1085 us 98 destin fl 32541

We were at the gate when it was announced that our flight was canceled. Not only was it canceled while 80% of the people had arrived to the gate, it was canceled so the plane could be used to go to Orlando. Oh but that’s okay because wE GoT a 100 DOllAr FlIght CreDit. The next plane to our destination wasn’t for another two days! They said the only thing they could do for us was a refund. Trash company

1.) Time abstaining from narcotics (12 months minimum)
This is the golden rule. From what I've gathered, from other users on this subreddit (myself included), Its generally a year abstaining from narcotics.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7703868/
Investigations suggest that substantial improvements in neurobehavioral functions occur during the first 4 to 8 weeks of abstinence, followed by more modest mid-term (i.e., approximately 1 year) gains. Verbal skills typically improve most quickly, while other domains, although improved, may remain compromised for several months to years. https://www.paterehab.com/about-abi/#:~:text=You%20can%20expect%20the%20most,affect%20the%20degree%20of%20improvement.
You can expect the most rapid recovery from acquired brain injury in the first 18 months to two years following the injury; however, recovery can be a life-long process.
https://addiction.surgeongeneral.gov/sites/default/files/chapter-2-neurobiology.pdf
Supported scientific evidence shows that these changes in the brain persist long after substance use stops. It is not yet known how much these changes may be reversed or how long that process may take.
https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/
https://www.aspenridgerecoverycenters.com/how-long-for-dopamine-receptors-to-heal/#:~:text=So%20how%20long%20for%20dopamine,with%20proper%20treatment%20and%20rehabilitation.
So how long for dopamine receptors to heal? On average, it may take approximately 14-months to achieve normal levels in the brain with proper treatment and rehabilitation.
https://www.uchealth.com/en/media-room/articles/brain-injury-the-road-to-recovery
2.)Exercise
10-15k steps daily. I would recommend against strength training early in recovery, the professionals say to avoid strenuous workouts, when recovering from a head injury.
From what I've read, its generally flexibility/Aerobic/endurance exercises rather than strength/resistance/anabolic training, when recovering from an injury. This is low weight, high rep workouts. Steady-paced/long duration workouts such as walking, jogging or swimming. The aim is for overall physical health/vasculaoxygen flow to your tissues.
I personally do strength/endurance, aerobic/anabolic exercises now ( 18 months into sobriety).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3276339/
Epidemiological studies reveal that individuals who engage in regular aerobic exercise are less likely to use and abuse illicit drugs.
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_for_Traumatic_Brain_Injury
https://amoryurgentcare.com/7-exercises-to-do-while-recovering-from-injuries/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380661/
In recent years, aerobic exercise has gained attention for its neuroprotective effects and has been studied as an intervention in healthy older adults,8,9 and in those with cognitive impairments10–12 and other neurological disorders.13 Aerobic exercise is associated with various physiological adaptations that have positive effects on cortical function, including angiogenesis and neurogenesis.14 Evidence from animal studies suggests that cognitive deficits associated with TBI can be improved following exercise.15–19 In rodents with experimentally-induced TBI, better performance on the Morris water maze15–18 and step-down avoidance task19 was observed when exercised compared to being sedentary. This suggested that both learning and memory had improved with exercise. The expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor was also found to be increased in the hippocampus,15 which is an area associated with memory and learning.20
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/benefits-of-aerobic-exercise-following-traumatic-brain-injury
In a systematic review of controlled clinical trials and randomized controlled trails with adults with neurologic disorders, McDowell and colleagues reported that aerobic exercise improved cognition, particularly attention and cognitive flexibility in adults with TBI, and improvements in motor learning for adults with stroke.7
Exercise may promote cognitive recovery via a variety of mechanisms, such as increasing neural repair and neuroplasticity, modulating neurotransmitter systems (particularly dopamine), and decreasing neuroinflammation.
3.)Consistent 8 hour rest.
Sleep comes at 2-3 months into sobriety.
https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/brain-injury-and-me/top-tips-for-a-good-nights-sleep/
A lack of sleep has many negative effects on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, especially in the early stages of brain injury recovery. It may also exacerbate some of the symptoms of the brain injury, such as memory loss, lack of concentration, poor balance and mood changes.
https://news.ohsu.edu/2021/03/12/study-suggests-role-of-sleep-in-healing-traumatic-brain-injuries
https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/41/10/zsy147/5057802
​
https://www.verywellhealth.com/sleep-traumatic-brain-injury-study-5117032
https://nida.nih.gov/about-nida/noras-blog/2020/03/connections-between-sleep-substance-use-disorders
Most common mental disorders, from depression and anxiety to PTSD, are associated with disturbed sleep, and substance use disorders are no exception. The relationship may be complex and bidirectional: Substance use causes sleep problems; but insomnia and insufficient sleep may also be a factor raising the risk of drug use and addiction. Recognizing the importance of this once-overlooked factor, addiction researchers are paying increased attention to sleep and sleep disturbances, and even thinking about ways to target sleep disruption in substance use disorder treatment and prevention.
4.)Reduced stress.
When I read about recovering from an injury, they "the professionals" talk about how stress hinders the progression of the recovery.
Following a head injury, it is very important that you use healthy ways of dealing with stress in order to promote a good recovery. Psychological factors like stress and anxiety can increase all of your head injury symptoms and slow down your progress.
https://www.cognitivefxusa.com/blog/journaling-techniques-and-ideas-after-a-brain-injury#:~:text=Journaling%20offers%20you%20a%20way,yourself%20in%20a%20creative%20way.
Write in your journal
I think keeping a recovery journal was key in my recovery.
https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/brain-injury-and-me/10-top-tips-for-coping-with-stress-after-brain-injury/
Take some time to consider what contributes to your stress. Identifying your triggers can help you anticipate issues and come up with solutions. You might find keeping a stress diary helpful, where you log your stress levels while performing your everyday activities.
-Im gonna work on this segement in my next update, I think its more important than the other segments. Stress plays a huge role in head injury recovery.
Avoid people and situations that are counter productive to your recovery(or rather recognize who means you help and who means you harm). In my experience over the past year of recovery, a blindsided stressor or a stress thrown at you that your recovering brain cannot handle, regresses your recovery 5 steps.
Let loved ones know what yourre going through, so they take it easy on you... get away from abusive relationships, move in with your parents.
Avoid group settings jobs/deadline jobs, maybe look for a job where you are isolated.
Let people know when you need your alone time. You have to tip-toe back into the pool when in recovery.
5.) Omega 3s dha and epa
https://www.shinesheets.com/why-omega-3-can-be-beneficial-in-substance-abuse-recovery/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7457439/
https://www.flintrehab.com/fish-oil-therapy-for-brain-injury/#:~:text=Reduces%20Inflammation&text=The%20EPA%20and%20DHA%20acids,therapy%20for%20brain%20injury%20patients.
Besides reducing inflammation, omega-3 also improves communication between brain cells. This allows the brain to work faster, which leads to a boost in cognitive function.
In fact, in one placebo-controlled study, patients who took 2000 mg of omega-3 fish oil per day performed significantly better on cognitive tests than those who did not take omega-3.
These patients especially showed improvements in executive function and memory, two areas that brain injury patients particularly struggle with.
https://indyneurofeedback.com/nutrition/omega-3-can-help-after-a-brain-injury/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5531869/ The DHA obtained through the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids is positively associated with cognitive and behavioral performance.[56] In addition DHA is vital for the grey matter structure of the human brain, as well as retinal stimulation and neurotransmission.[1]
6.)Brain derived neural factors
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory. It is widely expressed in the CNS, gut and other tissues.
https://www.optimallivingdynamics.com/blog/21-proven-ways-to-increase-your-brains-growth-hormone#:~:text=Drinking%20coffee%20is%20another%20great,increasing%20BDNF%20levels%20(90)).
Intermediate fasting has been proven to increase BDNF.
https://www.bswhealth.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-brain-health#:~:text=Fasting%20can%20increase%20BDNF%20levels,the%20body%2C%20including%20the%20brain.
Fasting can increase BDNF levels, which may lead to improved cognitive function, learning and memory. Reduced inflammation: Intermittent fasting can help decrease inflammation in the body, including the brain.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5697621/
Drinking coffee is another great way to increase BDNF levels. Research shows that caffeine protects brain cells and lowers the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. In one study, researchers found that caffeine significantly reduced age-related impairments in memory by increasing BDNF levels (90).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4697050/
7.) Vitamin B's
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31105562/
https://www.hopeafterbraininjury.org/brain-injury-and-b12-deficiency/
Vitamin B12 is essential for our immunity, cognitive health, and entire nervous system.
8.)Sunlight
I think sunlight has the ability to perform miracles of science, in regards to health. They used to prescribe a glass house/glass room/sun rooms for certain mental illnesses back in the 1800s
https://www.northstartransitions.com/post/how-does-being-outdoors-help-addiction-recovery
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/3/1/8
https://centralglassutah.com/light-life-windows-contribute-improved-mental-health/
https://foter.com/types-of-windows-and-their-impact-on-mental-health-and-depression
Many of us have already heard of light therapy. Light therapy is proven to treat various clinical disorders like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and sleep disorders, which are often contributors to depression.
Evidence proves light or view from windows contribute to the prevention and treatment of mental health problems. Larger windows and glass walls permit more light, which impacts your brain chemistry and alters your emotional health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2728098/
We found that among participants with depression, low exposure to sunlight was associated with a significantly higher predicted probability of cognitive impairment. This relationship remained significant after adjustment for season. Among participants without depression, insolation did not have a significant effect on cognitive function.
Vitamin D,D3
I guess will help in the winter months. Nothing better than plain Ole sunlight.
https://www.webbernaturals.com/en-ca/learn/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-mental-health/
9.) Diet
This is a highly contentious debate. Some say a complex carbohydrate diet, others say a high protein diet. I'll give you a few different articles from both perspectives and let you make a decision. I personally do a ketogenetic diet now, which is a high protein/low carbohydrate routine. (I primarly used the ketosis diet to lose weight.) The argument is whether or not ketones or glucose is a better fuel source for neurogenesis/neurometabolism.
What you eat, highly influences your endogenous opiate activity.
https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/338163
Opioids are important in reward processes leading to addictive behavior such as self-administration of opioids and other drugs of abuse including nicotine and alcohol. Opioids are also involved in a broadly distributed neural network that regulates eating behavior, affecting both homeostatic and hedonic mechanisms. In this sense, opioids are particularly implicated in the modulation of highly palatable foods, and opioid antagonists attenuate both addictive drug taking and appetite for palatable food. Thus, craving for palatable food could be considered as a form of opioid-related addiction. There are three main families of opioid receptors (µ, ĸ, and δ) of which µ-receptors are most strongly implicated in reward. Administration of selective µ-agonists into the NAcc of rodents induces feeding even in satiated animals, while administration of µ-antagonists reduces food intake. Pharmacological studies also suggest a role for ĸ- and δ-opioid receptors. Preliminary data from transgenic knockout models suggest that mice lacking some of these receptors are resistant to high-fat diet-induced obesity.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.951376/full The administration of a ketogenic diet in this semi-controlled setting to patients with treatment-refractory mental illness was feasible, well-tolerated, and associated with significant and substantial improvements in depression and psychosis symptoms
https://neurosciencenews.com/high-protein-diet-depression-22760/
The results showed higher protein intake was associated with a reduction in symptoms of depression during the follow-up period. Additionally, several deviations from the recommended nutritional intake were reported by the athletes.
https://www.isisn.org/MHS-1-1-2021/63-68-01(1)2021MHS21-112.pdf2021MHS21-112.pdf)
Carbohydrates when taken in adequate amount and in right balance (complex and simple carbohydrates) in diet can sustain good mental health and improve symptoms of any psychological issues especially depression, anxiety, mood disturbances and stress. On the other hand, taking a prominent quantity of simple sugars can cause the onset or exacerbation of stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Following a western diet containing hefty amounts of processed carbohydrates has also been associated with poor mental health. However, current findings are still ambiguous to develop a certain well defined relationship between carbohydrates and their effect on mental wellbeing and more research is needed in this respect.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2023.1147269/full
preclinical studies performed in rats and mice demonstrate that high fats and/or sugars diets have a negative effect on adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN). In contrast, diets enriched with bioactive compounds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyphenols, as well as intermittent fasting or caloric restriction, can induce AHN.
I've noticed, how much I craved sugars after ingesting opiates... I think avoiding sugars is important in recovering from any and all addictions.
10.) Cognitive behavioral therapy
Healthy thoughts = Healthy mind.
CBT is trying to control your train of thought, or rather recognizing and changing a negative thought pattern.
Negative thoughts affect emotions and emotions affect your behavior and your negative behavior reinforces your negative thoughts.
Thoughts - emotions --- behavior --thoughts---emotions---behavior
https://neuliferehab.com/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-after-traumatic-brain-injury/
CBT focuses on getting patients to understand why they behave in the way they do. At the root, CBT helps patients uncover distorted or unhealthy thinking patterns. Patients learn to understand:
What we believe creates feelings.
Those feelings lead us to behave in a certain way.
The way we behave then reinforces how we feel.
https://www.brainline.org/treatment-hub/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-cbt
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you to think differently about your experiences and your relationships, with the goal of making some positive changes in your life. CBT is based on the idea that how we think, how we feel, and how we act are all closely related.
CBT can help you identify and change negative or unhealthy types of thinking. For example, if you are dealing with PTSD, you might have overly negative thoughts about yourself based on guilt from the trauma that occurred. And triggers that remind you of your trauma might cause painful emotions, leading you to avoid triggering situations. Once you become aware that these thoughts are flawed -- that you did the best you could when the trauma occurred -- you can work with a therapist to change your thinking so that you can respond to challenging life situations in a healthier way.
CBT can also be used to help people who have had a traumatic brain injury. Many people with TBI struggle with depression or anxiety, often because of fear of further injury or further loss of functioning. In this situation, someone with a brain injury might be anxious about certain situations that present the possibility of another injury occurring. CBT would help identify this fear and teach healthier ways of thinking. People with brain injuries also sometimes have anger management problems or act more impulsively. This is due to changes in how your brain works after being injured. In these cases, CBT can teach someone ways to recognize when this is becoming a problem and strategies for how to solve it.
I also think, keeping higher oriented goals, or working on a project that requires constant input, gives you a feeling of progression in recovery(it also consumes your thoughts and gives you a directive to return to when feeling hopeless), as you feel so hopeless and nothing you do really matters in recovery. (a diary, financial goal, weight loss goal. any project that requires your attention and shows a progression.)
I think aswell, engaging in intellectual conversation/connections, stimulates neurogenesis in the brain. Any contact that changes your understanding of the universe(Its how we grow as people).
11.)Repetitive action
https://www.flintrehab.com/can-tbi-patients-fully-recove#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20a%20full%20and%20functional,can%20stall%20and%20even%20regress.
Research shows, repetitive actions promote neuroplasticity. Such as walking everyday, or writing down your thoughts in an app on your phone habitually,showing up to 9-5 day job on time everyday, etc. Neuroplasticity isnt brain cell growth, its change in your brain rather. The research on brain injuries Ive conducted, shows brain cell death usually doesn't regenerate, however your brain will rewire overtime to regain fuctionability.
So, can the brain heal itself from brain damage? Yes, absolutely – with the help of neuroplasticity!
"Neuroplasticity allows the brain to create new pathways and strengthen existing ones. This enables healthy parts of the brain to compensate for damaged areas. You can imagine it like this:
When a street or freeway entrance has been blocked along your daily commute, the GPS may suggest an alternative route. This alternative route may be unfamiliar and take longer to navigate, but it will still lead you to your destination. The same concept can be applied to neuroplasticity.
Use it or Lose it: The Importance of Repetition Now, you may be wondering how to activate neuroplasticity after brain injury.
Neuroplasticity is best activated through repetition, or massed practice. The more you practice a certain task, the stronger your neural connections become.
As previously mentioned, the brain adapts to experiences. Therefore, when the brain encounters a certain experience or action repeatedly, that pathway is reinforced and strengthened.
For instance, to improve your ability to walk, you should practice walking in safe environments. Additionally, there are leg exercises that you can do to strengthen your body and assist with mobility.
It’s important to practice impaired skills after a brain injury to prevent loss of function altogether. For instance, if your dominant hand was affected, you may be tempted to use your non-dominant hand instead, especially during mealtimes."
12.)Constant work
One of the things ive learned, is recovering from a head injury is not linear. Youll regress and grow in your recovery. It requires constant attention and effort, as I possibly had several TBIs while also addicted to narcotics, maybe leaving me partially brain damaged.
Around month 10-11 of my sobriety, I went back and relearned all of the basic disciplines. Grammar, social studies, algebra, etc. Everyday, I attempted to spell a paragraph of unfamilar,difficult to spell words or recite the preamble of the constitution,etc.
13.) Collagen peptides,magnesium and trace vitamins(multis),minerals
Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. Its fiber-like structure is used to make connective tissue. Like the name implies, this type of tissue connects other tissues and is a major component of bone, skin, muscles, tendons, and cartilage.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5950659/
Furthermore, hydrogels can be used as bulk scaffolds to fill in lesions in the CNS that are formed due to tissue damage after traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury in order to provide mechanical support and a favorable microenvironment for axon sprouting and cell infiltration (Zhong and Bellamkonda, 2008; Orive et al., 2009). I
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0142961211013949
These results suggest that the utilization of CG scaffolds can be considered as a potential clinical strategy for tissue regeneration and functional recovery after brain injury.
Magnesium
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024559/
Restoring the balance of magnesium within patients with depression has been proposed to have anti-depressive effects by protecting brain structures associated with depression by reducing the cascade of cell death caused by excitotoxicity [95,96,97]. Magnesium may also impact depressive symptoms by interacting with the HPA system, as discussed with anxiety disorders [97,98]. As seen in several other neurological disorders, lower magnesium levels have been associated with depression. One recent study reported a negative correlation between dietary intake of magnesium and depression [93].
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5637834/
Magnesium should also be considered as an adjunct for depression, attention deficit disorder, prevention
Magnesium sulfate has been successfully used in agitated depression as far back as 1921 [71]. In fact, rapid recovery of depression has been reported with the use of Mg glycinate or Mg taurinate [72]. There is an inverse correlation in adults between Mg intake and psychiatric states such as anxiety and depression [73]. Magnesium is required as a coenzyme to convert tryptophan to serotonin, a neurotransmitter recognized as a major determinant of mental health and mood. A systematic review suggests that Mg supplementation may prevent depression and may be useful as adjuvant therapy
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.00004.2014
14.)Neuroplasticity/Neurogenesis
Here are various articles on the matter. Its as simple as believing in Neurogenesis, the idea the brain can regrow/heal after an injury/change, gives hope to the hopeless in substance recovery.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/brain-plasticity-in-drug-addiction-burden-and-benefit-2020062620479
https://www.altamirarecovery.com/blog/the-brain-that-heals-itself-neuroplasticity-and-promise-for-addiction-treatment/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6758482/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01657/full
In summary
Just to clarify, a traumatic brain injury is anything that damages/disrupts the brains natural functioning.
TBI is a broad term(its usually understood as a brain injury aquired through external forces), I see the terminology "non-traumatic acquired brain injury", as the medical terminology for drug induced brain damage (stroke, hypoxia, neurotoxins, etc), they both are treated similarly. PM if you need help or have suggestions/pointers. Dont expect miracles, the damage is already done, some more than others. The goal is to try to regain as much functionality as possible...This list pertains to a polydrug addiction.(it's harder to find research studies on non-traumatic aquired brain injuries than traumatic brain injuries, it appears they are treated very similarly)

https://minimalfreaks.co/2023/06/beatport-tech-house-top-100-june-2023/

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2. Vintage Culture – Rock The Casbah (Extended Mix) 04:04 128bpm Am
3. Aluna, Chris Lake – Beggin’ (Extended Mix) 05:28 126bpm Eb
4. Biscits – Don’t Stop (Original Mix) 05:04 127bpm Dbm
5. MK, Dom Dolla – Rhyme Dust (Extended) 05:30 128bpm G
6. Westend, Noizu, No/Me – Push To Start (feat. No/Me) (Original Mix) 05:31 128bpm Ebm
7. Joshwa – Magalenha (Extended Mix) 06:30 128bpm Am
8. Kevin McKay – Get Busy (Extended Mix) 05:12 126bpm Fm
9. Superchumbo, Ben Sterling – All Over My Body (feat. Superchumbo) (Original Mix) 06:36 126bpm E
10. Matroda – Throw Your Hands (Original Mix) 04:34 126bpm Ebm
11. Westend – Maracuya (Extended Mix) 05:37 126bpm D
12. CID, Sage Armstrong – The Function (Extended Mix) 05:32 127bpm Gm
13. Audio Bullys, Michael Bibi, KinAhau – Different Side (Original Mix) 05:32 128bpm C
14. Mau P – Gimme That Bounce (Original Mix) 05:21 126bpm Eb
15. Vintage Culture, Meca, Bhaskar, The Vic – Tina (Extended) 05:34 128bpm F
16. Junior Jack, Juliet Sikora, Flo MRZDK – Thrill Me (Extended Mix) 06:02 128bpm Gm
17. Loco Dice, VLTRA (IT), Francis De Simone – Flowcito (Original Mix) 06:30 129bpm Bm
18. Bootie Brown, Tame Impala, Gorillaz – New Gold (feat. Tame Impala and Bootie Brown) (Dom Dolla Remix Extended) 06:03 127bpm Em
19. Kevin McKay, Pupa Nas T, Denise Belfon – Work (Extended Mix) 05:48 128bpm Ebm
20. Camille Doe – Alright (Extended Mix) 06:33 128bpm D
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22. TECH IT DEEP – Maria Maria (Extended Mix) 06:09 128bpm Dm
23. Matroda, Dino DZ – Saturday Love (Original Mix) 04:06 125bpm F
24. El Chuape, Hugel, Ryan Arnold – Pa Lante (Extended Mix) 04:21 126bpm Am
25. Truth x Lies – Dos Gardenias (Original Mix) 04:56 127bpm Em
26. Dimitri Vegas, Steve Aoki, Chapter & Verse – Friends (Extended Mix) 04:20 127bpm Am
27. Bruno Furlan – Bongoloco (Original Mix) 04:48 128bpm Gbm
28. FISHER (OZ) – Yeah The Girls (feat. MERYLL) (Extended Mix) 06:21 126bpm Ebm
29. Damelo – Afters (Extended Mix) 05:28 130bpm Fm
30. R3WIRE, NuKey – Transition (Extended Mix) 05:05 126bpm G
31. Jack Orley – BUM! (Extended Mix) 04:45 128bpm Em
32. White Sheep, Curol – Vamos a Bailar (Original Mix) 05:56 124bpm Am
33. James Haskell – Check It Out (Extended Mix) 06:10 126bpm Gbm
34. Chris Lake, Aatig – In The Yuma (feat. Aatig) (Extended Mix) 06:06 126bpm B
35. AKA AKA, Artenvielfalt – Let Me Show You (Extended Mix) 04:33 128bpm A
36. TOBEHONEST – Conga (Original Mix) 06:48 127bpm Cm
37. Jose De Mara – To My Beat (Extended Mix) 05:34 128bpm A
38. David Amo, Julio Navas, Gustavo Bravetti, Tony Romera – Raw (Tony Romera Extended Mix) 05:00 128bpm F
39. Joshwa – Bass Go Boom (Original Mix) 06:28 129bpm Am
40. Kim English, Schak – Moving All Around (Jumpin’) (John Summit Remix) 05:33 128bpm Bbm
41. Merk & Kremont, Hugel, Lirico En La Casa – Marianela (Que Pasa) (Extended Mix) 04:07 124bpm C
42. Craze, Black V Neck – Ride That Thang (Original Mix) 05:15 128bpm B
43. Dom Dolla, Clementine Douglas – Miracle Maker (Extended Mix) 06:04 128bpm Bb
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46. Nolek – Con Todo (Extended Mix) 04:44 125bpm Db
47. Mau P – Drugs From Amsterdam (Original Mix) 05:23 125bpm Eb
48. Loco Dice, VLTRA (IT), Francis De Simone – Flowcito (Loco Dice Remix) 06:04 129bpm Bm
49. BLOND:ISH, Nfasis, Hugel – Tra Tra (Extended Mix) 05:25 124bpm Fm
50. MK, Dom Dolla – Rhyme Dust (Nic Fanciulli Extended Remix) 06:46 128bpm Bm
51. Majestic, Sara Sukkha – Dance All Night feat. Sara Sukkha (Extended Mix) 04:42 126bpm Am
52. Prophecy, Crusy – Pills (Extended Mix) 06:05 124bpm A
53. Green Velvet, Chris Lake – Deceiver (VIP) (Extended Mix) 06:28 124bpm Em
54. Siege – Rhymes (Extended Mix) 06:08 128bpm Db
55. Italobros – Shopper (Original Mix) 06:18 127bpm Cm
56. Cassi – Request (Original Mix) 06:43 129bpm D
57. Devotionz – Tattoo (Extended Mix) 06:11 125bpm Ebm
58. Mosby, Ric Waves, Freenzy Music, Jhonny Weezy – Takoflow feat. Mosby feat. Ric Waves feat. Jhonny Weezy (Original Mix) 05:42 129bpm Dbm
59. Shiba San, AYAREZ – Twist It (Extended Mix) 04:50 126bpm Ebm
60. Hugel, Westend, Cumbiafrica – Aguila feat. Cumbiafrica (Original Mix) 05:05 125bpm Gbm
61. Noizu – Lost (Extended Mix) 05:03 128bpm Fm
62. Raffa FL – Ritmo (HUGEL Extended Edit) 05:34 124bpm G
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64. Sergio Mendes, Simon Fava, Yvvan Back – Magalenha feat. Sergio Mendes (Extended Mix) 04:51 126bpm D
65. FISHER (OZ) – Losing It (Extended) 06:40 125bpm G
66. Paul Johnson, Airwolf Paradise – Only Man (feat. Paul Johnson) (Original Mix) 05:31 128bpm Bm
67. John Summit – La Danza (Extended Mix) 05:39 126bpm Dbm
68. Marshall Jefferson, Solardo – Move Your Body (Extended Mix) 06:13 125bpm Em
69. Beltran (BR) – Smack Yo’ (Original Mix) 05:06 127bpm G
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72. Wax Motif – Telugu Tech (Extended Mix) 04:48 130bpm Dbm
73. Andruss, Fatboi – Agáchalo (Original Mix) 05:26 130bpm Em
74. Chico Rose, Dot N Life – Trankilo (Extended Mix) 04:45 128bpm Gbm
75. The Martinez Brothers, Tokischa – Kilo (Beltran Remix) 07:04 130bpm Db
76. Danny Leblack, Saul Antolin – El Desorden (Extended Mix) 06:43 126bpm Dm
77. DJ Snake, Wade, Nooran Sisters – Guddi Riddim (Extended Mix) 04:18 128bpm Abm
78. Wax Motif, Riordan – La Samba (Original Mix) 04:27 130bpm Gm
79. Ollie BC – Red Mercedes (Original Mix) 05:30 128bpm Bbm
80. Seb Zito – Lights Down (Extended Mix) 05:40 130bpm G
81. Martin Ikin, The Melody Men – Feel The Same (Extended Mix) 05:32 128bpm Abm
82. RSquared – Kind of Lady (Original Mix) 06:07 126bpm Ebm
83. CVMPANILE, Draxx (ITA) – WTF (Extended Mix) 05:00 128bpm Bm
84. Sam Curran – Twilight On The Terrace (Original Mix) 06:08 128bpm B
85. Joshwa – Supersonic (Original Mix) 06:35 129bpm A
86. illusionize, NightFunk, EVEL!N – Body Shake (Original Mix) 05:48 127bpm Em
87. Andruss, Lowderz – Dum Dum (Extended Mix) 05:29 130bpm Bbm
88. ESSEL – Lennon (Extended Mix) 05:17 128bpm Gb
89. Matt Sassari – Give It To Me (Full Vocal Mix – Extended) 05:39 126bpm Abm
90. TOBEHONEST – Baila (Original Mix) 05:34 129bpm C
91. Ferreck Dawn, The Melody Men – Vibe With It (feat. The Melody Men) (Extended Mix) 05:29 125bpm Abm
92. Tom Santa – Rainfall (Praise You) (Extended Mix) 04:46 128bpm Gm
93. Shaf Huse – Pacosó (Original Mix) 06:35 129bpm Dbm
94. Plastic Robots – Tell Me Something (Original Mix) 05:30 125bpm Abm
95. Mason Collective – A Little Affection (Extended Mix) 05:50 126bpm Dm
96. Biscits – House All The Time (Extended Mix) 05:16 127bpm Fm
97. BLOND:ISH, Amadou & Mariam, Francis Mercier – Sete (Original Mix) 06:35 125bpm Gbm
98. The Martinez Brothers, Rema, GORDO (US) – Rizzla feat. Rema (Mochakk Remix) 05:21 129bpm Gm
99. Jen Payne, Kastelo, Aaron Pfeiffer – Black & Yellow (Extended Mix) 05:21 126bpm Gm
100. Roxe – Smack (Extended Mix) 05:15 128bpm D

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Visiting Big Bend National Park
This was not my first road trip in my 2021 Model Y LR AWD, but it was my first time departing from the comfort of the Supercharger network. I mostly used ABRP and PlugShare to plan, but also tested out the relatively new app-based Tesla trip planner. My MY has has its original 19" Continental ProContact RX tires (25k+ mi), front mud flaps, and the Tesla roof shade.
Lessons Learned

• Be conservative over 65 mph: Texas' I-10 is 80mph, which is unsurprisingly inefficient. What was surprising was the lack of accurate arrival State of Charge (SoC) predictions. Heading West on I-10, neither Tesla nor ABRP could accurately predict arrival SoC. Tesla estimates were typically 8-10% off traveling west, slightly less heading East. ABRP would recommend charging to say 55% - I would charge to 65% and arrive with 7% SoC. I always looked for Tesla to give me "20%" arrival SoC, before starting for my next charging stop.
  • I-10 in West Texas is also windy (hence the wind farms) which is another reason to be more conservative
  • No shame in dropping speed to 65mph (Distance = Rate * Time)
• Autopilot: I relied heavily on Autopilot for the trip and it was amazing ~98% of the time.
  • Phantom Breaking: On long, straight stretches of highway driving (mostly I-10) I experienced several instances of phantom breaking. In each case I observed a distant mirage. Not a scientific study on my part - just an observation. Be alert!
• Steep Grades and Sharp Turns: Occasionally I would receive a forward collision warning although nothing was in front of me.
• Call ahead to make sure hotels have functional destination chargers or equivalent options.
• Tesla's app-based trip planner wanted me charge up to almost 100% and then skip Superchargers for a given route. ABRP takes the cake in enabling drivers to plan more efficiently, with shorter charging stops (user interface is still a bit clunky)
• For Park driving, the Tesla Navigation to Destination feature was accurate and crucial to a successful trip (late Spring/early Summer).
  • Do spend time to learn how to Add a Stop, versus Edit a Stop. (MY Manual).
  • At all times, my return trip to Terlingua was dialed in.
  • Any spur of the moment destinations were added as stops, ensuring I was comfortable with the ultimate arrival SoC.
  • Big Bend National Park has a max posted speed limit of 45mph. This seemed to work in my favor from an efficiency and accuracy standpoint.
  • Almost any park destination requires elevation change. It was fun to watch my range increase! That said, I never noticed a meaningful change in my final destination arrival SoC.
• Grab a paper park map from the visitor center! Not exactly unique advice for Tesla drivers, but it's pertinent to my next point.
• No Cell Service: The lack of cell service in West Texas meant I often had a blue route, but no map loaded on my screen.
  • For the journey to/from the park, I download over wifi Google Maps for offline use. Never really needed it. Whenever I lost my Tesla map, my route was very clear.
  • Inside the park, the official paper map was the perfect backup!
• Turn Off Sentry Mode: Going in and out of the car for gear, it's easy to leave on Sentry Mode. This will drain your battery while you hike!
• Off-Road Assist. I used this liberally for unpaved roads.
  • Memorize your favorite way to find this feature
  • I did not attempt Old Maverick Road, but Redditors claim it's easy enough for a sedan (with previous off-road experience). While I was there, Park Rangers were pulling a truck out of mud.
• I did not attempt to charge in the park. Some folks on PlugShare scrounge for random 110v sockets, but that is not my idea of a vacation.
• Driving on Texas highways after dark is not without risk
  • Bugs constantly smeared my windshield reducing visibility - windshield wiper fluid almost made it worse. Next time I'll try the bug wash formula.
  • Deer and other animals criss-cross roads at night too. Hitting an animal in an area with no cell service can't be fun.
• Bring extra windshield wiper fluid. Not that you can't find it en route the park, but I used mine liberally. Especially for night-time driving.
• For any road trip, bring a spare set of windshield wipers. Also great for when the OEM store runs out.
• I brought a Tesla Tire Repair kit.
• I recommend bringing a NEMA 14-50, TT-30, and 110v adapters along with your mobile connector. I also brought an outdoor 110v extension cable for emergencies.

Itinerary: Departing and Returning to the the Supercharger Highway

• Ft Stockton Supercharger to Marathon: Departure SoC 65%. Gage Hotel has ONE Tesla destination charger for customers. Call ahead to make sure it's operational! Accordingly to PlugShare 110v sockets can be used in a pinch.
• Marathon to Terlingua: Departure SoC 80%. Had sufficient charge to drive to Terlingua via Big Bend. Slightly longer drive, but worth it!
  • Terlingua / Basecamp: While Basecap does have a single destination charger, it's a wildly popular destination. There's competition for the single 30A J1772 EVSE. Staff mentioned additional capacity is planned. Some drivers report unplugging the equipment and directly using the NEMA 14-50. I was not comfortable doing this. With my luck, I'd break something.
    • It was 1/2 mile walk on a dirt road from my lodging, to the EVSE
  • Terlingua / Retro Rents Painted Ladies: I had access to an invaluable, dedicated NEMA 14-50 adjacent to my "antique" camper trailer. The experience is not for everyone, but at 48A I could easily charge up to 95% whenever was convenient.
    • They charge $20, cash for each day you use the 48A socket.
    • Call ahead! Ensure you will have access to the NEMA 14-50.
  • Staying in the park is an option, especially if you stick to the Chisos Basin area.
• Big Bend: In one day, I drove the following itinerary on a 95% charge. I returned to Terlingua with around ~25%. The following routes do not seem ideal, but I wanted to first hike the Chisos area in the morning. I was further limited by weather related road closures.
  • Terlingua to Chisos Basin Visitor Center
  • Chisos Basin Visitor Center to Boquillas Crossing (Rio Grande Village)
  • Boquillas Crossing to Cottonwood Campground via Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. The original destination was Santa Elena Canyon, but the road was closed due to recent rains.
  • Cottonwood Campground to Terlingua.
• Terlingua to Marfa: Departure SoC 90%
  • I drove slightly under the speed limit to ensure I had plenty of juice on arrival in Marfa.
  • El Cosmico was crucial! They have three destination chargers, two of them Tesla. I first asked the front desk, and they kindly allowed me to charge. I made sure to buy something at their shop each time.
    • From El Cosmico it's a 10-15 minute walk to downtown Marfa
    • There's plenty to do while charging to capacity
  • The McDonald Observatory is doable from Marfa, but for night time visits Ft Davis is a better bet.
• Marfa to Ft Davis
  • I actually left Marfa for the Prada art exhibit first, then drove to Ft Davis via a scenic route using the McDonald Observatory as a waypoint.
  • Hotel Limpia has three destination chargers (2 Tesla, 1 J1772). Also 48A, it was easy to charge.
  • Both the McDonald Observatory and Balmorhea State Park (natural spring) are within comfortable driving distances. Balmorhea State Park is quite close to I-10.
• Ft Davis to Ft Stockton - back on the Supercharger Network
  • I departed Ft Davis with less than 65% SoC and easily arrived at the Ft Stockton supercharger.

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Was looking through the Tesla charger map and noticed some of the new Tesla charging locations based on votes in the South East. What stands out is generally how good the choices are for the ones I have first hand knowledge of which is most of them as 7 out of 12 of them are near me. Here are my thoughts on the locations but I'd love to hear what everyone thinks, especially about the locations not covered by me. Is this voting for chargers a good thing or not solving real problems?

• South East
  • Appalachian Mountains
  • Sylva, NC - Q4 2022 - Probably the most important addition to me personally but also to anyone that owns a Tesla in the greater Atlanta area. Anyone that lives in Atlanta tends to take weekend trips north to the Great Smokies National Park, Asheville, NC or north of Asheville to ski. There are two ways to generally travel north; Via i85 in the dead of night when the traffic is down to a dull roar or more commonly via GA-400 and then through winding mountain roads. I've yet to be able to take I85 without adding 2 hours to the trip because of traffic. It's a 209 mile trip with significant elevation changes. If you want to arrive with some driving around charge, or if you intend to head back the same day you need to hit a charger on the way in or out. There are zero chargers between Atlanta and Asheville unless you take the I85 route. To say this charger is needed is a huge understatement and it was 1st place in the first ever vote in Q4 2022 for a reason. How Tesla missed this in their own analysis over the years I do not know.
  • Dalton, GA - Q4 2022 - This is the same case as the Sylva, NC just when going North-West. While MUCH less of an issue, you tend to avoid I75 for traffic reasons getting out of Atlanta and it fills in a nice gap. I wouldn't have voted for this one, it's just not a big deal that I can see but would love to hear from anyone that understands it.
  • Helen, GA - Q1 2023 - This is a VERY popular day trip destination for all of Atlanta so no surprise. It's out of the way when going to Asheville so it stands on it's own as a needed charging location.
  • Future - In general there is a pretty big hole north of Atlanta, home to 6m+ people so I expect more wins in future rounds of voting in this area.
  • Florida
  • Destin, FL - Q1 2023 - Big vacation destination location with limited ability to easily drive out to any of the locations on I10 for charging. You'll see more of these show up like this in FL where the barrier islands get chargers.
  • Cape Caneveral, FL - Q1 2023 - Another barrier island location that really needed a charger. I personally have had to go 60 miles out of my way to Titusville and Melbourne, FL on many trips because there wasn't a charger in Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, etc. Super excited for this one.
  • Okeechobee - Q4 2022 - Not hard to see why this one won.
  • Key West - Q1 2023 - Having gone to Key West recently, I get why this location won, but it isn't 100% needed. I would have MUCH rather seen one in Key Largo or Islamorada instead. That said, I consider this another string in the 3 out of 4 in FL being on barrier islands.
  • Future - No surprise here. More chargers on the barrier islands or peninsulas with limited access to the mainland.
• Eastern Canada
  • Bromont, QB - Q1 2023
  • Future ???
• North West
  • Kalispell, MT - Q1 2023 - Seems very obvious, fills a massive hole. We really need more winners like this for sure.
  • Future - ???
• North East - No Wins
  • Future - This area of the US seems to have some of the worst lack of Tesla chargers. Not sure why they aren't winning more locations.
• Central US - No Wins
  • Future - Lots of holes to fill but not a lot of population so hard to see them winning votes outside of maybe TX and IL, both of which have good coverage already.
• California
  • Lee Vining, CA - Q1 2023 - ???
  • Morro Bay, CA - Q4 2022 - ???
  • Big Bear Lake, CA - Q4 2022 - Came in 2nd place in the first vote Tesla held so very popular. It plugs a hole near a big destination but I don't have local knowledge on it.
  • Future - It seems CA is well covered but also seems to have the most capacity issues. Maybe Tesla should add an option for adding capacity to existing locations in future votes?

Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:

1. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
2. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
3. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
4. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
5. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
6. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. So much ghostbusting would be needed to clear us out. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1653527418588774401
2. Charles was on Fox again and discussed a wide range of topics with Maria. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1653571613135196163
3. Coinbase didn’t waste any time in getting their non-US futures platform open. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1653385513011740672
4. A former SEC Chair in his 90s sees that the current SEC is wrong on crypto. https://twitter.com/ramahluwalia/status/1648134506359009280
5. Rumor is that Pacwest is next on death row. https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1653403052899192833
6. ADA + Lime Wire. Only asked for 300 retweets…they definitely don’t know us. https://twitter.com/limewire/status/1653834307259998221
7. Token locking. Not a comment on any specific project. But, Is there any good case it’s not really just to artificially drive price up? Obviously also useful to centralize liquidity. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1653773401645826049
8. You can’t say that many of us in Cardano didn’t warn about exactly this. Always the same with these VC coins. https://twitter.com/mr_cata/status/1653788019084734468
9. Caitlin Long points out that both the non-main candidate challengers in the 2024 Presidential race are pro-crypto and anti-CBDC. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1653528247655694336
10. The Fed raised by a quarter point bringing the federal funds rate to 5-5.25%. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/03/live-updates-fed-decision-may-2023.html
11. As predicted PacWest is facing death. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1653873317110071305The Florida anti-CBDC bill passed both the FL House and the Senate. https://twitter.com/samuelarmes/status/1653761904169320448
12. A sitting US Senator just said that the modern banking system is a sophisticated ponzi scheme. https://twitter.com/BertusMaximus2/status/1653819148596543489
13. Hydra is live on mainnet. https://twitter.com/rom1_pellerin/status/1654185072415723529
14. IOG wants you to know about the advantages of native tokens on Cardano. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1654077799697727488
15. Cardano Movies! https://twitter.com/coc_space/status/1653862307439542275
16. We really need to primary some members of the U.S. Congress. https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1653928972026093569
17. Wow! Not surprised at what’s being said here back in November. Just surprised it’s being said publicly. https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1654239504574853120
18. Here’s the longer video of that FDIC meeting for context. http://fdic.windrosemedia.com/index.php?category=Systemic+Resolution+Advisory+Committee
19. Looks like Western Alliance is up next. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1654133106037739522
20. The weekly development update from IOG is out. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1655248376194105347
21. It’s not hard to make a meme coin on Cardano. https://twitter.com/nmkr_io/status/1654923697885532160
22. Still a crazy amount of mark-to-market losses that haven’t been absorbed by the system. https://twitter.com/BillyM2k/status/1655207860572422144
23. Warren Buffet gives a not too comforting answer to a question about the status of the dollar: “America…we’ve got everything going for us…but…you can’t print money indefinitely as debt.” https://twitter.com/GRDectestatus/1655203348033810439
24. …and then everyone remembered what fee markets look like in busy times. https://twitter.com/CryptoStylesUSA/status/1654711146673479680
25. …same for Bitcoin. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1655320093084057600
26. Cardano hit 94% load. https://twitter.com/SebastienGllmt/status/1655624561789112321
27. he MEV game is getting out of control over on Cardano’s biggest competitor chain. Convince me this shouldn’t just be called “theft” or “fraud”. https://twitter.com/0xNox_eth/status/1655615309695586306
28. Cardano Native Assets are vastly superior to BRC20 and ERC20 tokens. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1655673557710692352
29. Rumor: SEC is going to make a move against Binance. Will the DOJ also? https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1655546961968103425
30. At the end of Q3 of last year, 722 banks reported unrealized losses greater than 50% of capital. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/board-briefing-on-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-supervisory-approach-20230214.pdf
31. Wyoming is inching closer to a state stablecoin. IOG’s significant presence there may turn out to be a huge advantage. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/09/wyoming-stable-token-a-multibillion-dollar-opportunity-as-officials-wrestle-with-how-to-make-it-happen/
32. Paypal disclosed almost $1 billion in customer crypto in its latest 10-Q. https://blockworks.co/news/paypal-discloses-1b-crypto
33. MiCA is shifting the balance of crypto investment to Europe. https://twitter.com/paddi_hansen/status/1655883224726241281
34. Today (May 10) will be a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees on Crypto. The CLO of Kraken will testify. https://financialservices.house.gov/
35. This is a legit point about centralized L2s: the best ones are called Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. https://twitter.com/el33th4xostatus/1655845787593502720
36. There’s already a new version of Lace Wallet out. https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1656347737355608066
37. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
38. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
39. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
40. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
41. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
42. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
43. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
44. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
45. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
46. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
47. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
48. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
49. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
50. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
51. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
52. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
53. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
54. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
55. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
56. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
57. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
58. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
59. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
60. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
61. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
62. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
63. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
64. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
65. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
66. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
67. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
68. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
69. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
70. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
71. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
72. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
73. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
74. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
75. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
76. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
77. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
78. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
79. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
80. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
81. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
82. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
83. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
84. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
85. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
86. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672ext to an old identity book. Stop reading into things.” Everyone enjoys speculating what e
87. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
88. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
89. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
90. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
91. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
92. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
93. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
94. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
95. Today is a holiday for some of you. Enjoy a Cardano video game I made for you with AI. MJ made the textures. GPT-4 did 100% of the coding. https://openprocessing.org/sketch/1941253
96. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
97. As expected, a debt ceiling deal has been reached. It includes an extension until January 1, 2025 which means we won’t be talking about it again until after the election. https://apnews.com/article/debt-ceiling-deal-food-aid-student-loans-3c284b01d95f8e193bca8d873386400e
98. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312

~Army of Spies

Chanel Allure Blanche EDP 5 FL oz bottle size. 70% (around 3.5 FL oz) remaining in the bottle.
DUA The Mobster in Havana ( Roja Creation E Clone) 30 FL oz 98%
Please check the Chanel pictures for a clear juice fill line shown with UV light. $100+ shipping. Please be willing to provide address prior to purchase for shipping cost verification. Shipping label will be shown for you to verify. USPS ground to US addresses only.

https://i.redd.it/74ae26krwk2b1.jpeg
​ SUMMARY Italian-based SMEG is known for its '50s retro-look appliances designed in collaboration with some of the world's top architects. This toaster combines iconic midcentury style with modern features, so you can count on perfect toast or bagels every time. Choose from a selection of luscious colors that match other SMEG appliances for a coordinated collection.
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USE & CARE CARE Wipe clean with damp cloth.
SHIPPING & RETURNS SHIPPING INFORMATION This item will be shipped directly from the manufacturer and is not eligible for rush shipping. Please allow one to two weeks for delivery.
SHIPPING RATES The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
RETURN POLICY At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
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TOASTED BREAKFAST SANDWICH RECIPE Toast the bread in a toaster and spread the butter on one side of each slice. Top 4 of the slices with the cheese, dividing evenly. Set aside.
In a 12-inch nonstick griddle or fry pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Break 2 eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are set and the edges of the yolks are just beginning to set, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining 2 eggs.
Place 1 egg on top of each cheese-topped bread slice, followed by 2 bacon slices. Arrange the arugula on top. Cover each sandwich with one of the remaining bread slices, buttered side down. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
See full Toasted Breakfast Sandwich Recipe.

Against all the evil that hell can conjure.
All the wickedness that mankind can produce…
We will send unto them, Only You.
Rip and Tear
Until it is Done.
-][-
Memory Transcription Subject: Vikam, Venlil Space Corps Officer
Date: [Standardized Human Time] July 2nd, 2136
The ghost signal.
It had started as faint readings that rapidly spread across the entirety of know space, manifesting as a sort of white noise in the background of Federation communications and networks, so weak it could only be picked up by our strongest equipment, and even then it was so barely noticeable that for decades most had written it off as a simple statistical error or calibration issue. Until we noticed it was getting louder. Wherever we went it was always there, as if it were not a signal but rather a reading we were unintentionally picking up, one that had been getting stronger from the moment it had appeared. The signal that over a century ago could only be picked up by the strongest of our communications arrays, was starting to now impact those same arrays, and not just that, but even innocuous things like holopads and other civilian equipment had begun to malfunction at a much higher rate.
At this point the idea of it being a mere software glitch or hardware issue had been long since thrown out, not a single software update, code rewrite, or hardware swap had done a single thing to solve the mystery. But it was ever so slightly stronger in some sectors than others, and with the signals ever increasing strength we have finally been able to tell the relative difference in strength from one sector to another. Now the most concerning thing to me was that the signal was strongest nearest to Venlil Prime.
To say this revelation was worrying would be beyond an understatement, both to our own people and the wider Federation, we sit on both the border with the Arxur and unknown space, the idea that this wasn’t an anomaly but rather an attack or weapon caused even greater panic than we had ever seen before.
If this was the Arxur that would mean that they are in possession of a weapon that could have the potential to cripple our ships and communications, leaving worlds defenseless and unable to even call for help, serving our worlds to them on a platter without even a single shot fired in defense. The idea alone keeps me awake at night, thinking that we could be at the complete mercy of another who would see us dead or enslaved.
However the second option was somehow just as frightening. If it’s not the Arxur, then what is it? Where is it coming from? Is it even coming from a single place? Though I guess that last question did have some kind of answer. A few [years] back the readings spiked to unprecedented levels, causing mass electronic malfunctions across the entire federation before falling back down to a steady level, albeit much higher than ever before. However this time instead of seemingly appearing all at once, the spike seemed to rapidly cascade across space, and by mapping out the miniscule differences in time we could gain a general direction of its source, and that source was far out beyond any known space of both the Arxur and Federation.
Well I guess that’s why I'm here. Or rather why all of us are all the way out here in what might as well be the middle of nowhere on the edge of Venlil space, chasing this ghost signal to find its source, failing that, finding out what it really is.
I don’t like being out here, I don't think any of us do. I don’t know why, but I feel like the longer I stay out here, the more I feel like… like we’re being watched. The further we go into the outer territories the more uneasy I start to feel, and from what I’ve overheard from the rest of the crew, I’m not the only one. Honestly I’d rather be back home right now, the longer I stay out here the worse and worse it's been getting.
I’ve been having… nightmares. Recurring ones, for [months] now. Worlds burning, their surfaces charred and cracked like charcoal, the surface scarred with a symbol glowing a burning red. A five pointed star sitting inside a circle. Each time I fall asleep it’s a different world, Venlil Prime, The Cradle, Mileau, Nishtal, Aafa. I don’t know how I know what world I see given the destruction, it’s like there’s some knowledge planted in the back of my mind telling me what I’m being forced to look at. I wish it ended there, but every time, after witnessing worlds burn, I'm forced down into a ship or put on the surface.
Usually nightmares come from some experience in the real world, an Arxur raid, a predator attack, or simply a horrible accident. I had never thought that a nightmare itself could be a direct source of fear. But those… things, defied all logic. How could life ever evolve on any world to end up like… that, ignoring how such creatures could even develop any technology at all, somehow being more brutal than even the Arxur have ever been, if such an idea was even possible. Every night I am haunted by creatures tearing people apart, worlds burning, and red ships descending on whatever remains.
I’ve obviously developed some form of predator disease, that's the only explanation for why my mind has been spiraling down and down all these [months]. Only the deranged mind of a predator would be consumed by thoughts of nothing but death and destruction night after night. Sometimes when we jump into subspace I swear I can hear whispers. And now I know I’m going crazy because, well, when I look at the ship diagnostics it almost looks like something is shaking the ship while in subspace. Some of our fleet look like they have emerged from subspace with damage to the hull. It’s progressed so far I’m hallucinating.
The impact this has had on my mind has been steadily deteriorating my performance and I’m worried that someone will find out. If that happens I'll lose everything, my life, my herd, my family. Luckily nobody seems to have noticed yet. Still I wonder how long I can keep this ruse going, how long I can convince everyone I’m a normal person.
“Vikam, Anything to report?” The captain of the ‘Steady River’ asked me as he entered the bridge, probably having just woken up given his general lack of tidiness.
“Nothing unusual captain, readings here are only marginally higher, less than point-seven percent, however our long range scanners have picked up surges coming from this system here.” I projected the star map to the captain's display, showing an area several systems away where we had detected a similar pulse to the one from [years] ago, albeit much, much smaller.
“How long ago was this?” The captain perked up near instantly.
“Just over a claw ago it seems.” Apparently this set him off.
“What!? And you didn’t tell me!? If we finally have a solid location on these readings we need to investigate immediately!” One of the techs on the bridge spoke up after the captains’ outburst.
“Umm sir, what if it is the Arxur?”
“If it is, don't you think we need to know!? That’s the entire point of this expedition! Vikam, tell the fleet to prepare to jump. If it is the Arxur, we need to arrive simultaneously so we aren’t sitting alone without help.” The captain gave his orders and I obeyed, coordinating with the other capital ships of the fleet to act as anchors for the smaller ships to follow into subspace.
Our ‘exploration’ fleet was little more than a bunch of warships with science equipment strapped to them. Over 1200 ships split into four search groups, some splitting even further beyond that, would all now reconvene and jump to this system, if it was the Arxur we would need every ship available to beat them back and hopefully capture whatever technology was causing this. Personally I scoffed at the idea that the Arxur could come up with anything that could do this, I doubt they even have the capability of inventing things beyond new torture methods, considering everything they have was given to them. It doesn’t matter, our fleet was reinforced with some of the newest and strongest ships we could build, the Steady River is of a new ‘Heavy Cruiser’ pattern, a fresh off the line Farsul ship with enough armor to take on any Arxur vessel and measuring in at a massive [800 meters]! And we managed to negotiate to buy four of them! And received eight more directly from the Farsul navy! Combining them with the other ships sent as part of the combined search effort, our fleet had 26 capital ships and over 500 cruisers, with the rest of the fleet being filled in by bombers, frigates, corvettes, and patrol craft. I’m pretty confident we can take a few savage reptiles.
“All sub-fleets present, preparing for subspace jump.” a voice called out somewhere on the other side of the bridge as I double checked the fleet registry, ensuring all ships were accounted for and properly linking with their respective capital ships for the aforementioned jump. I began the countdown.
“Synchronization complete, subspace drive spooling up… Preparing to jump in three… two... one… Now.” The stars visible from the viewports rapidly shifted from white to blue, to purple, and then vanished as we entered subspace and the bridge was bathed in light blue.
“All ships have successfully jumped and are in formation. We will arrive at our destination shortly.” I gave a quick update before the tech from before spoke up again.
“Captain, should we prepare for the possibility of the grays showing up?”
“Mm… Yes, pre-charge our weapons and have the crews on alert before we re-enter realspace.”
Uhh, I’m not so sure about that. “Sir, is it wise to jump into an unknown situation with our fleet prepared to attack? There’s still a possibility that an entirely unknown party is responsible for the readings, and to be honest I don’t believe the Arxur are capable of such a thing as this. If they could cripple the entire Federation at once wouldn’t we already be dead?”
“And you’d rather us go in completely undefended? If it’s the grays then we’ll be ready and with greater numbers, if it’s an uncontacted species then they need to be warned of the Arxur and join the Federation as soon as possible, and if it’s simply a natural anomaly, then our actions don’t matter. I’d rather be prepared than caught off guard and served on a plate to those savages, if they even know what plates are.” The captain half ranted towards the crew. Once again the tech from before interjected just as I was going to offer my counterpoints.
“S-sir, what if it's another pred-” he was cut off by the captain laughing.
“It’s what? Other predators? Ha! Need I remind you that not a single predator has ever made it beyond their world without our help. Now tell the weapon crews to be ready.”
I don’t know if it’s my lack of decent sleep, but it almost seems like the captain has been becoming just as irritable and out of it as I am, becoming more and more paranoid about being attacked, and keeping the sensor and weapon crews on near constant alert when searching through systems and the occasional asteroid field.
I switched one of my displays to check our progress, and just as we passed the three quarter mark something strange started to happen.
Shaking. The ship was shaking. And not just a little, it feels like I’m in an atmospheric craft going through a storm but… but this shouldn’t even be possible! Not in space and definitely not in subspace, there’s no precedent for this! There’s no such thing as turbulence in space! I slammed my paw down onto the touchscreen, hoping I hit the right button and rejoicing that I did when the ship's alarm blared and the brace warning went to all compartments. Worse still, it’s not just us.
According to what I’m seeing in the fleet communications, every single ship was experiencing the same instability we were. Some of the smaller ships were taking it so bad that they collided with each other due to the tight formation we flew in, the now wrecks instantly vanishing from subspace in a flash and becoming little more than shrapnel flying through realspace. Is this some kind of attack? People have theorized about subspace weapons but they’ve never gone beyond theories and imagination. What is going on!? If this continues we won’t have a fleet left by the time we arrive!
“S-sir we have to exit subspace right now! Our fleet is literally being torn apart!” I tried to plead with the captain but-
“No! Keep going! Tell all vessels to de-sync from their capital ships and distance themselves, even if it means we have staggered arrivals! We haven’t come all this way just to stop now!”
He’s gone insane, but I transmitted his order. Evidently all the fleet captains had agreed to this as our entire fleet de-synced from each other, but not before we lost several more ships in the process. Many had collided like the unfortunate ones before, and some simply dropped from subspace without any notice, if this was intentional or not I can’t say, but it’s entirely possible whatever is causing this forced them to do so, seeing as our own subspace drive was being pushed to its limits.
I could do nothing but squeeze my eyes shut and push myself as far back into my chair as I could, waiting for this to be over. I couldn’t see it, but I could hear the panic around me as I could imagine everyone else was having a similar response.
A bright flash of white and blue, and then…
Nothing.
Slowly I opened my eyes and saw my computer displaying a message stating our arrival at our destination and the pings indicating the arrival of the others. Raising my head slightly I looked around the bridge and out the viewports. The still panicking crew, the captain heavily breathing and leaning back with his eyes closed, the systems dual stare-
Wait, no. This system is only supposed to have one star, every single scan and map has this system as having a single star. But there, a second one stood, much smaller than the first, and… it looked… wrong. Just wrong. Instead of burning it looked like it was boiling, and had tendrils of red energy splitting off of it, with two much larger ones coming from opposite ends, splitting the void around it in two. I was so caught up in the sight of it, I barely noticed the rest of the fleet arriving, or what’s left of it. We lost over two hundred ships just getting here, either destroyed or dropped out of subspace before arriving.
“What is… what am I looking at here?” The captain, now sitting up straight, spoke everyone's thoughts out loud. “Scan that immediately!”
It’s obvious we’ve found the source of the ghost signal, however being so close to it meant that our equipment which was barely working in the first place, now struggled to even look at that… thing.
Well at least I know my initial judgment was wrong, the anomaly wasn’t a star, or even the size of one, rather it was the size of a small moon. Our sensors mistook it for a star, as it had the full output of one. This relatively tiny object in space was emitting a higher level of energy than the system's own star, but none of the sensors could make any sense of what it was or even the type of energy it was emitting, every sensor we pointed at it was overloaded with errors, but… there were objects… coming through the anomaly.
“Sir I c-can- we can’t make any sense of… what this-” I tried to give some explanation but was cut off by the sensors giving off a very different alert, ship detections, thousands of them. Tens of thousands of them. “C-captain I-I’m picking up something, there’s ships coming f-from that… that thing!”
The entire bridge scrambled to get the equipment back in order as everyone wanted to know what was going on, how anything could survive being near the anomaly that nearly fried our systems, never mind coming directly out of it. Was it even an anomaly in the first place? Had we come across some race that was so advanced that they could literally tear reality as a means of travel? Was our inability to scan it merely a by-product or intentional design? Whatever it was, the energy used was like nothing we had ever seen, or even theorized of.
I pulled up as many sensors and screens as I could to get a look at those ships and-
My heart almost stopped.
I could hear nothing but ringing and my ever increasing heart beat. I feel freezing cold and burning hot all at once. I sunk my claws into my left arm to check I’m not still in a nightmare, I wish I was, but this is real.
All of those ships are real.
Red ships.
Those things, pulled straight from my nightmares, were now bearing down on us. I could do nothing but stare in frozen horror as the automated reports indicated over three thousand ships headed to our direct position. I could do nothing as that same red energy effortlessly lanced through our ships, tearing our already loose formation apart. I could do nothing as every ship fired back in panic, the interference preventing mass communication as the fleet desperately tried to return fire. I could do nothing as-
As a green light quickly overcame the visual sensors, and just as quickly left. The ship I was watching returned to view, now a gutted lifeless wreck, burning green from the inside out. Its strange tentacles that sprouted from the bottom now limply floating in the void alongside the shattered pieces of what remained.
What. Was. That.
The interference must have been greater than I thought, because those red ships were not the only thing out there. Scanning the system as fast as I could, I saw other ships on the other side, facing the anomaly, not the same sinister red, but a pale gray. Massive ships that dwarfed all but the most gargantuan of the crimson attackers. By the stars, even the smallest of those ships was almost as big as a standard cruiser! And those capital ships… they must be at least [2000 meters]!
I would’ve asked why any sane race would build such things, but those red ships varied in size so greatly that many surpassed the gray behemoths, sometimes even more than twice over!
That knocked me out of my stupor, the pale behemoths were holding off tens out thousands of vessels whilst our scanners indicated they possessed a mere five thousand, each firing off green and blue beams alongside endless swarms of missiles and kinetic fire so numerous the red ships couldn’t physically evade.
Plasma and kinetics I understand, although strange that it was bright blue and not the standard white, but that green energy was just as unknowable as the red coming from the anomaly and those damnable nightmare ships. Even their missiles detonated with pulses of green instead of the anti-matter design used by every known race.
What had we walked in on? We had just barged into two forces engaged in one of the largest battles in history, using completely unknown technology, and now one side was protecting us, or at the very least, attacking our attackers.
My hearing was finally coming back to me. “W-WE CAN’T REFORM! FLEET COMMUNICATIONS ARE OVERLOADED!” A tech screamed, a response to an order from the captain I hadn’t heard. Everyone was screaming, the bridge was in utter chaos, and the rest of the fleet was faring no better, hundreds already lost, our fighters and bombers were easily picked off by those cross-ships, and we couldn’t even communicate with how overworked our ship systems were directly after that horrid jump.
We could do little to save ourselves. But there were others who could, and were seemingly setting out to do just that.
Green and blue bolts began to mesh with our white plasma, part of that pale fleet had broken off and were assaulting the red fleet from our right flank, creating a cross of fire, though it was plainly evident that these unknown people were doing most of the work, as our shots went wide or failed to strike through the enemies shields and flowed off their armor like water. Our only true success was taking down those fighters, and a few groups having an unspoken agreement to collectively target some of the relatively smaller enemy vessels, finally destroying them after putting dozens of shots through their thick armor, creating a mosaic of burning dots.
We had no time to cheer, a few dozen out of thousands didn’t mean anything, even with the encroaching pale fleet doing most of the work, fortunately this also meant that the unknown predators started focusing their efforts on them instead of us, giving our ships a small reprieve.
A voice rose above the cacophony of mayhem in the bridge “Sir there’s something coming through comms!” What? I thought-
“I THOUGHT YOU SAID COMMS WERE OFFLINE!?” Exactly what I was thinking, though with less screaming involved.
“They were, but-” He was cut off as static overpowered every noise in the bridge, my console indicating it was a message being broadcasted from the pale fleet. An incredibly distorted voice was barely heard through the static.
“Unknown fl_________re in gr___ danger _____ reactiv________ Anima Fie_______ re-r____ to Al___ Centa___ im___iately. If you __________ any lon____ you___________ apart.”
Alongside the near indecipherable broadcast, came a packet of data that was so heavily encrypted that I don’t think an entire planet's worth of computers trying to decode it could do so in anything less than a decade, but even so, the message was clear, or maybe it’s just what I wanted to hear. Leave.
The pale fleet was now sitting between the red fleet and us, firing off massive energy beams from what I can only assume are spinal cannons like our own, only these ones were shredding through the predators en masse. Now that they were much closer, the pale ships began firing green orbs, moving slower than the beams, but whenever they neared a foe, green arcs of energy shot out and scorched anything they touched, before the orb detonated in a flash of light, sending out one last pulse of lightning to destroy whatever it could before vanishing.
We had little time to admire the artistry and effectiveness of these strange weapons, with the pressure now off our own fleet, every ship began to prepare to jump back to a predetermined fall back point.
Wait- no! That’s insane! We’ll never survive jumping back into subspace!
But it was too late for me to voice my objections, white became blue, blue became purple, and the stars disappeared as we jumped back into the azure abyss that would surely be our death.
Fleet Integrity: Critical
Fleet Cohesion: Critical
Estimated Fleet Losses: 881 / 1229 - 71.6%
Ship Systems: Damaged - Non-Critical
Estimated Crew Loss: 94
Enemy Losses: [ERROR: ENEMY FLEET UNKNOWN]
Allied Losses: [ERROR: ALLIED FLEET UNKNOWN]
-][-
[Next]
Aaaaannnndd with ten pages, 4000 words, the first chapter is done!
Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll, and I hope this chapter meets your expectations for an intro to Argent Earth, with our first character being just a little guy who’s being endlessly tormented by nightmares now brought to life. Someone get this man a donut.
We see some new Federation ships and an exploration fleet coming up against forces beyond their understanding, and our first look at the ARC navy.
Now for some clarification in case someone didn’t get it so I don’t have to reply in the comments:
The ghost signal - not a real signal, demonic energy interferes with technology but they don’t know that. It’s the interference they’re picking up, which has been slowly increasing as the veil thins and rifts are made. Also a Stellaris reference.
Turbulence - The ‘turbulence’ was their ship's subspace drives and systems malfunctioning because they essentially jumped right on top of a rift without any kind of shielding. To put it in 40K terms, they basically jumped into a warp storm without a gellar field, and got off real lucky.
Demon proof your tech kids. Though that can be hard if you don’t know they exist.
Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for creating Nature of Predators.
Until next time, Rip and Tear.

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Below are the top headlines we’ve been reporting this whole week on Cyber Security Headlines.
If you’d like to hear and participate in a discussion about them, the CISO Series does a live 20-minute show every Friday at 12:30pm PT/3:30pm ET. Each week we welcome a different cyber practitioner to offer some color to the week's stories. Our guest this week is Rich Greenberg, President, ISSA-LA.
To get involved you can watch live and participate in the discussion on YouTube Live https://youtube.com/live/qxuRqy3ZZFI or you can subscribe to the Cyber Security Headlines podcast and get it into your feed.
Here are some of the stories we plan to cover:
BEC attempts on the rise Microsoft’s latest Cyber Signal report shows that the company detected 35 million business email compromise attempts in the last year, seeing an average of 156,000 attempts per day. This came as part of an overall 38% increase in cybercrime as a service attacks against business email since 2019. These attacks generally don’t target unpatched vulnerabilities. Rather they generally focus on using the sheer volume of email to get victims to accidentally share financial information or otherwise facilitate a transfer of funds. Microsoft observed attackers using multichannel spamming campaigns, including fake 2FA authentication, to eventually wear down victims. (CSO Online)
Industrial sector faced highest number of ransomware attacks in April According to the NCC Group, the volume of ransomware attacks remained at record highs with 352 attacks in April, the second-highest month on record. Lockbit 3.0, BlackCat and BianLian were the top 3 threat actors combining for 58% of overall ransomware activity in April. Meanwhile, ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider Cl0p reduced their activity by 98% from March to April, likely due to patches being applied for the GoAnywhere MFT day-zero vulnerability which the group leveraged to exploit a high number of victims in March. North America was the target of half of April’s ransomware activity with 172 attacks (50%) followed by Europe with 85 attacks (24%) and then Asia with 34 attacks (10%). In April, industrials was the most targeted sector accounting for one third of attacks (32%). (Security Magazine)
North Korea-linked APT Lazarus Group targeting vulnerable Microsoft IIS servers Researchers from AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center have researchers reported that the Lazarus APT Group is targeting vulnerable versions of Microsoft IIS servers in a recent wave of malware-based attacks. The attackers leverage the DLL side-loading (T1574.002) technique to execute a malicious DLL (msvcr100.dll) that they have placed in the same folder path as a normal application (Wordconv.exe). Then the library is executed via the Windows IIS web server process. The researchers note a similarity between this DLL technique and another previously used by the Lazarus actors. (Security Affairs)
NIST helps small businesses with cyber readiness When we cover ransomware attacks on this show, often we highlight attacks against large organizations. But in terms of ransomware volume, these represent the exception not the rule. A recent Coveware study found 72% of ransomware attacks impacted organizations with less than 1,000 employees, with 29% hitting those with less than 100. To respond to this reality, the National Institute of Standards and Technology launched the Small Business Cybersecurity Community of Interest, or COI. This aims to provide a two-way street to communicate with small businesses. The COI will provide company reps to provide NIST feedback about cybersecurity issues. These will inform how NIST issues guidance and develops tools specifically for small businesses. (Security Intelligence)
Industrial sector faced highest number of ransomware attacks in April According to the NCC Group, the volume of ransomware attacks remained at record highs with 352 attacks in April, the second-highest month on record. Lockbit 3.0, BlackCat and BianLian were the top 3 threat actors combining for 58% of overall ransomware activity in April. Meanwhile, ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider Cl0p reduced their activity by 98% from March to April, likely due to patches being applied for the GoAnywhere MFT day-zero vulnerability which the group leveraged to exploit a high number of victims in March. North America was the target of half of April’s ransomware activity with 172 attacks (50%) followed by Europe with 85 attacks (24%) and then Asia with 34 attacks (10%). In April, industrials was the most targeted sector accounting for one third of attacks (32%). (Security Magazine)
Fake images on Twitter briefly spook the stock market This week a fake photo, some speculate was created using generative AI, surfaced on social media and appeared to show an explosion near the Pentagon. The fake image was shared by several Twitter blue accounts (who paid the $8 blue checkmark fee) including in a post appearing to be associated with Bloomberg News reading, “Large explosion near the Pentagon complex in Washington DC. – initial report.” The false reports were picked up by other media outlets including major Indian network, Republic TV. Just moments after the image began circulating on Twitter, the US stock market took a noticeable dip with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling about 80 points for about four minutes, but fully recovering several minutes later. Similarly, the S&P 500 went from up 0.02% to down 0.15% during the same period before returning to positive. Though the impact was brief, it’s likely that some people lost and gained a lot of money. It’s also noteworthy that the main vector that made it possible for the image to have even a slight (and temporary) impact is use of the faux Twitter blue “verification” checkmark. (Techdirt)
Ransomware gang pulls Philadelphia Inquirer listing after victim questions documents The Cuba ransomware group removed its listing of The Philadelphia Inquirer on its darknet extortion site on Wednesday after the paper cast doubts on the authenticity of documents the criminals provided for download. Cuba claimed to have posted a trove of files stolen from the Inquirer, including "financial documents, correspondence with bank employees, account movements, balance sheets, tax documents, compensation, source code,” but the publisher said that the company had seen no evidence that the information was actually related to the newspaper. (The Record)
TikTok makes progress on Project Texas This project marks TikTok’s attempt to ease US concerns about it sharing user data with China. This would see US user data stored domestically and overseen by the TikTok US Data Security Committee. In an update on this project, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew announced that Oracle began reviewing TikTok’s source code. Chew also said TikTok is “on track” to have all US user data hosted in the US. Oracle data centers are now the default destination for US user data, eventually the company will migrate existing US data there from its Singapore-based servers. (ZDNet)
Google launches GUAC Back in October, Google announced a new open source initiative called Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition, or GUAC, in an effort to strengthen the software supply chain. The company now announced it launched GUAC v0.1. This serves to aggregate software security metadata, mapping it to a standard vocabulary and accessible through a GraphQL interface, as well as an API to develop on and integrate into security tools. The company hopes this will help the software development community in evaluating its security posture with a more holistic view. Google worked with Kusari, Purdue University, Citi, and community members to develop this initial version. (Google)
GDPR is 5 years old, and over 1 million people have asked to be forgotten On the 5th birthday of GDPR, a new study from Surfshark shows that between 2015 to 2021, over 1 million “right to be forgotten” requests to delist certain search results were submitted to Google and Microsoft Bing, from 32 countries. Points from the study show France is in first place with over 255,000 requests; when the Covid-19 pandemic started, “right to be forgotten” cases rose nearly 30%; Estonia had the most requests per 10,000 people, more than 2.5 times higher than average, and 1 in 10 “right to be forgotten” web page delisting requests are crime-related. (Surfshark)

The forest was black. Pitch black.
I pounded over the dirt trail, my feet turning my pedals like twin pistons. The bicycle bounced and jolted, shuddering as it rolled across the wooden bridge, rattling my teeth. There was something in the air tonight. A chill.
But it wasn’t the chill of autumn. No, this was the chill of unease. It crawled up my spine carrying the deep-rooted knowledge that something about tonight, something about this trail wasn’t right. It was the unmistakable dread of being watched.
Pursued.
I stood up and rode harder. My lungs burned with every push of the pedals but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to get out of these woods fast. The hospital was twenty minutes away. I just needed to make it there– I was close. So close.
WOMP
A heavy bass sounded behind me, followed by a rush of wind. It pushed against my back, thrusting me forward while buffeting the surrounding forest like a tempest. The trees groaned, their great frames kneeling beneath the force. Branches and leaves ricocheted through the air. I raised an arm to protect my face from the debris, and it was all I could do to keep my balance.
I didn’t know what was happening, but at that moment, it didn’t seem to matter either. All I cared about was getting out of here in one piece– making it to the hospital for her. My sister, Hope. Letting loose a defiant roar, I threw my body into overdrive and the wheels of my bike tore into the dirt like an excavator. Faster, I told myself. Faster dammit!
The bass grew louder. Thunderous. Soon it felt like the whole forest was trembling, like a tornado had snuck up on me in the dead of night. I wanted to turn around, to see what the hell was after me, but I knew if I took my eyes off the road I’d get a one way ticket into a ditch. In this darkness, I was barely able to stay on the path as it was. No, I decided. I had to keep focused. I had to keep moving.
The forest exploded with light.
Not the light of a camera flash, or the light of a bright room. No, this was as if somebody had unchained the sun. I hollered, utterly blinded. My wheel hit what felt like a fallen branch and the next thing I knew I was flying over my handlebars ass-over-teakettle.
I braced myself for a broken arm, maybe worse, but the impact of the ground never came. Instead I felt like I was in limbo, like I’d never finished falling. I couldn’t feel anything beneath me. It was only after the light began to dim and I was able to see the forest that I realized how truly fucked I was.
See, the forest wasn’t where it should have been.
It was beneath me.
Far beneath me.
It was getting further away by the second. Inch by inch, I was being lifted into the sky, carried by a narrow shaft of light.
_____________________________________________
That was a long time ago.
Thirty years, give or take. A lot’s changed since then, but one thing’s remained the same– the nightmares. I couldn’t shake them. I had them every night. That same pursuit, that same blinding light, that same boiling fear that I might never make it back to say goodbye to my older sister.
I used to think it was a coping mechanism, the nightmares. I figured they came at a time when my little teenage brain was positively fried attempting to process the grief of losing a loved one. My therapist seemed to agree. “They’re likely mere mental fiction," she'd say. "An emotional salve to heal a wound the only way your mind could manage.”
For a long time, I thought she was right. She had to be, didn’t she? Two PhDs and twenty years experience dealing with nutjobs like me made her judge and jury. Or so I hoped. But now, as much as it pains me to say, I know better.
I know how wrong she was.
How wrong we both were.
My name is Isaiah Mitchell. I’m the government boogeyman your parents screamed about while watching TV, the man in black. I operate in significant circles. Niche, and highly confidential circles. So when I tell you that something dire happened last night, I don’t mean the stock market dipped a couple percentage points, or that a few tons of oil were dumped into the Pacific ocean.
What I mean is we’re in trouble. Big trouble.
To really drive home how bad this is, I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to break the rules. All of them. I’m going to tell you a story, and at the end of it you can call me a lunatic or you can drink yourself to sleep. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I get this off my chest.
It’s been festering for thirty years.
The story is about you, and it’s about me. It’s about everything, every last aspect of the universe down to its very atoms, and how all of us are facing a horror we can’t begin to imagine. It begins a long time ago, somewhere around the origin of mankind, and it ends with the slow death of reality.
This is the story of the worst night of my life.
_________________________________________
Sometime during my skyward ascent, I lost consciousness. I woke up to find the shaft of light gone– woke up to find all light gone.
“Hello?” I mumbled to the darkness. My hands felt around the environment, and cold metal touched my fingertips. Where was I?
Footsteps met my ears.
“I don’t have any money,” I sputtered, thinking I must have been drugged. People didn’t just float into the sky. It wasn’t a thing. That meant I was hallucinating– and that meant I’d probably been kidnapped by somebody who knew what they were doing.
A heavy bass reverberated behind me. Then, another bass, this tone lower and more drawn-out. This went back and forth half a dozen times, and it struck me that the sounds almost resembled communication. Something akin to morse code.
I rose to my feet on shaking legs. “Please let me go. I won’t tell anybody, I swear!”
Static crackled. Next came the sharp squeal of microphone feedback, followed by the gentle buzz of adjusting frequency. “Communication calibrated. Subject identified: homosapien. Geographic location: Texas. Language model: English.” There was a pause, long enough and silent enough that I could hear my own pulse rushing through my veins. “Can you understand us, human?”
“Y-yes,” I said, squinting into the darkness, thoroughly confused. “Can you turn on the lights?”
“Affirmative.”
With a hum of electricity, a green glow filled the room. I blinked, my eyes adjusting. It appeared that I was inside of a large, very metallic, and very circular chamber. Scattered throughout it were large vats of bubbling liquid, filled with something I couldn’t quite make out.
“Does this illumination suit your visual matrix?” said the digital voice. It was speaking from right behind me.
I wheeled around to face it, and my breath caught in my chest. Standing before me were two massive lizards– no, monsters. I scrambled backwards, colliding against one of the metallic vats. The liquid sloshed against the glass. “What are you?” I gasped.
“We are the Chosen,” one of the monsters said. “We are lifeforms from many galaxies away, and we have come to save humanity.” They both stared at me through two giant eyes, each filled with dozens of pulsing pupils, almost like ink blots.
“I’ve been abducted…” I sputtered, hardly able to breathe. “By aliens. Aliens… are real. I’ve been abducted…”
“Correct, human,” said the other alien. I realized for the first time that one had gray scales, while the other had teal. The gray creature looked at a screen on its right arm, tapping it with a clawed finger. “Readings indicate heightened levels of cortisol and increased adrenal flow. Source: Fight or flight response. Biologically rational, but without logical purpose.” It looked up at me. “You have neither the option to flee us or fight us, so it would be best to initiate a state of relaxation. Will you comply?”
My jaw hung open in disbelief. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to think, so I blurted out the first fear that came to my mind. “A…Are you going to anal probe me? Like the movies?”
The teal gray alien blinked at me, its many pupils dilating. “Negative.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
It pointed to the vat behind me. “We will break down your tissue into usable genetic material, harvesting your DNA in order to achieve human salvation.” Slowly, I turned to look at the vat, and now that I was closer to it, I felt sick to my stomach. Floating inside of it was a human body. Everything from the waist down had already been dissolved, its intestines dangling freely.
“Jesus Christ…” I stuttered.
“There is no cause for concern,” the teal alien said in a cheerful tone. He shuffled across the chamber to a metal console on the far side, his slender fingers tapping at seemingly invisible controls. “Your disappearance will be accounted for by replacing you with a perfect genetic clone, preventing all suspicion and avoiding social disruption.”
“Why… Why are you doing this?” I said.
The gray alien continued to monitor the display on its arm. “Answer previously provided. To achieve human salvation.”
“You’re going to kill me to save humanity?”
“Affirmative.”
The room seemed to spin as I felt my chest tighten. My vision blurred. My ears rang, and my legs began to buckle as I lost all sense of balance. “No,” I said. “This isn’t happening…” I stumbled against the side of a vat, and I looked up to see a woman’s half-dissolved face staring blankly at me. My stomach turned. I shot out an arm to steady myself as I threw up onto the deck.
Rough scales gripped my hand. I turned to see the gray alien holding my wrist, its expression impassive. I struggled. Fought against him. Tears stung my eyes but he was far stronger than I was, and twice my size. He forced my hand into his own, and I felt a frigid sensation spread across my palm. It traveled up my arm. Throughout my entire nervous system.
“What did you…” I mumbled, feeling a pleasant sensation of calm spreading through me.
“You have been provided a minor sedative," the alien explained. "This is unideal. It contains chemical compounds liable to interfere with the cloning process, but your stress response cannot be allowed to persist. Such an imbalance in hormones could lead to a compromised genetic harvest.”
I stared up at the gray alien, and my pulse-pounding fear began to fade away. My heart rate slowed. My ears no longer rang. I looked around the spartan spacecraft, gazed at the floating human corpses and wondered why I’d been so upset to begin with. This wasn’t so bad, was it?
“Cortisol levels reduced,” the gray alien said, once more referring to the readout on his arm. “Adrenal response suppressed. Biometric readings indicate the subject has achieved a suitable state of suggestibility to proceed.”
“Affirmative,” said the teal alien working the console.
I felt like I was drifting through the lake on a warm summer day, like I had a basket of apple pie and not a care in the world. My heart felt full. Happy. I wondered if this was what it’d feel like if my big sister weren’t in the hospital… if Hope weren’t dying.
“Pulse is quickening,” the gray alien said, tapping the monitor on its arm with a frown. “Sedation effect dropping. 98%. 94%. Unacceptable trajectory.”
“Hope,” I sputtered, remembering where I’d been going when they beamed me up. “I can’t die here. I have to get to the hospital and see my sister. She’s sick. She needs me!”
A scaled hand touched my head, and another pulse of cold relaxation washed over me. “Invalid concern,” the alien said. “Clone will be a perfect recreation of you, body and mind. It will retain all memories save for this encounter, allowing it to continue your life uninterrupted. Conclusion: your expiring sibling will receive suitable emotional support prior to decomposition.”
I stared at the gray alien. His rationale felt hollow… but he was right, wasn't he? Would Hope know the difference between me and a clone? "I have a question," I said, in a dreamlike voice. "You said my DNA would help save humanity. How? What are you trying to save us from?"
The teal alien turned from the console to face us, its giant eyes narrowed in such a way that I could tell it wasn’t pleased. “Invalid request. Information too critical to risk dissemination.”
“Rebuttal,” said the gray alien. “Subject is to be cellularly deconstructed. Clone’s memory can be modified. Current biometric readings indicate high levels of emotional discontent, placing likelihood of compromising genetic harvest at 34%. Solution: permit the subject to understand the purpose of its sacrifice, potentially inducing calmness and emotional closure.”
The teal alien turned back to the console. “Rebuttal accepted. Proceed.”
The gray alien looked at me, placed its scaled fingers against my head. “Brace for disorientation, human. You will experience a short period of physical unease and briefly enter a state of hyperstimulation. Then, you will know the truth.”
_______________________________
For a long time, that was as far as the nightmare ever got. The gray alien would tell me that I was about to see the truth of it all, the secret history that justified their widespread abductions and killings, but then I’d wake up.
Every time.
But last night, I saw the dream through. Last night, I woke up in a cold sweat to my phone buzzing on my bedside table. My boss was on the other line. He explained that the air force just took down an unidentified aerial phenomena, which is a more sophisticated way of saying UFO. He said it happened in New Mexico.
The coordinates matched the forest of my youth, the place where my life took a hard-left turn into PTSD. I asked him if he was sure. He told me this wasn’t a fucking Chinese spy balloon, and since I was their closest asset, I needed to be there yesterday.
The line went dead. A few minutes later, a black helicopter descended onto my front lawn to bring me to the crash site. I boarded it in a daze. We took off in the direction of the UAP, and as I watched the sparse lights of the countryside drift by, all I could think about was the dream.
I’d finally remembered the ending. I finally knew the truth of it all– and it was more terrifying than I ever imagined.
___________________________________
The moment the alien touched my head, static shocks rippled through my body. They made me froth at the mouth. Choke. Seize up, and for a little while I thought I might be dying– but then I lost all sense of awareness. I was falling. Out of my body, and out of my mind.
Images flashed before me in quicktime, like a runaway film reel. They were everywhere. Up, down– inside of me. It was as if I were inhabiting moments themselves, so deep inside of them that sight, sound and smell all collapsed in on me like a dying star. I wanted out. I wanted to make it stop, to give my mind a break before it split at the seams and my consciousness spilled out of my skull like a burst watermelon.
But I couldn’t. No, I was strapped in for this ride with no way out.
Slowly, subtly, the images began to change. I began to acclimate. The visual hurricane calmed from a category 5 to a 3, then a 1. No longer was it as though I were experiencing every moment in history simultaneously. Now I was more picky. Certain moments floated to the surface, while others sank to the bottom. Like a sponge, my mind began to absorb everything from quantum physics to the collected discography of Katy Perry, and it was exhilarating.
Knowledge became trivial. If I wanted to learn something it required no more effort than reaching into the pantry of the cosmos, and taking a bite. As I buzzed with this newfound understanding, certain moments began to shimmer more clearly, drawing me toward them. I drifted, curious. Innately, I understood these moments– these fragments of history, were memories passed down by the Vytar. The species of alien I’d been abducted by.
This was what I’d come here for. The truth.
I dove in.
Data assailed me from every direction. Like a crash course in universal history, I quickly learned that the Vytar predated humanity by billions of years. In fact, they’d evolved shortly after the birth of the universe itself. Their evolution was a slow one. Glacial. Compared to human beings, their technological benchmarks were laughable, but they were a persistent bunch.
It took them five hundred million years to discover fire. A billion to discover flight. At two billion years they’d colonized a new planet, and by three had spread across their solar system, terra-forming worlds. At four, their galaxy. Finally, at the edge of their fifth billion year of existence, the Vytar had mastered faster-than-light travel and charted the furthest reaches of the universe.
They had conquered space itself, and in doing so discovered a devastating truth: they were unique. No other life possessed the capacity for intelligence, for sentience in the way that they did.
They were alone.
Worse still, on this final voyage to chart the universe, the Vytar found life on a dead planet. It was not intelligent. Compared to the Vytar, it was insignificant– unable to even formulate thoughts, let alone wage war. But it would crumble their empire. A civilization capable of annihilating whole star systems would find itself undone by a lifeform no larger than a nanometer.
The virus infected the expeditionary crew without their knowledge. Indeed, even after the virus was discovered it was not deemed necessary to quarantine the carriers, and in fact, Vytar would line up in droves to be infected. You see, the virus did something peculiar. It gave the Vytar the one thing that technology had thus far been unable to– biological immortality.
Those who hosted the virus, could not die of age, or even disease. It was celebrated. Lauded.
In the process of conquering the known universe, they had also conquered the greatest foe they ever knew, death itself. But the virus had consequences. The consequences were apparent early on for those who were paying attention, but the upside of infection seemed too great for many to care. And so it was given a free pass. Soon, every Vytar colony was rife with the virus.
It wasn’t until birth rates began to decline that the Vytar recognized they had a problem on their hands. A long-lived species, the Vytar would conduct their birthing ritual at the end of their thousand-year lifespans. They would hatch two to three eggs, and then impart the knowledge of their people onto their young through a process known as Collective Recall. A short time later, the Vytar would expire.
Biological immortality seemed to interrupt this process. Infected Vytar were unable to lay eggs, and as it was estimated over 99% of all Vytar were infected, their population stagnated. Shortly after every Vytar alive possessed the virus. As a species they could no longer procreate– those that remained were all that would ever remain. Their extinction was an inevitability.
Civil unrest erupted across colonies everywhere. A generally peaceful species that evolved beyond inter-colony conflict, the existential horror of knowing they were all that was left drove many to emotional extremes. For the first time in millions of years, war broke out. Galaxies became battlegrounds. Stars were provoked into accelerated collapse, their supernovae burning whole solar systems to ashes.
Quickly, the Vytar population dwindled from quintillions to billions. They shrank from a species who had colonized much of the universe, to one relegated to a single galaxy at the brink of space. It devastated them. In desperation, many turned toward spiritualism for answers that their technology couldn’t provide. Cults began to form. Each claimed its own brand of salvation, but none could compete against the cult of The Chosen.
Their beliefs spread like wildfire. They preached that the Vytar stood alone as the sole sentient lifeforms because they had always been destined to inherit the universe. It was by design. They had been chosen by an omnipotent deity known as The Distant One, a divine being who existed beyond the reaches of ever-expanding universe. They called his domain, The Edge.
According to their scripture, the Vytar had succeeded thus far. They had entered the final phase of The Distant One’s plans, and the virus was proof of that. They had been granted eternal life to prepare them for the unending nirvana that awaited them within The Edge, and their inability to reproduce was a test. If the Vytar species could stop itself from destroying one another, if it could merely hold on until the heat death of the universe, they would be exalted. Should they fail, they would have nothing.
The Chosen’s beliefs became the dominant religion among the remaining Vytar colonies. They ceased warring with one another, trusting that their only path to salvation was through peace. A unified theocratic government was formed, one that instituted strict protocols in an effort to keep its population in line, and prevent further population decline. Those who did not believe, were forced into exile.
One such exile was a scientist called Xox. A brilliant member of the species, he cared little for religious dogma and instead sought to find a path forward using the Vytar’s greatest strength, their technology. Incapable of treating the Vytar’s inability to reproduce, he decided to merely create new life. Sentient. Intelligent. It would inherit the universe in the wake of the Vytar’s eventual demise, and act as the new stewards of creation.
For his experiment, he selected Earth. The planet required no terraforming, possessed a healthy star, and was distant enough from the remaining Vytar colony that he was unlikely to be discovered. It would give time for his lifeforms to incubate. Evolve.
His first attempts were made in his image. These would later be known as dinosaurs– a vast array of reptiles that hosted Vytar DNA. Their evolution was, like the Vytar before them, slow and inefficient, often selecting for poor genes to generate intelligence. Xox became obsessed with accelerating this process. How could he spur evolution forward? Make it faster? More streamlined?
Before he could implement his findings, however, a drifting Vytar drone detected his activity, alerting the homeworld. The Chosen contacted him, demanding an explanation. To create life was to commit the ultimate blasphemy, for that was the exclusive domain of The Distant One. They informed him that an ordinance had been deployed to wipe out his heresy, and that he would be arrested for his crimes.
But Xox fled.
He watched from afar as his greatest work, and perhaps the last hope for a conscious universe, was annihilated by the Vytar strike. Millions of years of work vaporized in the blink of an eye. The Chosen hunted for him tirelessly. Xox moved from world to world, doing his best to stay one step ahead of them until eventually, after a long stretch of time, they gave up the chase. Filled with sorrow, he decided to return to Earth and see what had become of his creation.
What he discovered astonished him.
The planet was flourishing with life, but it wasn’t the life he expected to see. No, his dinosaurs had been thoroughly annihilated, but something new had risen to take their place. Homosapiens. He reasoned that they must have evolved from the mammalian creatures he’d originally created as food for the dinosaurs, but now… they had become so much more.
Xox studied humanity extensively. He learned that they possessed far faster evolutionary cycles than Vytar, and that in the short span of several epochs had developed fragments of language, tribal formations, and tools. Despite it all, a thought haunted him. How long until The Chosen discovered humanity’s existence? How long until they returned to Earth to confirm its destruction had been absolute?
He did not know. That meant he would need to accelerate the process even further– to push human beings toward technologic parity with the Vytar, ensuring their ability to survive. He couldn’t count on always being there for them. The Chosen had nearly captured him once already. No, he would have to approach this problem from a different angle, one that provided humanity the tools necessary to secure its own future.
So it was that Project Runaway was born.
He called it thus because it was meant to be a lifeform experiencing a runaway evolutionary process, one that would allow it to develop in days what took its fellows years. It would be a human male. This would allow it to mate with the existing population and spread its genes, thereby increasing the evolutionary speed of his progeny. Soon, humanity would evolve the tools to stand against the Vytar. To inherit the cosmos.
To create him, Xox abducted thousands of ancient humans. He harvested their DNA, extracting the most useful aspects while discarding the rest, until he had enough to bring The Runaway to life. It emerged from the vat as a twenty-year old male. Xox gave it cursory knowledge of survival, and deployed it to the planet to begin its genetic proliferation.
The Runaway exceeded Xox’s expectations. His evolutionary process didn’t just seem to be accelerated compared to average humans, but it seemed to be accelerating. By the end of his first month, his musculature had evolved to the point that he could grapple large apes. By his second, he could subsist on little more than a handful of berries each week, with no impact to physical or mental performance.
Soon, he could see in total darkness. Then, even the act of breathing became optional. By his first birthday, The Runaway had ceased to age, becoming biologically immortal. Years passed. Decades. The Runaway grew capabilities that Xox could scarcely fathom, possessing the ability to discern the individual atoms making up the world around him. Shortly after, he’d discovered a means to manipulate them. Physics became his plaything. He flew with the birds as easily as he walked, swam fast enough to create boiling waves in his wake.
The Runaway, more and more, was evolving from a man to a god.
But Xox was not concerned. From his distant observations, he found The Runaway to be kind, possessing a high degree of empathy and a gentle nature. To his fellow humans, he appeared perplexing. Some worshiped him, others feared him. An assassin once drove a stone dagger into his heart amidst a crowd of onlookers, and The Runaway embraced his attacker. He ordered his fervent followers to allow the assassin safe passage. “His mind is unwell. He requires love, not hatred, to heal this wound.”
The Runaway, it seemed to Xox, was both a success and a failure. He had little interest in other human beings, likely viewing them as something bordering on a separate species, something akin to undeveloped animals. But he still saw fit to guide them. He helped them grow, advance, and find a sense of common ground that would lead to yet faster development.
To Xox, this was enough.
But as years wore on, and The Runaway became ever more powerful, he retreated further and further from his fellow human beings. He spent long hours in isolation where none could reach them. His hearing had become so advanced, that the only place he could find freedom from the savagery of the world were places where his senses were utterly assaulted. So he would meditate at the bottom of the sea. He would ponder atop the highest, most wind-swept peaks.
It was during this time that The Runaway looked skyward. He began to wonder about what lay beyond this world, and if there were a place he could feel truly at home. More and more, he began to look toward the stars. It was there that he spotted Xox’s spacecraft orbiting Saturn’s outer rings.
So he visited him.
Xox suspected this would happen sooner or later. He calibrated his communicator to greet The Runaway in his archaic human tongue, but was shocked to hear The Runaway respond in the low bass of Vytarian. He told Xox that he had long felt a presence watching him. Xox decided that it would be best to be honest with his creation, informing him of everything– the slow extinction of the Vytarian people, and how humanity was made to inherit the universe in their wake.
The Runaway was quiet for some time. Eventually, he looked at Xox, and a deep sadness spread across his features. “Do you truly fear me so much?”
“Ah,” Xox replied, once again expecting such an outcome. “Your advanced mental processes enable you to parse the thoughts of nearby lifeforms. You are reading my mind. I should clarify that the thoughts you are seeing… those of fear, and anger, are not my own, but merely a part of the collective knowledge passed down by my people. These are their opinions. Their beliefs.”
“They think of me as a monster…?” The Runaway said, eyes downcast.
“They do not think of you at all. I have cut myself off from the Collective Recall for some time, and what you are seeing are merely relics of their religious dogma. They see all created life as a blasphemy. But you… your ability, your potential… yes, I imagine it would be perceived as heresy.”
“And you?” The Runaway asked, brows furrowed as he worked to read the alien’s vast catalog of thoughts.
Xox placed a scaled hand upon the man’s shoulder. “I am a barren lifeform, ravaged by a virus that prevents me from experiencing reproduction. It impedes my biological imperative. It has thrown me, and my people into a vast depression. You ask me what you are to me? You are my legacy.” He blinks warmly. “You are my son.”
__________________________________________
I take a breath, it’s brief. Gasping. The gray Vytar is standing before me, his many pupils pulsing, and I’m suddenly aware that his name is Wor. He’s 70 million years old. Holy. His friend at the console is named Gret, and they’re both members of the Church of the Chosen.
“Did you see?” Wor asks, and he’s no longer using his digital translator. After the thought transference I can understand the Vytarian language, make sense of the various vibrations that previously just seemed like low bass.
“Yes,” I say, leaning forward. “But not everything.” I look up at Wor, and there’s an accusation in my eyes. “There’s more to this story, isn’t there?”
Gret twists his neck at us. His pupils dilate in quick succession, and I recognize it as the Vytarian equivalent to a dog baring its teeth. He’s angry. “You have seen enough, human. You are advised to prepare yourself for genetic deconstruction.”
“Wait!” I shout, and I’m surprised to find my voice rumbling throughout the ship. It’s thunderous. The Vytarian language is a strange one, but powerful, capable of being transmitted across vast distances without proper auditory control. “No,” I say again, this time quieter. “If you want me to do this, then I will… but I have to know it’s worth it. So show me. Prove it to me.”
The Vytar exchange glances. Wor’s pupils shrink– he’s nervous. Concerned. “To show you more may invite mental unease,” he says. “It was my hope that a brief glance at the history, the origin of everything could provide necessary closure to commence the harvest of your DNA.”
“Look,” I say. “I’ve seen a lot. I know that whatever genetic material you’re grabbing off of us is a lot more useful if we’re agreeable. It’s like shooting a scared animal. The meat is tough. It’s a chemical thing– I get that, and I’m telling you that if you show me the rest, I’ll let you do what you need. I’ll play my part.”
“Invalid request,” Gret says. “Sapien requests knowledge beyond its capacity to process.”
I shoot Gret a glare. “It’s him, isn’t it? The Runaway. It’s obvious he’s the source of your fear and this mission to save humanity. I might not have all the details, but just looking at your reactions– it’s gotta be. More than that, I can guess you haven’t had much luck dealing with him.”
Wor and Gret frown at one another. They don’t speak a word, but their expressions say everything I need to know.
“Look at it this way,” I say, getting to my feet. “I’m a human being. On some level, I’m like The Runaway, just less… well, terrifying I guess. But maybe there’s something in these memories, something in his actions or his behaviors that you’re fundamentally misunderstanding. What if I can make sense of that? Isn’t taking that chance worth it?”
The Vytar are quiet. They stare at one another for a long while, and their pupils are exploding and imploding in waves of emotion. Then, Gret turns way. He lets loose a bellow and throws up his arms, cursing Wor and me both.
“What’s his problem?” I mutter.
Wor steps forward hesitantly. He looks back to his companion, but Gret is facing away, hunched over the console in apparent disagreement. “Gret does not wish to harm your mind,” Wor says quietly. “Your story of your sister… this expiring human you call Hope, well, it has moved him. He fears that if I show you the rest of The Runaway’s story it will cause your mind to fracture, shattering your consciousness in such a way that it may not be repaired. There will be no perfect clone. Your sister will find no solace in her dying moments.”
I blink, looking at Gret and feeling awful for judging him so harshly. “But this feels important…” I say, my heart heavy. “This is the fate of humanity, right? The fate of everything.”
Wor nods. “Correct.”
“Then I have to see more,” I say, clenching my fists. “If there’s a chance I can help… Hope would want me to. Besides, I can't imagine it’s bad enough to destroy my damn brain. That’s crazy.”
“Correct again,” Wor says, placing his hands on my temples. “It is much worse than anything you can imagine.”