our eating habits. The food we eat is different.
​
I currently do online school work from home and do not have human contact in my life. However, with my busy schedule, my eating and sleeping schedule has been disorganized and when I ride the train after a long time, people around me look at me with stern eyes and say I smell bad.
​
I hope there are some clues here to a solution. I look forward to your responses.
​
I have also had my urine tested twice for TMAU, which I thought might be a disease that emits a terrible odor, but it was negative.

I have, since 2019, [url=https://www.reddit.com/conspiracy/comments/jq79fl/comment/gbkvka0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3]been quite vocal [/url], regarding the fact that we are in the first Bowl of God's Wrath and the final phases of the apocalypse are underway. Numerous prophetical texts from several religious systems, most notably the Book of Enoch and Revelation, support this notion. Long story short 2012 was a major sign post on the apocalyptic highway. For you, dear reader, the most relevant verse concerning the immediate future - and the subject of this post is:

" And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."

If you're ready then, let's explore...

The Mark of the Beast and How it Relates to Skin Disease!

To begin with we must DEFINE the mechanisms through which skin eruptions are made manifest. We are focusing on the most violent skin eruptions known to man - which will characterize the coming epidemic. To do so You MUST become literate in toxicology - the scientific study of poison - the art of the Serpent."

Let's figure out just what the serpents art is:

Numbers 21:

5 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”

"Hezekiah broke into pieces the bronze snake known as Nehushtan Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had worshipped it through burnt offerings " 2King 18:4
Moses had originally told the Israelites to worshp Nehushtan to prevent death due to the flying "burning serpents" that infested the great and terrible place of the desert wilderness (Num.21:4-9; Deut.8:15). The Hebrew word for "poisonous" "Burning" as in the defining sensation of a snakebite, a feeling to which is compared God's wrath (Numbers 11:1). Isaiah indicates that these saraphs are comparable to vipers, worse than ordinary serpents and agents of the divine will (Isaiah 14:29).

"Interestingly, in Biblical Hebrew there is a fascinating strong etymological connection between the ‘Nachash’ and forbidden magics. The Biblical Hebrew word for ‘sorcery’ or ‘witchcraft’ is the SAME root as the word for ‘SERPENT’ – i.e. Nachash’! {נחש}

In Modern Hebrew, the old verb ‘Le-Nachesh’ {לנחש} – which meant ‘to make a witchcraft’ has shifted from it's original meaning to intend divination and guesswork. The word witchcraft called in the New Testament (pharmakeia) preserves the meaning of "applied toxicology" as it means to drug or poison - particularly as a tool of human sacrifice. This connection is revealed in the etymologically associated festivals of " Pharmakos -(Wikipedia)" - which was a ritual in which the undesirables of a community would be sacrificed as a cleansing and healing rite. In the Judaic tradition this is recalled on the day of atonement (Yom Kippur) where Azazel (Associated with Lucifer, the Serpent, the Morning Star) is symbolically sacrificed as a Sin Offering. The symbol of Nahushtan - the image of the snake on a pole - is utilized as the symbol of Pharmacy and Medicine to this very day with all the same meaning it held millenia ago.
This knowledge is the KEY to the LITERAL script which governs all human activities past present and future -, which has been revealed through various "Scriptures".
For example it describes how Satan the great deciever conquers all human structures of governance, and his methods of enslaving mankind.

Nahum 3:4 the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
2Peter 2:3 Many shall follow the cunning deceits of the false prophets who scheme to promote suicidal fallacies; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Driven by their lust for power they shall with feigned words make merchandise of you...
Rev 18:23 for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy pharmakaia were all nations deceived.

​
Now back to the skin sores; which are mentioned throughout the Bible. Think of the ten plagues that the Egyptians are hit with or the afflictions that strike the Phillistines after they steal the Ark - Deut 28:27 states simply regarding the transgressors against the LORD: "Yahweh will smite you with the Egyptian boils, with hemorrhoids, scars and itch from which you will never be healed - you will be stricken with permanent madness, blindness and confusion of mind. "
So, let's get back to how black magic involving DRUGGING/POISONING is involved in SKIN SORES.

"Cutaneous adverse drug reactions are unpredictable and include various diferent skin conditions of varying degrees of severity. The most concerning and dangerous are referred to as Drug Reactions with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome, and Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). "

-From Mechanisms of Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions: Recent Advances
Did you catch that? Yes, the worst skin diseases in existence, typified by everything from whole body blisters to skin detachment, blindness, and permanent brain damage.... are due to drug reactions. Basically think of combining mentos and diet coke in a bottle - it's a fairly powerful little chemical reaction - only your body is the bottle and the candy and soda are a variety of different chemical poisons reacting together in your blood, which are forced out of your blood violently as pustules, nasty rashes, and sores. Basically all of these eruptions emerge due to a failure of the filtration organs, which normally prevent the mentos diet coke reaction from occuring. Once things combine that shouldn't the energy the reaction produces encourages more of the same sorts of reactions. Next thing you know, KABLAM - violent skin reaction!

Although not well understood, it is thought that inefficient drug detoxification leading to the accumulation of drug reactive metabolites causes autoimmune responses in skin and some internal organs.

So that's the 101 study of violent skin disease. You got your mentos, you got your coke, they combine in your blood. Now more on the ancient nature of this simple scientific truth:
Numerous examples exist of organized men working to together to harness the powers of "applied toxicology"... whether in regards to largescale warfare or assassination - or the preservation of food or human lives via medicine.. it's no stretch to say that toxicology and those who masterfully applied it are the single greatest maintainers and destroyers of human life- period.
The Spartans dammed whole rivers during sieges, filled the resulting lake with toxic poisons such as hellbore, and then reconnected the thirsty city to the water supply - the scheme resulted in the successful capture of the city... and one can assume that such tactics did not fall into disuse despite their relative rarity in the preserved history of the species.
Or the history of medical experimentation on the pooslaves (as Catherine de Medici was notorious for). Urban pollution falls also under this umbrella... powerful men for whome "owning mines and factories" is an ancient tradition... have been releasing tons of poisons into the ecosystems of human populations and observing the effects for some time (withholding, of course, their "trade secrets" from the toxified populace).
The ancient Egyptian priesthood would distill cyanide from peaches to assassinate dissidents and other threats to their hierarchy.
Or how about the venetian council of ten and their plot to saturate trade goods with arsenic and "the fluids distilled from the spleens of plague victims" in order to indiscriminately poison the turkish populations...
All of these arts are examples of black magic. And classically this was called witchcraft.
Skin eruptions and plagues generally are afflictions of mankind which David refers to as "the sword of the Lord" - AND ABSOLUTELY Yes, as the book of Exodus suggest, the capacity to generate plagues is a defining characteristic of the Biblical deity - and wherever we find humans transgressing against the will of "Jehova" or his prophets, we find a variety of disease afflicting them. Deuteronomy goes into great detail concerning the nature of this "curse" against his enemies.
SOLUBLE FAS LIGAND AND GRANULYSIN ______________________________ https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/56172/2/Nao_Saito_review.pdf Here we find some evidence of the ability of this disease to be transferred cross species through humoral inoculation.
Something like "soluble factors conjunctiva"

Low N‐acetylating capacity in patients with Stevens‐Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis

. Our data suggest that causative drug exposure induces annexin A1 secretion induces FPR1 expression in keratinocytes, resulting in cell death

Analysis of skin-resident memory T cells following drug hypersensitivity reactions

EOSINOPHILIC SKINNERS T cells become TRM cells upon offending drug challenge post disease.
FROM . A major breakthrough arose from the discovery that specific HLA alleles predispose and, in most cases, appear necessary but not sufficient for the development of SJS/TEN and other SCAR upon exposure to particular drugss- which drugs interact with particular HLA/peptide/T-cell receptor (TCR) complexes on keratinocytes to trigger the adaptive immune response and adverse reactions
severe cutaneous adverse reaction (SCAR). It may have overlapping features with Stevens–Johnson syndrome / toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) and acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP).

Proprotein convertase FURIN regulates T cell receptor …

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25926688
WebCollectively, our work confirms the hypothesis that the TCR-regulated protease FURIN plays an important role in T cell activation and that it can specifically modulate TCR-activated
Thus, our results indicate that furin is indispensable in maintaining peripheral tolerance, which is due, at least in part, to its non-redundant, essential function in regulating TGF-β1 production. Targeting furin has emerged as a strategy in malignant and infectious disease5,6. Our results suggest that inhibiting furin might activate immune responses, but may result in a breakdown in peripheral tolerance.

At first doctor told me it was from covid. Then he told me it was my hearing loss. I begged and he did order an ultrasound on the soft tissue of my neck because of a swollen lymph node. Which of course had no correlation here. Then the doctor told me it was a natural occurrence and I just shouldn't turn my head to the side if it bothers me. His main concern was stroke and he said I was not at risk for that (not sure how he came to thay conclusion). Anyways I lost it and insisted he do further testing. He is now doing an ultrasound on my carotid artery. He also suggested a CT angiogram but because I'm pregnant he is holding off. Any one else dealing with a doctor that only does testing after you threaten to get a second opinion?

On the day that I posted this, 5-28-2023, it would have been an entire year since I started collecting the daily word that Bing offers every day. For those of you don’t know, if you search for “Word of the day” on Bing, you will find a unique vocabulary word that is specific to each day. That’s what I’ve been documenting for the past year.
I started collecting the words back on May 29, 2022. I kept them in a plain text document that I named word-of-the-day.txt. This document was going to store my words in a specific format, which you will see below. I appended to this document every day in the summer using Windows Notepad, until I eventually moved the document to my Google Drive. This allowed me to hook up multiple automations to it, like a Siri Shortcut that would get the latest word and allow me to append it. Once April of 2023 (or even earlier) came around, I decided to change to only updating it every 6 days since my life was getting a bit busier then. And when I wasn’t automating, I would manually add the daily word as part of my MicrosoftRewards routine (sometimes, but only when I had the extra time for it)
Doing this isn’t as easy as going back to add all 365 words right before I published this. That is because there is a limit to how far back one can go in the daily words — after 7 days a word disappears from the end of the list and is lost forever. This meant that I had to stay on top of the word list, which I did do pretty consistently until I missed on day on June 30th. But that’s ok, as we all make mistakes.
While I was keeping track of the words that Bing offered every day, I learned some interesting things. Discovering a new word every day slowly strengthened my vocabulary to be more eclectic. I used these words in various things like stories, or just to confuse people that had never heard of the words. And with more words, what started as a hobby to collect the words became a project to archive the WOTD for an entire year.
A lot can happen in a single year. When I started, I didn't even have a Reddit account, and it was late May around the time where everyone gets out of school that I started making the list. Now it’s the end of another school year. I am completely different person.
So with that context and reflection, I would say that it is about time to show you the list that I’ve been collecting:*
```

~2022~

[001] May 29 - tenacious - tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely [002] May 30 - empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another [003] May 31 - prate - talk foolishly or at tedious length about something [004] June 01 - cerulean - deep blue in color like a clear sky [005] June 02 - redolent - strongly reminiscent or suggestive of [006] June 03 - diaphanous - (especially of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent [007] June 04 - sillage - the degree to which a perfume's fragrance lingers in the air when worn [008] June 05 - desultory - lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm [009] June 06 - mercurial - (of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind; of or containing the element mercury [010] June 07 - fawn - a young deer in its first year; a light yellowish-brown color [011] June 08 - estuary - the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream [012] June 09 - mellifluous - (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear: [013] June 10 - zippy - bright, fresh, or lively [014] June 11 - lush - (of vegetation) growing luxuriantly [015] June 12 - bucolic - relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life [016] June 13 - verdant - of the bright green color of lush grass [017] June 14 - regal - of, resembling, or fit for a monarch, especially in being magnificent or dignified [018] June 15 - pyrrhic - (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor [019] June 16 - picturesque - visually attractive, especially in a quaint or pretty style [020] June 17 - myriad - a countless or extremely great number [021] June 18 - gleaming - (of a smooth surface) reflecting light, typically because very clean or polished [022] June 19 - deafening - (of a noise) so loud as to make it impossible to hear anything else [023] June 20 - aberration - a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one that is unwelcome [024] June 21 - pleonasm - the use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning (e.g. see with one's eyes), either as a fault of style or for emphasis [025] June 22 - Instigate - bring about or initiate (an action or event) [026] June 23 - dubious - hesitating or doubting [027] June 24 - noxious - harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant [028] June 25 - calumny - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander [029] June 26 - abscond - leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft [030] June 27 - predilection - a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something [031] June 28 - equivocal - open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous [032] June 29 - pernicious - having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way [033] June 30 - ??? [034] July 01 - languor - the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia [035] July 02 - obsolete - no longer produced or used; out of date [036] July 03 - ambiguous - (of language) open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning [037] July 04 - patriotism - the quality of being patriotic; devotion to and vigorous support for one's country [038] July 05 - carouse - drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way [039] July 06 - insurgent - a rebel or revolutionary [040] July 07 - oligarchy - a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution [041] July 08 - loyalist - a person who remains loyal to the established ruler or government, especially in the face of a revolt [042] July 09 - veracity - conformity to facts; accuracy [043] July 10 - rescind - revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement) [044] July 11 - malarkey - meaningless talk; nonsense [045] July 12 - epoch - a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics [046] July 13 - abrogate - repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement) [047] July 14 - laconic - (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words [048] July 15 - prepossessing - attractive or appealing in appearance [049] July 16 - sonorous - (of a voice) imposingly deep and full [recovered, assumed] [050] July 17 - bombinate - buzz; hum [051] July 18 - altruistic - showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish [052] July 19 - upbraid - find fault with (someone); scold [053] July 20 - maelstrom - a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river [054] July 21 - illusory - based on illusion; not real [055] July 22 - lethargy - lack of energy and enthusiasm [056] July 23 - ethereal - extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world [057] July 24 - syzygy - a conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun [058] July 25 - phosphene - a ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system other than by light [059] July 26 - vacuous - having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless [060] July 27 - oleaginous - rich in, covered with, or producing oil; oily or greasy [061] July 28 - ignominious - deserving or causing public disgrace or shame [062] July 29 - parsimonious - unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal [063] July 30 - treachery - betrayal of trust; deceptive action or nature [064] July 31 - verisimilitude - the appearance of being true or real [065] August 01 - luminescence - the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated, as in fluorescence and phosphorescence [066] August 02 - susurration - whispering, murmuring, or rustling [067] August 03 - accost - approach and address (someone) boldly or aggressively [068] August 04 - clamor - a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently. [069] August 05 - mendacious - not telling truth, lying [070] August 06 - dilly-dally - waste time through aimless wandering or indecision [071] August 07 - neophyte - a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief [072] August 08 - purist - person who insists on absolute adherence to traditional rules or structures, especially in a language or style [073] August 09 - bellicose - demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight [074] August 10 - duplicity - deceitfulness; double-dealing [075] August 11 - deus ex machina - an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel. [076] August 12 - supine - (of a person) lying face upward [077] August 13 - nebulous - in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy [078] August 14 - viscosity - the state of being thick, sticky, and semifluid in consistency, due to internal friction [079] August 15 - lampoon - publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm [080] August 16 - fatuous - silly and pointless [081] August 17 - effervescence - bubbles in a liquid; fizz [082] August 18 - defenestration - the action of throwing someone out of a window [083] August 19 - acumen - the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain [084] August 20 - tempest - a violent windy storm [085] August 21 - repartee - conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies [086] August 22 - chuffed - very pleased [087] August 23 - iridescent - showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles [088] August 24 - archetypal - Very typical of a certain kind of person of thing [089] August 25 - forbearance - patient self-control; restraint and tolerance [090] August 26 - stoic - a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining [091] August 27 - officious - assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, especially with regard to petty or trivial matters [092] August 28 - maudlin - self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness [093] August 29 - oblivion - the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening [094] August 30 - scintillating - sparkling or shining brightly [095] August 31 - lithe - (especially of a person's body) thin, supple, and graceful [096] September 01 - superfluous - unnecessary, especially through being more than enough [097] September 02 - zenith - the time at which something is most powerful or successful [098] September 03 - evocative - bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind [099] September 04 - cobbler - a person who mends shoes as a job [100] September 05 - vitriolic - filled with bitter criticism or malice [101] September 06 - stolid - (of a person) calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation [102] September 07 - eurhythmic - (especially of architecture or art) in or relating to harmonious proportion. [103] September 08 - fallacious - based on a mistaken belief [104] September 09 - multifarious - many and of various types [105] September 10 - rhapsody - an effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling [106] September 11 - cogent - (of an argument or case) clear, logical, and convincing [107] September 12 - gregarious - (of a person) fond of company; sociable [108] September 13 - vilify - speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner [109] September 14 - toady - a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important [110] September 15 - deride - express contempt for; ridicule [111] September 16 - rapturous - characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm [112] September 17 - bibliophile - a person who collects or has a great love of books [113] September 18 - fugacious - tending to disappear; fleeting [114] September 19 - lollygag - spend time aimlessly; idle [115] September 20 - bae - a person's boyfriend or girlfriend (often as a form of address) [116] September 21 - jovial - cheerful and friendly [117] September 22 - sycophant - a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage [118] September 23 - wayward - difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior [119] September 24 - maverick - an unorthodox or independent-minded person [120] September 25 - vociferous - (especially of a person or speech) vehement or clamorous [121] September 26 - eclectic - deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources [122] September 27 - bane - a cause of great distress or annoyance [123] September 28 - pedant - a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning [124] September 29 - writhe - make continual twisting, squirming movements or contortions of the body [125] September 30 - foliage - plant leaves collectively [126] October 01 - eerie - strange and frightening [127] October 02 - bogeyman - an imaginary evil spirit or being, used to frighten children [128] October 03 - catacomb - an underground cemetery consisting of a subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs, as constructed by the ancient Romans [129] October 04 - cryptozoology - the search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated [130] October 05 - kafkaesque - characteristic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of Franz Kafka's fictional world [131] October 06 - cipher - a secret or disguised way of writing; a code [132] October 07 - morbid - characterized by an unusual interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects, especially death and disease [133] October 08 - eldritch - weird and sinister or ghostly [134] October 09 - superstition - excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings [135] October 10 - omen - an event regarded as a portent of good or evil [136] October 11 - miasma - a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor [137] October 12 - poltergeist - a ghost or other supernatural being supposedly responsible for physical disturbances such as loud noises and objects thrown around [138] October 13 - harridan - a strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman [139] October 14 - serpentine - of or like a serpent or snake [140] October 15 - incarnadine - a bright crimson or pinkish-red color [141] October 16 - pallor - an unhealthy pale appearance [142] October 17 - apparition - a ghost or ghostlike image of a person [143] October 18 - abhorrent - inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant [144] October 19 - banshee - (in Irish legend) a female spirit whose wailing warns of an impending death in a house [145] October 20 - dismal - depressing; dreary [146] October 21 - labyrinth - a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze [147] October 22 - sarcophagus - a stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece [148] October 23 - twilight - the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere [149] October 24 - bizarre - very strange or unusual, especially so as to cause interest or amusement [150] October 25 - foreshadow - be a warning or indication of (a future event) [151] October 26 - fiend - an evil spirit or demon [152] October 27 - lycanthrope - a werewolf [153] October 28 - scythe - a tool used for cutting crops such as grass or wheat, with a long curved blade at the end of a long pole attached to which are one or two short handles [154] October 29 - lusus naturae - a freak of nature [155] October 30 - wraith - a ghost or ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen shortly before or after their death [156] October 31 - jack-o'-lantern - a lantern made from a hollowed-out pumpkin in which holes are cut to represent facial features, typically made at Halloween [157] November 01 - logophile - a lover of words [158] November 02 - eloquent - fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing [159] November 03 - sesquipedalian - (of a word) polysyllabic; long [160] November 04 - irony - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect [161] November 05 - homophone - each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling [162] November 06 - homograph - each of two or more words spelled the same but not necessarily pronounced the same and having different meanings and origins. [163] November 07 - elegy - a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead [164] November 08 - palindrome - a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward [165] November 09 - antithesis - a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else [166] November 10 - bookish - (of a person or way of life) devoted to reading and studying rather than worldly interests [167] November 11 - phenomenon - a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question [168] November 12 - denouement - the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved [169] November 13 - woe - great sorrow or distress [170] November 14 - blithe - showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper [171] November 15 - trouvaille - a lucky find [172] November 16 - empirical - based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic [173] November 17 - trite - (of a remark, opinion, or idea) overused and consequently of little import; lacking originality or freshness [174] November 18 - diction - the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing [175] November 19 - hubris - excessive pride or self-confidence [176] November 20 - motif - a decorative image or design, especially a repeated one forming a pattern [177] November 21 - anachronism - a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned [178] November 22 - gourmand - a person who enjoys eating and often eats too much [179] November 23 - recant - say that one no longer holds an opinion or belief, especially one considered heretical [180] November 24 - erudite - having or showing great knowledge or learning [181] November 25 - omniscient - knowing everything [182] November 26 - novella - a short novel or long short story [183] November 27 - metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable [184] November 28 - anagram - a word, phrase, or name formed by rearranging the letters of another [185] November 29 - expunge - obliterate or remove completely (something unwanted or unpleasant) [186] November 30 - sough - (of the wind in trees, the sea, etc.) make a moaning, whistling, or rushing sound [187] December 01 - advent - the arrival of a notable person or thing [188] December 02 - gelidity - the quality or condition of being extremely cold or icy [189] December 03 - niveous - snowy or resembling snow [190] December 04 - awe - a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder [191] December 05 - Scrooge, Ebenezer - a miserly curmudgeon in Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol (1843) [192] December 06 - levity - humor or frivolity, especially the treatment of a serious matter with humor or in a manner lacking due respect [193] December 07 - tranquility - the quality or state of being tranquil; calm [194] December 08 - ephemeral - lasting for a very short time [195] December 09 - surfeit - an excessive amount of something [196] December 10 - staid - sedate, respectable, and unadventurous [197] December 11 - ubiquitous - present, appearing, or found everywhere [198] December 12 - virtuoso - a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit [199] December 13 - winsome - attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent way [200] December 14 - Grinch - a mean-spirited person who spoils the enjoyment of others; a spoilsport or killjoy [201] December 15 - mirth - amusement, especially as expressed in laughter [202] December 16 - quirky - having or characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits or aspects: [203] December 17 - toboggan - a long, light, narrow vehicle, typically on runners, used for sliding downhill over snow or ice [204] December 18 - evanescent - soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing [205] December 19 - zephyr - a soft gentle breeze [206] December 20 - hearth - the floor of a fireplace [207] December 21 - tidings - news; information [208] December 22 - garland - a wreath of flowers and leaves, worn on the head or hung as a decoration [209] December 23 - cornucopia - a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn [210] December 24 - crackle - make a rapid succession of short sharp noises [211] December 25 - Yuletide - archaic term for Christmas [212] December 26 - fervor - intense and passionate feeling [213] December 27 - whimsy - playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor [214] December 28 - kith - one's friends, acquaintances, and relations [215] December 29 - equanimity - calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation [216] December 30 - insidious - proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects [217] December 31 - revel - enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing

~2023~

[218] January 01 - clinquant - glittering with gold and silver; tinseled [219] January 02 - Elysian - relating to or characteristic of heaven or paradise [220] January 03 - coterie - a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people [221] January 04 - eke - make an amount or supply of something last longer by using or consuming it frugally [222] January 05 - vestibule - an antechamber, hall, or lobby next to the outer door of a building [223] January 06 - lucid - expressed clearly; easy to understand [224] January 07 - livid - furiously angry [225] January 08 - perspicuous - clearly expressed and easily understood; lucid [226] January 09 - vex - make (someone) feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried, especially with trivial matters [227] January 10 - puerile - childishly silly and immature [228] January 11 - splendour - magnificent and splendid appearance; grandeur [229] January 12 - wistful - having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing [230] January 13 - capybara - a South American mammal that resembles a giant long-legged guinea pig. [231] January 14 - martyr - a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs [232] January 15 - gimmick - a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade [233] January 16 - brood - a family of birds or other young animals produced at one hatching or birth [234] January 17 - malady - a disease or ailment [235] January 18 - zeal - great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective [236] January 19 - hamartia - a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine [237] January 20 - supernova - a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass. [238] January 21 - celestial - positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy [239] January 22 - peart - lively; cheerful [240] January 23 - serendipity - the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way [241] January 24 - blatherskite - a person who talks at great length without making much sense [242] January 25 - constellate - form or cause to form into a cluster or group; gather together [243] January 26 - recalcitrant - having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline [244] January 27 - waif - a homeless, neglected, or abandoned person, especially a child [245] January 28 - moulder - slowly decay or disintegrate, especially because of neglect [246] January 29 - limpid - (of a liquid) completely clear and transparent [247] January 30 - travesty - a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something [248] January 31 - quixotic - extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical [249] February 01 - eidolon - an idealized person or thing [250] February 02 - desideratum - something that is needed or wanted [251] February 03 - ensorcell - enchant; fascinate [252] February 04 - aurora - a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by the appearance of streamers in the sky near the northern or southern magnetic pole. [253] February 05 - jaded - bored or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something [254] February 06 - limerence - the state of being infatuated with another person, typically experienced involuntarily [255] February 07 - obfuscate - make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible [256] February 08 - idle - (of a person) avoiding work; lazy [257] February 09 - peart - lively; cheerful [258] February 10 - scintilla - a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling [259] February 11 - gangling - (of a person) tall, thin, and awkward in movements or bearing [260] February 12 - sublime - of very great excellence or beauty [261] February 13 - ineffable - too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words [262] February 14 - moonstruck - unable to think or act normally, especially as a result of being in love [263] February 15 - nostalgia - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past [264] February 16 - panacea - a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases [265] February 17 - razz - tease (someone) playfully [266] February 18 - kin - one's family and relations [267] February 19 - melodious - relating to or characterized by melody [268] February 20 - fractious - (typically of children) irritable and quarrelsome [269] February 21 - idiosyncratic - relating to idiosyncrasy; peculiar or individual [270] February 22 - spurious - not being what it purports to be; false or fake [271] February 23 - quandary - a state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation [272] February 24 - pulchritude - beauty [273] February 25 - rhetoric - the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques [274] February 26 - naturalism - (in art and literature) a style and theory of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail [275] February 27 - histrionic - excessively theatrical or dramatic in character or style [276] February 28 - onomatopoeia - the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named [277] March 01 - gawky - nervously awkward and ungainly [278] March 02 - akin - of similar character [279] March 03 - garrulous - excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters [280] March 04 - lofty - of imposing height [281] March 05 - pugnacious - eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight [282] March 06 - relative - considered in relation or in proportion to something else [283] March 07 - liminal - relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process. [284] March 08 - gratuitous - done without good reason; uncalled for [285] March 09 - solicitous - characterized by or showing interest or concern [286] March 10 - quaint - attractively unusual or old-fashioned [287] March 11 - inane - lacking sense or meaning; silly [288] March 12 - pert - (of a girl or young woman) attractively lively or cheeky [289] March 13 - esoteric - intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest [290] March 14 - schadenfreude - pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune [291] March 15 - odious - extremely unpleasant; repulsive [292] March 16 - numinous - having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity [293] March 17 - loquacious - tending to talk a great deal; talkative [294] March 18 - impecunious - having little or no money [295] March 19 - sanguine - optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation [296] March 20 - pungent - having a sharply strong taste or smell [297] March 21 - charming - very pleasant or attractive [298] March 22 - soliloquy - an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play [299] March 23 - penurious - extremely poor; poverty-stricken [300] March 24 - jamboree - a large celebration or party, typically a lavish and boisterous one [301] March 25 - rapacious - aggressively greedy or grasping [302] March 26 - incontrovertible - not able to be denied or disputed [303] March 27 - promulgate - promote or make widely known (an idea or cause) [304] March 28 - opportunist - person who takes advantage of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or principle [305] March 29 - gallivant - go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment [306] March 30 - iconoclast - a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions [307] March 31 - pinprick - a prick caused by a pin [308] April 01 - petrichor - a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather [309] April 02 - ungainly - (of a person or movement) awkward; clumsy [310] April 03 - abject - (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree [311] April 04 - lurid - unpleasantly bright in colour, especially so as to create a harsh or unnatural effect: [312] April 05 - spire - a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, typically a church tower [313] April 06 - proclivity - a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition towards a particular thing [314] April 07 - convivial - (of an atmosphere or event) friendly, lively, and enjoyable [315] April 08 - unfeigned - genuine; sincere [316] April 09 - penchant - a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something [317] April 10 - sanctimonious - making a show of being morally superior to other people [318] April 11 - inimical - tending to obstruct or harm [319] April 12 - taut - stretched or pulled tight; not slack [320] April 13 - rue - bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen) and wish it undone [321] April 14 - pithy - (of a fruit or plant) containing much pith [322] April 15 - impetuous - acting or done quickly and without thought or care [323] April 16 - disperse - distribute or spread over a wide area [324] April 17 - sinuous - having many curves and turns [325] April 18 - plethora - a large or excessive amount of something [326] April 19 - meadow - a piece of grassland, especially one used for hay [327] April 20 - persnickety - placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details [328] April 21 - rusticate - suspend (a student) from a university as a punishment [329] April 22 - dichotomy - a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different [330] April 23 - bardolatry - excessive admiration of Shakespeare [331] April 24 - halcyon - denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful [332] April 25 - gad - go from place to place in the pursuit of pleasure [333] April 26 - collusion -secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to deceive others [334] April 27 - ration - a fixed amount of a commodity officially allowed to each person during a time of shortage, as in wartime [335] April 28 - clergy - the body of all people ordained for religious duties, especially in the Christian Church [336] April 29 - mitigate - make (something bad) less severe, serious, or painful [337] April 30 - paradigm - a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or mode [338] May 01 - May Day - 1 May, celebrated in many countries as a traditional springtime festival or as an international day honouring workers [339] May 02 - denouement - the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved [340] May 03 - voracious - wanting or devouring great quantities of food [341] May 04 - sciamachy - sham fighting for exercise or practice [342] May 05 - vindicate - clear (someone) of blame or suspicion [343] May 06 - panegyric - a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something [344] May 07 - indomitable - impossible to subdue or defeat [345] May 08 - sedulous - (of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence [346] May 09 - baby boomer - a person born in the years following the Second World War, when there was a temporary marked increase in the birth rate [347] May 10 - plaudit - an expression of praise or approval [348] May 11 - audacious - showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks [349] May 12 - intrepid - fearless; adventurous [350] May 13 - multifarious - many and of various types [351] May 14 - eclectic - deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources [352] May 15 - evanescent - soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing [353] May 16 - normative - establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behaviour [354] May 17 - lucent - glowing with or giving off light [355] May 18 - erudite - having or showing great knowledge or learning [356] May 19 - encomium - a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly. [357] May 20 - husbandry - the care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals [358] May 21 - meticulous - showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise [359] May 22 - niche - a comfortable or suitable position in life or employment: [360] May 23 - lugubrious - looking or sounding sad and dismal [361] May 24 - magnanimity - the fact or condition of being magnanimous; generosity [362] May 25 - cornucopia - a symbol of plenty consisting of a goat's horn overflowing with flowers, fruit, and corn. [363] May 26 - nascent - (especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential [364] May 27 - pulchritudinous - beautiful [365] May 28 - contingent - subject to chance
365 Days/Words
```
I’m not in control of this list, you there might be some duplicates. Just enjoy the post, as I’m sure that this is something contrasting from the Bing Ai that a lot of people are posting about. I saw that the moderators commented on my post thinking that it was relating to Bing AI.
You can ask me a question about this project in the comments below: