Whatifalthist is going to make a video about Jewish civilization, I'm begging you to beg him as I'm technically a member of the Muslim community (I gave my shahada) to cover the Jewish enlightenment and specifically how Halakha's reform can be transferred to sharia or at least its method of being politically dissolved. Halakhic law and Sharia law both mean variations on "the path" but in Islam they are not seen as a moral code that you cannot force on anyone else to commit to, even as another Muslim. If there has ever been a historical opportunity of such great moment for reddit history activists it is now!
there is no way that this can be done at the necessary speed without help, even in Europe they first looked to their glorious past in a renaissance for centuries and only in the late 1600's did the Enlightenment start. Forgive me if this offends soldiers, but I must be honest here. Many Afghan American allies were slaughtered when we left women and children under gender oppression in Afghanistan in spirit depend on your help today, those mothers and wives and children are as much gold star families as anyone else. We need our enlightenment now, not one day, not tomorrow, NOW.
One day there will be another civilization of two cities, but instead of Athens tempered by Jerusalem, it will be Babylon tempered by Mecca. Make sure they know your quality, before you meet them.
I am in love with Middle Eastern civilization, but obviously I was born and raised in America (I'm a Guatemalan American convert/revert) so my loyalties are Western and American, but with all my heart, I mean this country no harm, and I do not offer up blasphemy laws or other restrictive laws that form a "creeping shariah".
Dennis Prager has opened my eyes. His book: "Still the Best Hope" offers a political trinity (not a theological one) of American Values, namely, In God We Trust, Liberty, E-PLURIBUS UNUM. These enumerated values are the best yet produced by man. Any country that takes them on has done much better, even as they've grown smaller in the global imperial sense of the term.
There will be no peace and prosperity in the Middle East or anywhere Islamic civilization has a border if the Islamic Enlightenment Never Happens.

Hi everybody, welcome to my sale thread! I've lowered the prices on some anime, most manga sets and light novels. Prices have been lowered on most things over the past week or so. I've tried to answer most potential questions below, but feel free to ask me any questions that aren't addressed.
Please comment on the thread before sending me a PM or Chat message, and make sure your shipping address is updated on your PayPal account before sending payment.
No holds for longer than 1-2 days and throw out the first offer if you want to negotiate, though some prices are firm.
I will not split any sets, except for Tramps Like Us. How I'm willing to split them are outlined in the lists below.
Shipping:
Canada and the USA: Free shipping on all orders $100 CAD (around $75.50 USD) or over. Otherwise, shipping with tracking starts at $11.50 CAD (around $8.75 USD) and goes up based on weight + package dimensions unless stated otherwise.
Europe/International: Starts at $16 CAD for single books and goes up based on weight + package dimensions. Please ask for a shipping quote.
Prices are in Canadian dollars, with the listed USD price provided as a reference as FX rates fluctuate slightly every day. (PayPal will automatically convert your USD/local currency to CAD when you pay.) Local pickup and payment can be arranged if you live in the Greater Toronto Area.
Timestamp
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Anime:
Pics
Darker Than Black: Gemini of the Meteor Limited Edition (BD+DVD) - $126 CAD / $95 USD
Ghost Hound Complete Collection (DVD) - $112.75 CAD / $85 USD
Occult Academy Premium Edition (BD) - $212 CAD / $160 USD
Ranma 1/2 Set 3 Special Edition (BD) - $463.75 CAD / $350 USD
Sekirei Pure Engagement Limited Edition (BD/DVD, Sealed) - $251.75 CAD / $190 USD
The Asterisk War Vol. 4 (Standard Edition, Sealed) - $73 CAD / $55 USD
The Story of Saiunkoku Season 1 Complete Collection (DVD) - $238.50 CAD / $180 USD
Zoku Owarimonogatari: Koyomi Reverse (BD) - $331.25 CAD / $250 USD
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Light Novels:
Pics
Durarara!! Vol. 1-13 (Complete First Series) - $596.25 CAD / $450 USD
Strike the Blood Vol. 3-4 - $131.25 CAD / $99 USD
The Asterisk War Vol. 5 - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
The Asterisk War Vol. 8 - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Vampire Hunter D Vol. 12-13 (Vol. 12's spine has creasing) - $46.50 CAD / $35 USD including shipping to Canada/USA
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Manga - Single Volumes:
Pics
A New Season of Young Leaves (BL) - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Aoharu x Machinegun Vol. 1 - $20 CAD / $15 USD
Arpeggio of Blue Steel Vol. 10 - $100 CAD / $75.50 USD
Casino Lily (BL, Sealed) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
Does the Flower Blossom? Vol. 1 (BL) - $66.25 CAD / $50 USD
Gantz G Vol. 3 - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
He's My Only Vampire Vol. 4 - $26.50 CAD / $20 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1 (BL, Sealed) - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Honey Colored Pancakes (BL) - $59.75 CAD / $45 USD
Innocent Bird Vol. 3 (BL) - $73 CAD / $55 USD
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Vol. 6 (Paperback) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders Vol. 11 (Paperback, first printing with no Stardust Crusaders subtitle on the cover) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 23 (a few pages have some tiny stains, please see photos - $26.50 CAD / $20 USD
Lupin III (Lupin the 3rd) Vol. 12 (G3, See pics for condition) - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
MPD-Psycho Vol. 11 (Sealed) - $212 CAD / $160 USD
Natsume's Book of Friends Vol. 10 - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project Vol. 18 - $100 CAD / $75.50 USD
Please Save My Earth Vol. 1 - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Homura's Revenge! Vol. 1 (minor stain on the top of the front cover) - $39.75 CAD / $30 USD
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion Vol. 1 - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
S.A. (Special A) Vol. 12 - $34.25 CAD / $26.25 USD
Samejima-kun and Sasahara-kun (BL) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
Servamp Vol. 3 - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
The Kindaichi Case Files Vol. 14: The Gentleman Thief - $172.25 CAD / $130 USD
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Vol. 8 (tear present on the top right) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
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Manga - Sets:
Sets will not be split up unless stated otherwise!
Pics
Black Cat Vol. 1-18 & 20 - $278.25 CAD / $210 USD
Black God Vol. 1-19 (Complete Series) - $450.50 CAD / $340 USD
Blood Blockade Battlefront Vol. 5-7 - $391 CAD / $295 USD
Breath Vol. 1-5 (BL, Complete Series) - $318 CAD / $240 USD
Btooom! Vol. 1-12 & 14-26 Light and Dark (Vol. 2-7 and 9-12 have a barcode sticker on the inside of the back cover from the retailer, Vol. 14-19 are sealed) - $656 CAD / $495 USD
Cardcaptor Sakura Omnibus Vol. 1-4 (Complete Series, Dark Horse release) - $258.50 CAD / $195 USD
Eyeshield 21 Vol. 1-3 - $66.25 CAD / $50 USD
Future Diary Vol. 1-4 & 6-7 (Vol. 6-7 have signs of wear, see photos) - $232 CAD / $175 USD
Hey Class President! Vol. 1-2 (BL) - $100 CAD / $75.50 USD
Highschool of the Dead Vol. 1-3 - $46.50 CAD / $35 USD
Kanokon Vol. 1-9 (Complete Series) - $159 CAD / $120 USD
Lord Marksman and Vanadis Vol. 1-2 (G3-4 condition, yellowed pages) - $33.25 CAD / $25 USD
Love Com (Lovely Complex) Vol. 1-6 (overall G3 condition) - $126 CAD / $95 USD
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Vol. 4-5 - $66.25 CAD / $50 USD
Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Vol. 1-2 - $66.25 CAD / $50 USD
Rabbit Man, Tiger Man Vol. 1-2 (BL) - $117.75 CAD / $90 USD
Ranma 1/2 2-in-1 Vol. 1-38 (Complete Series) - $848 CAD / $640 USD
So I Can't Play H Vol. 1-4 - $59.75 CAD / $45 USD
Tonight's Take-Out Night + This Night's Everything (BL) - $53 CAD / $40 USD
Tramps Like Us Vol. 9-10 (G3 condition) - $26.50 CAD / $20 USD
Tramps Like Us Vol. 9-10 & 13-14 (G3 condition) - $139.25 CAD / $105 USD
Ubel Blatt Vol. 0-11 (Complete Series, all but Vol. 1 is Sealed) - $788.50 CAD / $595 USD
X 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 1-6 - $258.50 CAD / $195 USD

Are you tired of promises of big guild energy with small results? Looking for something casual with benefits? Not quite rated PG-13? [DOoH] is a social, 18+ guild recruiting heroes of all skill levels!
Our Guild: [DOoH] focuses on being a small and close knit PvE guild that still offers anything a large guild can. It's not the size that matters, it's how you use it!
Over 3 years of consistent events: trains, memes, Map Comp & Movie Nights, cat pics, Guild Missions and Giveaways. Strikes and Raids are also available with our allies in [WIND].
Rough Schedule: M: Strikes with [WIND] T: Train Rotation (Infusion, WB, Etc.) F: Train Rotation (Infusion, WB, Etc.) S: Raid training with [WIND] Su: Guild Missions
Events start times are generally between 7-9PM EST. All [WIND] events are available to all members of [DOoH].
Disclaimer: We kick anyone with the unvested role quarterly. You can earn your vestments in a number of ways:

• Come to at least 3 events within 3 months, OR
• Hang out and chat in game, OR
• Donate to guild giveaways.

Rule Synopsis: We do not tolerate racist, sexist or homophobic behavior.
We love all animals but this is a cat guild.
To Join: If we sound like a good fit for you join our discord and add your name to ⁠guild-invite-requests after accepting the rules. Please allow at some time to get a request sent. https://discord.gg/FBhTRq4jDs

Beginnings, I’m terrible at them. But you know what? What’s the beginning of a person? Parents. Hoarah Loux, founder and leader of the Crucible Knights. A true champion of the Crucible. Warrior King of the Golden Lineage. Husband of Marika, a less-than-true God risen from the Crucible. Marika, possessor of the Elden Ring, founder of the previous order, the Golden Order (current order is Golden Order Fundamentalism, not that this but is at all relevant to the point and thus can be entirely ignored, it’s the next paragraph that actually begins the stuff.. I guess). A trickster god, veil wielder, bestower of blessings.
Three children are known to have been born from the joining of these two great beings. One, Godwyn, lay half dead beneath the Lands Between. Another, Mohg, guards a giant, withered, living but lifeless body beneath the Lands Between. Third, Morgot, bears the frightful visage of the omen as he raises phantom and barrier to hide the greatest secret of the Lands Between.
It is this third child, Morgott, twin of Mohg, who hides the greatest secret of the Lands Between. Once, Morgott was to be called the Veiled Monarch but this, it seems, was a little too obvious. Grace-Given then. He was said to be born an omen along with his twin, Mohg. He pulled from himself his cursed omen blood and made it into a sword. His devotion to the Erdtree was supposedly never rewarded and yet he stands as King of Leyndell, de factor head of the Golden Order, and was seemingly given grace.
He creates a phantom of himself to guard the decrepit Godrick under the name Margit, deploys the Nights Cavalry, controls and corrupts a commoner to spook us away from the Capitol, raises a phantom of Godfrey, raises a phantom of Mohg, raises a barrier to prevent passage to Deeproot Depths, raises a barrier to prevent passage to the Mountaintops of the Giants.
Then we kick Morgott’s actual butt and his life’s work comes to an end. The truth is freed from obscurity. The first truth, Morgott is not an omen. His body shows no sign of horns, it is just withered and decayed, aged beyond the limits of natural life. How could this be? The omen image was either an illusion or the curse just ended when he died. I’ll cancel out the second one first, we don’t see this with other omen and while he could be a special case, I don’t think this is what happened.
So, his omen appearance was an illusion. But when was the illusion made? Perhaps, when Morgott’s purged his omen blood he was freed from the curse, this could also be when he was made Grace-Given. Then, to show a lack of resentment, he donned a mimic-veil or other similar Marika related magic to honor his cursed origin. But no traces of horns or tail… so maybe curse cures completely undo everything? Or maybe the horns and tail were never grown, because he was not an omen. He was veiled at birth or in early youth.
For the sake of clarity, I suggest one possible series of answers.
Who would do this and who knew/knows?
Obviously, Marika and Godfrey were both behind the deception, that’s how Godfrey recognizes that corpse as Morgott and another thing that makes Marika mischievous. Morgott also knows and is a willing participant in the deception. Mohg, Radagon. Potentially Godwyn, Ranni, Miquella. More depending on conspiracy connections.
Is Mohg also not an omen?
I do not know if this deception has implications for Mohg, I suspect so.
Why would Morgott be chained in the sewer even though he wasn’t really an omen?
Maybe, he wasn’t.
Ok, Morgott is not an omen. So what?
Morgott was given a truly important duty, he was to prevent the powers that be from finding out what Marika was truly doing, specifically, what was being done underground and with the roots of the Greattree/Erdtree.
The culture through which Marika and Godfrey acquired power was a crucible celebrating culture, omen were blessed to them or so we are led to believe. They were never saints, they just happened to be on the losing side of a war. Marika foresaw the destruction of her people and instead of direct opposition, she infiltrated her enemy.
We know she seems dedicated to whatever she is ultimately after, no act is off the table and no truth is above being lied about. Omen would be demonized under the Golden Order, those who would serve as guards to the big secret would guard Marika’s access route to her allies, the sewers beneath Leyndell. Sadly, not every citizen serves the clandestine plan with full knowledge of how they serve.
The Omen Twins were unknown for most of history, it seems, as far as their lineage. Morgott, in passage between surface and subsurface, would don the guise of an omen. He was always concealed from the public when in Leyndell, even his name and royal status. Sort of works into how he knew how to make those Sentry Torches and why he was almost called the Veiled Monarch.
I have no current explanation for the shackles. Real tokens bound to a false narrative people developed based on bits of the truth coming to light through the ages.
Anyways, so what is going on underground? Something is being done with the Greattree/Erdtree roots. I posit that the Greattree is like a quacking aspen, one tree with a massive root network from which multiple stalks grow and appear to be a forest but is really just one tree. The Erdtree is one stalk of the Greattree. The other stalks were destroyed one way or another. Minor Erdtrees grow from the same roots structure.
Erdtree Seeds, as we find them, sprout phantom trees. They launched from the Erdtree when Marika shattered the Elden Ring. We use them to enhance our grace juice in magic jars. The seeds were thought not to exist because they don’t, well, they are not seeds. They are grace broken off of the Elden Ring and packaged for our collection and use.
So what’s going on with the roots? Compare the surface and subsurface maps and you see the root structures that seem to fit the Erdtree and Minor Erdtrees are a little off. This misalignment is intended. Recall, the Erdtree is no longer connected to the roots of the Greattree. I suggest this was in response to the half-dead Godwyn being buried in the Erdtree/Greattree roots and infecting them with deathblight. To slow the spread of deathblight, the tree(s) was(were) cut from the roots. Perhaps a literal shifting of the land or a cut and replant type situation. This could partially play into the tilt of the Erdtree.
What leads me to this thought? The roots holding the Death-Prince are too small to be the Erdtree’s main root stalk but not that of a Minor Erdtree. And wouldn’t you know it, that half-dead Minor Erdtree with the deathblight wielding omen and his bodies is just about right over the Death-Prince root.
So when Godwyn’s soul was slain and his living body was placed in the roots, this Minor Erdtree was already growing from them. More, his living body was grafted into the roots. So now, is Morgott’s Margit the Fell phantom just guarding that pathetic Godrick? No. He’s observing and/or guarding grafting and it’s connection to the Greattree Roots and Godwyn. Measuring the reach of the deathblight maybe. I’m not entirely certain on the details, just the basic point, it’s his job.
Maybe something to do with runes and eyes and why the relic beneath Stormveil has no eyes. Runes are soul magic, deathblight is dead soul magic, remove the eyes, remove the soul/dead soul.
Back to the Death-Prince and why was he grafted to the roots? To honor him? To kill the whole system of rune harvesting for the Elden Beast? To preserve and/or revive Godwyn? Something like Miquella and the Haligtree?
(Something related but not specifically part of this: The Mending Rune of the Death-Prince is literally the Death-Prince and Fia’s souls ((in part)) bound into a Great Rune. One way to make Great Runes is the entire point of Deathbed Companions. Great Runes can literally be entities… like the Elden Beast… the Deathbed Companions are not necessarily the only way to make Great Runes, the Forge of the Giants and some kind of great sacrifice like the burning of massive grace filled tree stalks and ice dragons could be another way…)
Speaking of Miquella, the prevalent belief is that Miquella and Godwyn were great buds or whatever, right? Mohg is depicted carrying Miquella and a giant cocoon in the opening. Clearly, that cocoon is too big for that little body. We also see a possible double womb in the Haligtree. Perhaps, Mohg took Miquella and a second, unready, body. This second, much larger body, was certainly important to Miquella but maybe not for his own occupation.
So who’s the big, withered, husk in the cocoon? Well, it’s an upscaled Morgott model. Maybe, just maybe, that is actually Godwyn. Mohg, in service to Miquella and/or the Formless Mother and/or Marika, is guarding his half dead brother. Keeping the body alive and hidden in these final stages of whatever is going on.
Speaking of the Formless Mother, Marika seems a holy shell. Perhaps this exterior is a puppet or doll. Marika is free of flesh and form, at least, we have not seen her true self. All sorts of things will come out if I don’t stop.
So why block the way to the Mountaintops of the Giants? Well, it’s the way to the Forge, also the way to a Divine Tower, and Miquella’s Haligtree.
I haven’t completely figured it all out but it is another small part of my overall grand theory.

Blachowicz here.
Kept yah’ waiting, huh? Heh, sorry about that one, but I can explain. As we all know… we lost a few good men the last few months.
That’s the brutal part of a hybrid war like ours: We’re fighting a foe unconventional, with half our arsenal tied down because those who grant us authorization are either in disbelief of the true facts, or scared… or already assimilated. That being said our momentum recently was a change not seen in years, and because of that… despite the losses we have garnered, we were close through a breakthrough. One last night Krol pulls myself and other two must trusted squad leads into the back of our COP. There is one of our equipment cages, surrounded by m-bitter radios, tripods, and several hundred thousand dollars of equipment he brought us around a simple worn table. Before us he laid a map of eastern poland… red markings indicating cells that seemed to dot the countryside like a pestilence, or used to… as deep gashes of advance from raids had trisected their lines, even if ones did pop up in the interior.
It was a back and forth; an outside virus infecting Polska at it’s heart, and we were the antibodies sent to drive them out. To which… Major Krol points to one of the largest symbol on the map: a dark red diamond, the NATO symbol for an enemy unit, deep inside of an untouched wooded area, adjacent to a mountain ridge. Several jagged lines indicated entrenchment, with red horizontal lines indicating possible enemy control… or our contested control, for over 20kms surrounding it. Letting us all look, the Major lit himself a cigarette.
“Sir, you sure it’s wise to smoke in here with the dive tanks just behind us” 1st Squad’s lead quipped. “Fuck off” Krol dryly said.
“Alright… this is it… this is the one we’ve been searching for for years, this is the nucleus my predecessor commander died trying to find” he says, pointing to it. Not far from Zamosc, it was almost touching the border with Belarus, the contested area indicating the Strigoi did operate over it… indicating one of the largest spill through points. “-It’s an old soviet bunker, made during their 1960s initiative it was designed to hold the munitions and manpower of several units in the event of a NATO first strike” Krol explained. “It’s gotta be massive then…” I said gazing at the map; “Didn’t the army demolish all of the old soviet hulks near Belarus to prevent any infiltrations?” 3rd Squad’s lead asked. “National Police took the effort over… and by extension, the Strigoi. It was halfway demo’ed before they burrowed into it and have been using it as a bridgehead ever since. This is it…” Krol said. He looked around at all of us, a sense of certainty I had never seen before as he blew smoke from his nostrils; “We’ve been fucking around in the dark for so long, it’s hard to believe we’ve made any progress, but this is it. With this gone, this will set them back over a decade and the momentum will finally shift into our favor… into Poland’s… -Europe’s”.
I swear there was almost a flash of joy, of pride in his eyes and a phantom of a smirk before reality set back in “That being said… we can’t leave this to chance, especially not something as important as this. We’re going to have to go there ourselves… clear through every inch of that place, and tear it all down, piece by piece. I will be straight with you all… when we go, there will be some of us that aren’t coming back. -but we are going… a whole generation is counting on us, and unborn billions rely on us to succeed”. We all nodded, a silent agreement washing over us as we took this upon ourselves. Echo-1 spoke up: “So… They’re authorizing a raid? How big?”. “We’re rolling in as a hard target, armor, explosives, and air support” Krol answered, taking a drag off his cigarette. “Aviation? How the hell did we get that approved, we’ve gotten attempts shot down four times due to those leeches” I said in disbelief. “There’s too much evidence here pointing to the human trafficking tied to their actions… We’ve finally got too much weight pinning them down, to keep the hammer from slamming into their necks” Krol chuckled. He looked around “Any questions?”. “When?” Echo-3 asked. “Three hours. We’re hitting them in the dead of night, only time we could get the birds authorized. Get your boys ready. We’re rolling out” Krol said, dying the cigarette bud out on the table. I can’t begin to tell you the euphoria we felt leaving that cage, as our men started arriving, they did so a lot quicker, and with their heads a lot higher than they had in weeks. As Second Squad’s lead we were going to be one of the main arms of attack into the bunker, thus I made sure we had a breacher loaded with enough thermite, charges, and tools to cut through anything. Our shield bearer we ready to go, as was our assaulters, grenadiers, and machine gunner. I double checked each and everyone of their weapons; ensuring the feeder paws of our squad’s belt fed were intact, making sure every breach charge we had was properly set and packed. There was going to be no mistakes, no slip ups. The margin of error needed to be the smallest it had ever been for us tonight if we were going to make the gore spilt worth it.
Finally… there on the outside of the building, the bright LED lights kept the darkness of the ensuing night at bay as the roar of our MRAPs could be heard. It was said once that war is 99% peace, and 1% chaos, they were right. The slow periods where the blood slowed and the doubt creeped in was the worst… yet we all kept it at bay. We needed to, there was going to be no backing down tonight. All three squads were up, all of us ready to go… we circled up… short stares and shaky nods telling us one things: We were in this together, till the end… the finish line so many before us had been searching for, we were being granted tonight.
A single set of footsteps could be heard as we turned, Major Krol stepping into the center. He took the last drag of a cigarette, throwing it down to the ground and stamping it out onto the damp concrete. He looked around… his chin strap blowing in the weak air as he met everyone of our gazes… then mine… then looked around. “I want you to remember every detail of tonight, as you have every other night… when you are situationally aware, scanning for the enemy, liberating the subjugated, I want you to remember the sting of anxiety, the shake of adrenaline, the chill of the bunker, the heat of your weapon as it cuts them down… because tonight we are going to write every fine detail of our victory, their defeat, in history…” Krol’s words echoed deep into our souls. He paused for a moment, staring around he looked down… a small pause before he said “When you are ruthless in combat, remember to be patient, and reserved in victory. This conflict is for our existence… a lot of innocents have bled due to the mistakes of those who failed to listen, a lot of our brothers are now laid under because we had to bridge the gap of uncertainty with their lives. We remember them now… but in an hour? We forget them… when we raise our barrels, when we cut into those foes, and we liberate Polska!! This does not end tonight, but history puts everything in it’s place, and patience is the companion of the victor… All of our hard work will be cemented, no matter the obstacles we face in that darkness… no matter the demons, the blood, no matter what incomprehensible horrors, we will make them comprehend that to invade our land, to bleed our people, the justice will be paid in full… Load up. It’s time*”*.
The purpose in our steps was heavy as we climbed the back ramps of the MRAPS; Four of the heavily armored vehicles, one for each squad with an additional for attached personnel including our JTAC, the term means Joint Terminal Attack Controllers. With air support requisitioned to us for this operations, there needs to be a definite liaison on the ground who can directly communicate to the birds, and coordinate their fire and progress. I’d worked with many of them in the past, resourceful guys, quick thinking though I guess that comes with the position they hold of needing to quickly figure out what bombs to drop, on which target, at what precise points, whilst taking contact. He loaded in the lead vehicle with Major Krol… and soon, our convoy kicked off.
The drive was several hours as myself and my squad sat in the back of that forty ton goliath, the rumbling of the engine keeping us awake as the crap heater fought to keep the cold from the outside frost from setting in. I looked around to each of them, some were catching some sleep because even with the circumstances… better to get all the energy you can, than to stay awake for nothing. Others were checking their weapons… My gunner locked eyes with me, the same one from the village extraction… many of these men I had trained with for a while now, fought with for months.
We may have met on unconventional circumstances but those in JW Grom thrive on austere chance and create opportunity from scratch. I was pulled from my thought by the sound of a transmission, my peltors were set up for dual comms so I could both receive information from the Major and other leads, whilst communicating with my team.
Krol himself sent out: [“Approximately 10 minutes from enemy AO…”]. As the rest of the squads acknowledged, I quickly sent out [“Echo-2 Copies”], before kicking the boots of any of them sleeping: “Look alive, we’re here”. Through the exterior net armor of the MRAPS, and the bars protecting the small reinforced windows, we could barely see jack shit. I reached up, turning off the overhead light as we all looked through our nods to scan the outside. A dark wall of dense trees was shown before us, making it difficult to see… in addition to night vision capabilities we had also requisitioned ourselves some thermals… when mounted onto rifles they were bulky, made it a pain to aim down quickly, but considering the supernatural capabilities of spotting our foes we needed every advantage necessary.
I flipped out one of my tubes… scanning the outside with my scope. I looked over to one of my assaulters who had been assigned to man the turret of the MRAP, seated near the view screen as he controlled the 50. Cal. Each of the vehicle turrets had been assigned a direction to cover… we took the 9 o’clock, the left flank. “See anything?” I asked. He shook his head; “Negative… wait… I’ve got two cold signatures, front left heading to our rear”.
I quickly scanned the far tree line, at approximately 60 meters off our left were two cold signatures… followed by a third heading to our front… then another. They were surrounding us, moving at speeds so fast I could barely keep my reticle on them. Is this what the National Police saw? What they faced at that lodge without the benefit of a foot of heavy armor protecting them on all sides. Then… suddenly. Something slammed into the side of our MRAP so hard, it caused it to shake. From over the leader comms, Echo-3 quickly shouted [“Contact right!! 4 hostiles!!”].
One of the Strigoi… so bold, had charged and slammed into the side of our MRAP. I quickly looked to see the figure, a dark blue mass of cold energy through my thermal, back away without so much as a stagger… as they tried to flee into the woods, the white hot justice of Echo-3’s gun fired at them, cutting them down. “Blachowicz I’ve got a few breaking for our vic” my man on the turret called out, I spun around, spotting out the window.
Just then, Major Krol announced [“weapons free, watch and shoot for targets of opportunity…”]. I turned to him… “take those fuckers out-”. Without hesitation my vic’s turret began to quickly target them, and through the darkness I saw a stream of outgoing fire bisect one of them, the ISR of the black blood freaking out the optic so badly it didn’t know what temperature to register it as… but it did register it. As another was cut down, one broke through the tree line and latched onto the side of our MRAP. The thing tore at one of the outer net armor panels, usually made to stop RPGs. It grabbed at the bars near the windows, tearing one off… I lowered my rifle as we locked eyes through the reinforced window.
The thing… the Strigoi looked at me, skin cracked as putrefied muscle fibers seemed to leak through dead flesh. It’s teeth were corroded and worn down to sharp fragments, alongside newly mutated fangs that messily protrude from the jaws. Even through the thick walls of the MRAP I could hear it’s roar, as it then tried to punch it’s way through… it cracked the outer coating of the vehicle… but it wasn’t getting anywhere near. My machine gunner, seated next to me, seemed to chuckle at the sight, quippily saying “Yeah… fuck you too”. It’s then our vehicle lurched upwards, as we began to climb the small incline of the bunker. I knew the layout, mapped it in our head, the main entrance was built into the rocky side of an old cliff meaning we could easily set up a defensive perimeter around it, a horseshoe. Krol’s vehicle was first, taking to the right as Echo-3’s MRAP followed. My vehicle, third, left the incline and took a left and… that’s where things got complicated.
We’re still trying to work out what happened but… from what Joakim says his drone captured. Right when the MRAP turned, several of the monsters quickly slammed into the side of the vehicle, as another more bulkier one, pushed at it’s undercarriage. The result.. Was the 40 ton armored vehicle tipped over. It wasn’t uncommon, hell in some cases a well placed IED, a good shot with a recoilless rifle, have been known to tip over Oshkoshs and Maxpros all the time. But this beast? Needless to say we barely had a second to comprehend it as it leaned to the left; “Grab on to something-” is all I had time to shout. A mess of gear and men spilled onto one side of the vehicle as it slammed into the old gravel and dirt.
Several of my assaulters, my grenadier planted right ontop of myself and the others as we came to a stop. Someone’s knee slammed directly into the side of my skull, causing me to dazily bob in and out of consciousness as my face was smushed against the glass of one of the windows.
Through my peltors, the other squads were erratic;
[“Echo-2’s vehicle is down!!”].
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2… Echo-3 to Echo-2…”].
Krol’s voice came through the comms;
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-2… Fuc-... Echo-1 secure Echo 2’s flank, Echo-3”].
[“Echo-3 to other units, they’re spilling through, I’ve got several enemy combatants converging on Echo-2’s vehicle”].
I pushed the legs of my grenadier off my head as I fought to my hands and knees, unfucking my nods as I looked around… “Fuck it… we’re going lights on, shield your eyes” I muttered as I reached for the overhead lights and flipped them on. The bright LEDs bathed the inside of the vehicle as we all gained our bearings, a mess of multicam, gear, and weapons as we quickly pushed each other off. My gunner caught as he fought to realign his promask, from what I gathered one of the assaulters had landed directly into his gun, pushing it directly into his jugular, as pulled back at the rubber and coughed, freeing up his esophagus. We didn’t have time to think however… the sound of bending metal caught our attention… as the back ramp door of the MRAP was ripped clean off. I could barely believe it but as the white light of the MRAP’s interior poured to the outside, a hulking mass leaned in, the dead flesh on it’s face nearly fallen off as the hideous Strigoi leaned inside.
Without hesitation I aimed took aim, yelling “Keep to the deck!!” to any of those inbetween myself and the invader as I opened fire. A burst of full auto fire tore through it’s collar and neck, my men quickly clung to either sides of the fallen MRAP as a few more fired out. As the thing backed up, a blast of .50 cal fire quickly tore it to shreds, along with several others as I realized they were fuckin swarming over the outside of our vehicle. Echo-3’s vehicle continued to carefully fire on the Strigoi on the outside, the sounds of .50 cal ricocheting off the outside of our armor was enough to make the pucker factor set in.
[“Echo-3 to Echo-2”].
[“This is Echo-2, we’re green on ammo, equipment, men”].
[“Roger, we’re shifting fire, exit the vehicle”].
“Hurry up let’s go!!” I barked to my men, leading the way as I staggered out. I turned on my peq, taking aim at silhouettes in the brush as I began to fire. The sounds of machine guns lighting up the brush, as a sea of growls, howls, and incomprehensible roars fired back at us was the ambient noise of the night. My men quickly exited, my gunner being the last as he and I pulled back to the rest of the defensive perimeter. I set in my men to take up the frontal security, as 3rd squad took the right flank, 1st squad to the left. Major Krol and the JTAC were bickering with each other; “How far out are the birds”. “They’re entering airspace now…” Joakim said, already scanning his smart book.
I asked “What’ve we got?”. He then flipped through… to the NATO combined arms segment, quippily saying; “Apaches…”. This caused me to pause as Echo-3 turned their head whilst directing their squad’s fire “The hell… where did we get apaches from?”. “The Americans… they volunteered” Krol said dismissively as he took aim at the darkness, firing off a controlled trio. “Volunteered? They’re aware of what’s going on?” I asked.
Krol seemed to stop, glancing back at me before returning his focus “There’s a lot more going on than you realize, Blachowicz… Prep the breach, you and 1st are going on”.
I quickly pulled my breacher off the line, securing some thermite as the reinforced bunker door wasn’t going to go as easily as a conventional door breach would. 1st Squad pulled back, stacking up and preparing themselves to be the first in. All the while… Joakim gave his firing solution; “Alpha Hotel Two Five Nine, This is Bravo-4…… Type 2….”.
I snapped to my right, watching as a Strigoi managed to dark across the clear gravel field, only to be cut down by my gunner, the peq’s laser marking the burst as it tore through the beasts’ hips, as it hit the ground and still continued to claw, another GROM operator took aim and fired into it’s skull. Joakim popped up to his feet…. “Marking laser, high power…”. He then pulled out a target marking laser… if you’ve watched night operations, you’ve probably seen them.
The green laser than as it says on the label, marks targets. The pattern of which can vary… if it’s a point target, it’ll usually lasso an area, or remain on target until the target is removed with extreme prejudice. If its close air support, then it’ll be a line of the general area… and Joakim damn near marked the entire perimeter around us. He quickly pocketed the tool, turning back to Krol; “Don’t go past 20 meters unless you want to be liquidated”.
With that… 2nd and 1st stacked up at the door as 3rd squad took up the perimeter security. As Major Krol went over to Echo-1… I saw them. A single blinking IR strobe from the beasts as they moved on the far off horizon, converging from several angles… and fired. The sound of the Apache’s main gun, the M230, truly sounds like the hammer of god… the 30mm cannon shot through the dark sky, lighting it up as we saw three incoming streams tear up the woods. Only then as the sound broke did we start to hear their rotors as they broke and began to circle, firing again… then… Joakim dipped his head and looked to Krol; [“Foxtrot Mike, hang onto your teeth…”]. One of the Apaches fired off a AGM-114… a Hellfire. I barely saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Apache from our right flank fired off at a target approximately 200 meters off. A fireball lit up the forest as the horrendous roar echoed throughout… then went silent.
Echo-3 scanned the horizon carefully;
[“Echo-3 to Echo-Lead, enemy contact is starting to die down”].
[“Maintain perimeter, Close Air is to maintain fire mission until we are boots up, Break…”].
[“Echo-Lead to Echo-1, condition white has been met. Proceeds”]. I saw Echo-1 and his men quickly stack up close to the wall and gesture to me; Breaching. I quickly pulled my stack back against the wall as his and mine breacher quickly hit their actuators. Now under normal circumstances, it doesn’t take much for thermite to melt the locks off of a metal surface, in fact it’s a more precise took as alternative means get real medieval like saws, pry bars… we weren’t in the mood for precision, we need to breach their little lair, and drag them out. The sound of several pounds of hellfire burning through the metal could be heard around the corner as a sea of white and red sparks flew out… after several seconds, two of our men tossed a fragmentation grenade and a nine-bang through the opening… a series of concussive blasts and a large explosion rang out.
Echo-1 and his men maneuvered. 1st Squad quickly converged as we followed them in.
Stepping through the black wall of smoke, the dark abyss of the interior was illuminated in a white light as entered barrels raised. Shots rang out as several of the beasts near the entrance were cut down, though not immediately, rounds disconnected the shoulder of one of them, leading to their arm hanging limply by a single tendon as they roared… another series of rounds putting them down. What greeted us was a messy concrete hell of rust and debris, fecal matter, trash, and all kinds of obstacles laid in our way, our boots sticking to the floor. I thank every god we had promasks that night. I called my shield bearer up, 2nd squad leapfrogging ahead to take the next corridor as 1st squad checked their weapons.
One of my men mule kicked the metal door ahead, twice, finally the latch gave away as we tossed in a grenade. A horrifying roar was cut off as an M67 shook the walls of the ancient soviet mausoleum, frag and spall kicked off the walls as I moved in right behind my shield man. The cramped russian design meant there was barely enough space for three people, and that’s three normal people, not in 50kgs of kit, moving slowly and maneuvering against creatures of the dark. Still… we moved forward, my shield bearer and I pushing the pace as two stacked of either squad formed on either wall.
As we passed doorways they flowed in… “Door Left!!”, “Door Right!!”. “Move!!”.
Two men entered each side, no gunshots, we moved up, a roar came.
“Door left!!-”. A series of gunshots came out as we continued to push forward.
“Two down!!”. “Confirm them” Krol commanded, as a series of gunshots run out in response. From one of the doorways, a Strigoi emerged… a female… clumps of hair had been ripped from her decaying skull, as her blooded eyes locked on myself and my shieldman. The skin on her hands had been tore down to the point where barely her bones and tendons remain… looking like huge talons as she roared and lunged at us. He fired off his pistol, though the rounds did little to stop her as she pushed against our stack.
“Fuck!!” he muttered, somehow her strength caused him to stagnate, holding up the advance… fuck that. I shoved the muzzle of my MK18 into her ribcage, flipping the weapon to auto as I fired of round after round. The 5.56 salvo disconnecting her spinal column, causing her to fall as I continued to fire, along with a man to our right and left as the stacks reformed as we pushed to the end of the hall. I fell back, dropping the magazine and loading a fresh one, like clockwork a GROM Operator from 1st squad took my place. Krol was beside me as we approached the end of the hall.
[“-Prep an entry”] I radioed to my breacher, a comrade handed him one of the charges from his back panel as he took to the door, quickly securing it. We all moved as far back as we could, look away, exhale. The blast knocked metal and wood in all directions, scrapping against our uniforms and kit as we made our way in and what laid before us was… it used to be the center atrium of one of these bunkers. Soviet’s loved their grandiose designs, the complex was supposed to be a circular room around a central planning table… instead. It had been turned into some sort of church. Runes and old eastern Romuva pagan symbols written in black ink and blood across the walls, old rotten filing cabinets, long receipt terminals. In the center… several of the Strigoi were kneeling before the table where someone had been tied down, flayed, and… shared amongst the group. They rose to their feet, we aimed our barrels…
The ladder amongst turned to us… his skin wasn’t cracked, or flayed, it was smooth… it still looked dead as the body on the table but it seemed more… accustomed to it. I don’t know… evolved? Under the surface however I could see it’s darkened veins pumping whatever cursed blood ran through them as it locked two blood red eyes onto each of us. It’s nose had long since been turn off, exposing boney nostrils to the open air as it seemed to smirk. All across it’s body were the same symbols on the walls, in every cell… markings of death, of rebirth, of assimilation… From behind this seemingly Alpha emerges another figure I had never seemed before… dressed in a white cloak with a deer head.
"So they've followed the trail... they're too late" the Deer headed individual spoke, definitely not from here, a dialect similar to an Americans but... aristocratic? Each word was drawn out, assurance as if they had everything mapped down to our actions. They didn’t sound like they were from Poland or the east.
“Doesn’t matter…” the Alpha growled… and then, it lunged at us. Quickly breaking from their ground it slammed into my shield man knocking both him and myself at the ground as it displayed an intense feat of strength. Around us I could see several of the Strigoi leap at our comrades… though to no fruitful endeavor as I could see one GROM operator cut two down, as another got into a hand to hand confrontation… my breacher, crafty as they were, reached back and slammed one of the prybars of his kit into the skull of the beast.
The Alpha however was not content as it threw away the 90lb shield, sending it flying across the room as it grabbed my comrade by the skull. I quickly kicked up at it, firing my MK18 into it’s body as the rounds pierced it’s gray and rune covered flesh. The thing simply seemed to chuckle… that was until Major Krol blasted away at the side of it’s head, the alpha turned… and it’s smirk turned to a scowl when face to face with the major. A knowing pause almost like they had done this dance before…
The creature lunged, locking up with Major Krol as it swung and slammed railing. Krol didn’t back down however as he pushed against the creature, hiptossing it to the ground even as it tore at his armor and gear. But the beast pulled, both of them rolled and the Major was on his back as the thing reached for his neck. I fought to a kneel, firing into the creature messily with my MK18, trying not to hit my commander… then…
Click. A sound sends a chill up the spine of every warfighter during a firefight.
My gun ran dry. I dropped the magazine, looking to load another, but the thing came up and with one of it’s claws, sliced deep into my cheek, through the pro mask. I could feel my own blood go flying through the air as I landed hard on my back plate, spitting out red iron as I quickly tried to adjust my mask. Through my fogged up, blood covered lense… I saw my shield man raise his pistol, firing into the skull of the thing staggering it with a roar. Krol came from behind, drawing his knife he sunk it deep into the neck of it…. I reached for my rifle, forcing a new magazine in and damn near punching the bold release. ““Sir, down!!” I shouted, Krol rolled away, back to his own rifle as I fired. So did my comrade as he continued to fire his pistol… so did the Major as he fired his rifle. All of us chewing through that apex predator of darkness, that beast… the leader that had been preying on our people for so long. Layer by layer, muscle group by bone… eventually… the alpha landed on whatever was left of his back.
The silence of the fight died down as all of us checked our surroundings, GROM Operators putting controlled pairs in the heads and nerve stems of any Strigoi laying around… I flicked my weapon onto safe, letting it hang as I pulled off my mask. I dared not touch the wound on my face… the pain nearly crippling me if it wasn’t sheer will pushing me through, and adrenaline doing all it could to subdue it. The sound of the apaches continuing to lay hate drew us from our moment of contemplation as the Major went back to work; [“Confiscate any info, burn the rest…”]. He turned back to me as I shoved my damaged M50 mask back into it’s bag, chuckling as he looked at the sight; “You need a medevac, Blachowicz?” he quipped.
I shook my head, barely able to speak as I muttered; “Negative sir…”. The two of us scanned the room as my shield bearer went to collect his defense implement turned 90lb projectile, we scanned the center of the room, checking and confirming bodies, until we got to the last one alive. His white gown was soaked in red crimson and black ooze, as his dear head was mangled from bullet fire and impact from falling on it. I swear… the way his blood poured out of it though made me wonder if it was a mask. I gave it no second thoughts as he looked to Krol; “You… you can’t stop this, they’ve already-”.
The Major was in no mood for communication as his rifle snapped up and fired off three rounds to the body, four the head. The violent yet quick salvo ending the cultists life, I looked down at it, then to him as he remarked; “Have your squad drag him out to the front, burn the rest”. I stood alongside him, looking down as the sight of it’s deer head was both captivating and horrifying… the curiosity in me wanting to look closer at it fighting the primal instinct I had to burn the thing to ash. “-Haven’t seen one of those before…” I muttered, thinking the Major had an answer.
He didn’t. Krol saying “Neither have I…” shortly before he walked away, was what truly shook my soul about that entire night. Victory stood firm in our hearts that night as we stood outside of the bunker. The night sky burning with fire and white phosphorus as we watched the ruin burn from the inside from the other side of the lot. In the distance, the Apaches continued to scan and circle the forests, no longer firing…. Which meant they had driven any or turned to glass any enemy combatants within a four miles, probably both, more than likely the latter. Echo-1 patted me on the shoulder as we stood there, soaking it all in, though Krol looked none to pleased. “In the time it took us to take this one down, they’ll be trying to set up three more cells… that being established…” he said, looking to either of us, then to Echo-3. “-Hell of a thing we did tonight, been waiting for this one for a decade, cleanly, maybe more… but no time to rest on our laurels… we’ll have another task for us as soon as we’re boots down back home” he said, to which his eyes followed mine, the body of whatever cultist that was zipped up in a black body bag beside the wheel of one of the MRAPs. The fire from the bunker casting an orange hue over it’s shiny jet black outside, something didn’t sit right with me… “That wasn’t a Strigoi…” I said to Krol.
“That’s very clear…” the Major said, shoving his mask under his arm and lighting a cigarette. “So… someone’s helping them?” I asked. The meer notion of it shook me to my core, sickened me. This parasite was already badly infecting Europa, Polska… if it was spread like this throughout the world. Krol settled my nerves: “We’ll be ready… It’s not just us anymore”. As he said that, I realized what he meant… my eyes looking to the Apaches as they started to form up, leaving the areas as their thunderous propellers melted into the night’s calm, unnerving ambience.
It’s been a couple of weeks since then, Echo Detachment has been busy. We’ve gained good ground against the enemy and honestly I think in a few years, we might see a much larger change. For now… we must keep going, that being said the Strigoi aren’t the only ones we’ve been combating. Recently we’ve made contact with of some sort of extermination coalition, they’ve known about the Strigoi, and others plaguing the world, the level of corruption and corrosion on society goes deep. Regardless a lot of the units we’ve been working with are apart of NATO, such as this “4th Special Forces Group” of the American Military. I don’t know where the road from here leads, but we’ve gotten momentum on our side, finally. Just remember… these things are out there, in every town, every city, every nation… preying and waiting for you to be alone, vulnerable, so they can take you and replace you.
Watch your back, and stay safe.
For now, Blachowicz signing out. Until next time

In the ’80s, the spy agency investigated the "Gateway Experience" technique to alter consciousness and ultimately escape spacetime.
The intrigue revolves around a classified 1983 CIA report on a technique called the Gateway Experience, which is a training system designed to focus brainwave output to alter consciousness and ultimately escape the restrictions of time and space.
The CIA was interested in all sorts of psychic research at the time, including the theory of applications of remote viewing, which is when someone views real events with only the power of their mind. The documents have since been declassified and are available to view.
This is a comprehensive excavation of The Gateway Process report. The first section provides a timeline of the key historical developments that led to the CIA’s investigation and subsequent experimentations. The second section is a review of The Gateway Process report. It opens with a wall of theoretical context, on the other side of which lies enough understanding to begin to grasp the principles underlying the Gateway Experience training. The last section outlines the Gateway technique itself and the steps that go into achieving spacetime transcendence.
Let’s go.
THE TIMELINE
• 1950s - Robert Monroe, a radio broadcasting executive, begins producing evidence that specific sound patterns have identifiable effects on human capabilities. These include alertness, sleepiness, and expanded states of consciousness.
• 1956 - Monroe forms an R&D division inside his radio program production corporation RAM Enterprises. The goal is to study sound’s effect on human consciousness. He was obsessed with “Sleep-Learning," or hypnopedia, which exposes sleepers to sound recordings to boost memory of previously learned information.
• 1958 - While experimenting with Sleep-Learning, Monroe discovers an unusual phenomenon. He describes it as sensations of paralysis and vibration accompanied by bright light. It allegedly happens nine times over the proceeding six weeks, and culminates in an out-of-body experience (OBE).
• 1962 - RAM Enterprises moves to Virginia, and renames itself Monroe Industries. It becomes active in radio station ownership, cable television, and later in the production and sale of audio cassettes. These cassettes contain applied learnings from the corporate research program, which is renamed The Monroe Institute.
• 1971 - Monroe publishes Journeys Out of the Body, a book that is credited with popularizing the term “out-of-body experience.”
• 1972 - A classified report circulates in the U.S. military and intelligence communities. It claims that the Soviet Union is pouring money into research involving ESP and psychokinesis for espionage purposes.
• 1975 - Monroe registers the first of several patents concerning audio techniques designed to stimulate brain functions until the left and right hemispheres become synchronized. Monroe dubs the state "Hemi-Sync" (hemispheric synchronization), and claims it could be used to promote mental well-being or to trigger an altered state of consciousness.
• 1978 to 1984 - Army veteran Joseph McMoneagle contributes to 450 remote viewing missions under Project Stargate. He is known as “Remote View No. 1”.
• June 9th, 1983 - The CIA report "Analysis and Assessment of The Gateway Process" is produced. It provides a scientific framework for understanding and expanding human consciousness, out-of-body experiments, and other altered states of mind.
• 1989 - Remote viewer Angela Dellafiora Ford helps track down a former customs agent who has gone on the run. She pinpoints his location as “Lowell, Wyoming”. U.S. Customs apprehend him 100 miles west of a Wyoming town called Lovell.
• 2003 - The CIA approves declassification of the Gateway Process report.
• 2017 - The CIA declassifies 12 million pages of records revealing previously unknown details about the program, which would eventually become known as Project Stargate.
THE REPORT
Personnel
The author of The Gateway Process report is Lieutenant Colonel Wayne M. McDonnell, hereon referred to simply as Wayne. There isn’t a tremendous amount of information available on the man, nor any photographs. In 1983, Wayne was tasked by the Commander of the U.S. Army Operational Group with figuring out how The Gateway Experience, astral projection and out-of-body experiences work. Wayne partnered with a bunch of different folks to produce the report, most notably Itzhak Bentov, a very Googleable American-Israeli scientist who helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry.
A scientific approach
From the outset of the report, Wayne states his intent to employ an objective scientific method in order to understand the Gateway process. The various scientific avenues he takes include:
• A biomedical inquiry to understand the physical aspects of the process.
• Information on quantum mechanics to describe the nature and functioning of human consciousness.
• Theoretical physics to explain the time-space dimension and means by which expanded human consciousness transcends it.
• Classical physics to bring the whole phenomenon of out-of-body states into the language of physical science (and remove the stigma of an occult connotation).
Methodological frames of reference
Before diving into the Gateway Experience, Wayne develops a frame of reference by dissecting three discrete consciousness-altering methodologies. He’s basically saying, there’s no way you’re going to get through The Gateway without a solid grounding in the brain-altering techniques that came before it.
1) He begins with hypnosis. The language is extremely dense, but the basic gist is as follows: the left side of the brain screens incoming stimuli, categorizing, assessing and assigning meaning to everything through self-cognitive, verbal, and linear reasoning. The left hemisphere then dishes the carefully prepared data to the non-critical, holistic, pattern-oriented right hemisphere, which accepts everything without question. Hypnosis works by putting the left side to sleep, or at least distracting it long enough to allow incoming data direct, unchallenged entry to the right hemisphere. There, stimuli can reach the sensor and motor cortices of the right brain, which corresponds to points in the body. Suggestions then can send electrical signals from the brain to certain parts of the body. Directing these signals appropriately, according to the report, can elicit reactions ranging from left leg numbness to feelings of happiness. Same goes for increased powers of concentration.
2) Wayne continues with a snapshot of transcendental meditation. He distinguishes it from hypnotism. Through concentration the subject draws energy up the spinal cord, resulting in acoustical waves that run through the cerebral ventricles, to the right hemisphere, where they stimulate the cerebral cortex, run along the homunculus and then to the body. The waves are the altered rhythm of heart sounds, which create sympathetic vibrations in the walls of the fluid-filled cavities of the brain’s ventricles. He observed that the symptoms begin in the left side of the body, confirming the right brain’s complicity. Bentov also states that the same effect might be achieved by prolonged exposure to 4 - 7 Hertz/second acoustical vibrations. He suggests standing by an air conditioning duct might also do the trick. (David’s Lynch and other celebrities are committed adherents to transcendental meditation today.)
3) Biofeedback, on the other hand, uses the left hemisphere to gain access to the right brain’s lower cerebral, motor, and sensory cortices. Whereas hypnosis suppresses one side of the brain, and TM bypasses that side altogether, biofeedback teaches the left hemisphere to visualize the desired result, recognize the feelings associated with right hemisphere access, and ultimately achieve the result again. With repetition, the left brain can reliably key into the right brain, and strengthen the pathways so that it can be accessed during a conscious demand mode. A digital thermometer is subsequently placed on a target part of the body. When its temperature increases, objective affirmation is recognized and the state is reinforced. Achieving biofeedback can block pain, enhance feeling, and even suppress tumors, according to the report.
The Gateway mechanics
With that, Wayne takes a first stab at the Gateway process. He classifies it as a “training system designed to bring enhanced strength, focus and coherence to the amplitude and frequency of brainwave output between the left and right hemispheres so as to alter consciousness.”
What distinguishes the Gateway process from hypnosis, TM, and biofeedback, is that it requires achieving a state of consciousness in which the electrical brain patterns of both hemispheres are equal in amplitude and frequency. This is called Hemi-Sync. Lamentably, and perhaps conveniently, we cannot as humans achieve this state on our own. The audio techniques developed by Bob Monroe and his Institute (which are comprised as a series of tapes). claim to induce and sustain Hemi-Sync.
Wayne employs the analogy of a lamp versus a laser. Left to its own devices the human mind expends energy like a lamp, in a chaotic and incoherent way, achieving lots of diffusion but relatively little depth. Under Hemi-Sync though, the mind produces a “disciplined stream of light.” So, once the frequency and amplitude of the brain are rendered coherent it can then synchronize with the rarified energy levels of the universe. With this connection intact, the brain begins to receive symbols and display astonishing flashes of holistic intuition.
The Hemi-Sync technique takes advantage of a Frequency Following Response (FFR). It works like this: an external frequency emulating a recognized one will cause the brain to mimic it. So if a subject hears a frequency at the Theta level, it will shift from its resting Beta level. To achieve these unnatural levels, Hemi-Sync puts a single frequency in the left ear and a contrasting frequency in the right. The brain then experiences the Delta frequency, also known as the beat frequency. It’s more familiarly referred to these days as binaural beats. With the FFR and beat frequency phenomena firmly in place, The Gateway Process introduces a series of frequencies at marginally audible, subliminal levels. With the left brain relaxed and the body in a virtual sleep state, the conditions are ideal to promote brainwave outputs of higher and higher amplitude and frequency. Alongside subliminal suggestions from Bob Monroe (naturally), the subject can then alter their consciousness.
The Gateway system only works when the audio, which is introduced through headphones, is accompanied by a physical quietude comparable to other forms of meditation. This increases the subject’s internal resonance to the body’s sound frequencies, for example the heart. This eliminates the “bifurcation echo”, in which the heartbeat moves up and down the body seven times a second. By placing the body in a sleep-like state, The Gateway CD’s, like meditation, lessen the force and frequency of the heartbeat pushing blood into the aorta. The result is a rhythmic sine wave that in turn amplifies the sound volume of the heart three times. This then amplifies the frequency of brainwave output. The film surrounding the brain—the dura—and fluid between that film and the skull, eventually begin to move up and down, by .0005 and .010 millimeters.
The body, based on its own micro-motions, then functions as a tuned vibrational system. The report claims that the entire body eventually transfers energy at between 6.8 and 7.5 Hertz, which matches Earth’s own energy (7 - 7.5 Hertz). The resulting wavelengths are long, about 40,000 kilometers, which also happens to be the perimeter of the planet. According to Bentov, the signal can move around the world’s electrostatic field in 1/7th of a second.
To recap, the Gateway Process goes like this:
• Induced state of calm
• Blood pressure lowers
• Circulatory system, skeleton and other organ systems begin to vibrate at 7 - 7.5 cycles per second
• Increased resonance is achieved
• The resulting sound waves matches the electrostatic field of the earth
• The body and earth and other similarly tuned minds become a single energy continuum.
We’ve gotten slightly ahead of ourselves here though. Back to the drawing board.
A psycho-quantum level deeper
Wayne then turns to the very nature of matter and energy. More materially (or less if you will), solid matter in the strict construction of the term, he explains, doesn’t exist. The atomic structure is composed of oscillating energy grids surrounded by other oscillating energy grids at tremendous speeds. These oscillation rates vary—the nucleus of an atom vibrates at 10 to the power of 22, a molecule vibrates at 10 to the power of 9, a human cell vibrates at 10 to the power of 3. The point is that the entire universe is one complex system of energy fields. States of matter in this conception then are merely variations in the state of energy.
The result of all these moving energies, bouncing off of energy at rest, projects a 3D mode, a pattern, called a hologram, A.K.A our reality as we experience it. It's best to think of it as a 3D photograph. There’s a whole rabbit hole to go down here. Suffice it to say, the hologram that is our experience is incredibly good at depicting and recording all the various energies bouncing around creating matter. So good, in fact, that we buy into it hook, line, and sinker, going so far as to call it our "life."
Consciousness then can be envisaged as a 3D grid system superimposed over all energy patterns, Wayne writes. Using mathematics, each plane of the grid system can then reduce the data to a 2D form. Our binary (go/no go) minds can then process the data and compare it to other historical data saved in our memory. Our reality is then formed by comparisons. The right hemisphere of the brain acts as the primary matrix or receptor for this holographic input. The left hemisphere then compares it to other data, reducing it to its 2D form.
In keeping with our species' commitment to exceptionalism, as far as we know humans are uniquely capable of achieving this level of consciousness. Simply, humans not only know, but we know that we know. This bestows upon us the ability to duplicate aspects of our own hologram, project them out, perceive that projection, run it through a comparison with our own memory of the hologram, measure the differences using 3D geometry, then run it through our binary system to yield verbal cognition of the self.
The click-out phase
Wayne then shows his cards as a true punisher, issuing, "Up to this point our discussion of the Gateway process has been relatively simple and easy to follow. Now the fun begins." Shots fired, Wayne. What he's preparing the commander reading this heady report for is the reveal—how we can use the Gateway to transcend the dimension of spacetime.
Time is a measurement of energy or force in motion; it is a measurement of change. This is really important. For energy to be classified as in motion, it must be confined within a vibratory pattern that can contain its motion, keeping it still. Energy not contained like this is boundary-less, and moves without limit or dimension, to infinity. This disqualifies boundary-less energy from the dimension of time because it has no rate of change. Energy in infinity, also called "the absolute state," is completely at rest because nothing is accelerating or decelerating it—again, no change. It therefore does not contribute to our hologram, our physical experience. We cannot perceive it.
Now back to frequencies. Wave oscillation occurs because a wave is bouncing between two rigid points of rest. It's like a game of electromagnetic hot potato (the potato being the wave and the participants' hands being the boundaries of the wave). Without these limits, there would be no oscillation. When a wave hits one of those points of rest, just for a very brief instant, it "clicks out" of spacetime and joins infinity. For this to occur, the speed of the oscillation has to drop below 10 the power of -33 centimeters per second. For a moment, the wave enters into a new world. The potato simply disappears into a dimension we cannot perceive.
Theoretically speaking, if the human consciousness wave pattern reaches a high enough frequency, the “click-outs” can reach continuity. Put another way, if the frequency of human consciousness can dip below 10 to the power of 33 centimeters per second but above a state of total rest, it can transcend spacetime. The Gateway experience and associated Hemi-Sync technique is designed for humans to achieve this state and establish a coherent pattern of perception in the newly realized dimensions.
Passport to the hologram
In theory, we can achieve the above at any time. The entire process though is helped along if we can separate the consciousness from our body. It’s like an existential running head start where the click-out of a consciousness already separated from its body starts much closer to, and has more time to dialogue with, other dimensions.
This is where things get a little slippery; hold on as best you can. The universe is in on the whole hologram thing, too, Wayne writes. This super hologram is called a "torus" because it takes the shape of a fuck-off massive self-contained spiral. Like this:
Give yourself a moment to let the above motion sink in...
This pattern of the universe conspicuously mirrors the patterns of electrons around the nucleus of an atom. Galaxies north of our own are moving away from us faster than the galaxies to the south; galaxies to the east and west of us are more distant. The energy that produced the matter that makes up the universe we presently enjoy, will turn back in on itself eventually. Its trajectory is ovoid, also known as the cosmic egg. As it curls back on itself it enters a black hole, goes through a densely packed energy nucleus then gets spat out the other side of a white hole and begins the process again. Springtime in the cosmos, baby!
And that is the context in which the Gateway Experience sits.
[Deep breaths.]
THE TECHNIQUE
The following is an outline of the key steps to reach focus levels necessary to defy the spacetime dimension. This is an involved and lengthy process best attempted in controlled settings. If you’re in a rush, you can apparently listen to enough Monroe Institute Gateway Tapes in 7 days to get there.
The Energy Conversion Box: The Gateway Process begins by teaching the subject to isolate any extraneous concerns using a visualization process called “the energy conversion box.”
Resonant Humming: The individual is introduced to resonant humming. Through the utterance of a protracted single tone, alongside a chorus on the tapes, the mind and body achieve a state of resonance.
The Gateway Affirmation: The participant is exposed to something close to a mantra called The Gateway Affirmation. They must repeat to themselves variations of, “I am merely a physical body and deeply desire to expand my consciousness.”
Hemi-Sync: The individual is finally exposed to the Hemi-Sync sound frequencies, and encouraged to develop a relationship with the feelings that emerge.
Additional Noise: Physical relaxation techniques are practiced while the Hemi-Sync frequencies are expanded to include “pink and white” noise. This puts the body in a state of virtual sleep, while calming the left hemisphere and raising the attentiveness of the right hemisphere.
The Energy Balloon: The individual is then encouraged to visualize the creation of an “energy balloon” beginning at the top of the head, extending down in all directions to the feet then back up again. There are a few reasons for this, the main one being that this balloon will provide protection against conscious entities possessing lower energy levels that he or she may encounter when in the out-of-body state.
Focus 12: The practitioner can consistently achieve sufficient expanded awareness to begin interacting with dimensions beyond their physical reality. To achieve this state requires conscious efforts and more “pink and white noise” from the sound stream.
Tools: Once Focus 12 is achieved, the subject can then employ a series of tools to obtain feedback from alternate dimensions.
Problem Solving: The individual identifies fundamental problems, fills their expanded awareness with them, and then projects them out into the universe. These can include personal difficulties, as well as technical or practical problems.
Patterning: Consciousness is used to achieve desired objectives in the physical, emotional, or intellectual sphere.
Color Breathing: A healing technique that revitalizes the body’s energy flows by imagining colors in a particularly vivid manner.
Energy Bar Tool: This technique involves imagining a small intensely pulsating dot of light that the participant charges up. He or she then uses the sparkling, vibrating cylinder of energy (formerly known as the dot) to channel forces from the universe to heal and revitalize the body.
Remote Viewing: A follow-on technique of the Energy Bar Tool where the dot is turned into a whirling vortex through which the individual sends their imagination in search of illuminating insights.
Living Body Map: A more organized use of the energy bar in which streams of different colors flow from the dot on to correspondingly-colored bodily systems.
Seven days of training have now occurred. Approximately 5 percent of participants get to this next level, according to the report.
Focus 15 - Travel Into the Past: Additional sound on the Hemi-Sync tapes includes more of the same, plus some subliminal suggestions to further expand the consciousness. The instructions are highly symbolic: time is a huge wheel, in which different spokes give access to the participant’s past.
Focus 21 - The Future: This is the last and most advanced state. Like Focus 15, this is a movement out of spacetime into the future.
Out-of-Body Movement: Only one tape of the many is devoted to out-of-body movement. This tape is devoted to facilitating an out-of-body state when the participant’s brain wave patterns and energy levels reach harmony with the surrounding electromagnetic environment. According to Bob Monroe, the participant has to be exposed to Beta signals of around 2877.3 cycles per second.
CONCLUSIONS
Wayne expresses concern about the fidelity of information brought back from out-of-body states using the Gateway technique. Practical applications are of particular concern because of the potential for “information distortion.”
The Monroe Institute also ran into a bunch of issues in which they had individuals travel from the West to the East Coast of the U.S. to read a series of numbers off of a computer screen. They never got them exactly right. Wayne chalks this up to the trouble of differentiating between physical entities and extra-time-space dimensions when in the out-of-body state.
Wayne swings back to support mode though, lending credence to the physics foundation of the report. He cites multiple belief systems that have established identical findings. These include the Tibetan Shoug, the Hindu heaven of Indra, the Hebrew mystical philosophy, and the Christian concept of the Trinity. Here he seems more interested in hammering home the theoretical underpinnings that make The Gateway Experience possible, rather than the practical possibilities promised by The Gateway Tapes.
Possibly with his CIA top brass audience in mind, Wayne then gives an A-type nod to The Gateway Experience for providing a faster, more efficient, less subservient, energy-saving route to expanded consciousness. This finishes with a series of recommendations to the CIA for how to exploit Gateway’s potential for national defense purposes.
The missing page
One curious feature of The Gateway Report is that it seems to be missing page 25. It’s a real cliffhanger too. The bottom of page 24 reads “And, the eternal thought or concept of self which results from this self-consciousness serves the,” The report picks back up on page 26 and 3 sections later as if Wayne hadn’t just revealed the very secret of existence.
The gap has not gone unnoticed. There's a Change.org petition requesting its release. Multiple Freedom of Information Act requests have demanded the same. In all cases, the CIA has said they never had the page to begin with. Here’s a 2019 response from Mark Lilly, the CIA’s Information and Privacy Coordinator, to one Bailey Stoner regarding these records:
One theory goes that that rascal Wayne M.-fricking-McDonnell left the page out on purpose. The theory contends that it was a litmus test—if anyone truly defies time-space dimensions, they’ll certainly be able to locate page 25.
[Cosmic shrug.]
Writing Credit Vice
​
CIA Declassified Report– The Gateway Experience
Here is a copy of the Missing Page 25
There will be a Gateway Help Post following within the next couple days. Thought you might be interested in a little history in the meantime. Cheers!

How It Ended
by Ethan O’Driscoll
A thrilling Post apocalypse story
Intro
HRV-1
22 July 2024
Dr Olivia Warren Head of Biotech NARU
This is my latest report on the HRV-1 Virus we were instructed to design by the Russian Government.
The HRV-1 is an incredibly viral and infectious Retrovirus similar to HIV. Changes have been make on a genetic level to provide the request modes of transmission and symptoms.
Those symptoms are:

• Profuse bleeding from the mouth, eyes, lips, gums and pores of the skin
• Confusion
• Coma
• Total organ failure leading to death
• Reanimation after death and post-mortem hypo-aggression

This all included in a highly infectious package
The infection vectors are:

• bodily fluids
• contaminated area
• ANYTHING that has come in contact with infected bodily fluids
• airborne droplets

This is by far the most dangerous diseases we’ve ever designed. I pray to god the Russians only want it as a means of deterrent because if they use it I have no doubt it will end the world. The first sample should be ready to ship next week.
Chapter 1
The Outbreak
1 January 2025
Dr Olivia Warren Head of Biotech NARU
I can’t believe the bastards used it. The first cases came in from Kiev in December from there it spread like a wild fire through Europe the death toll now sits at 65 millions. The hordes rampage through city after city by the millions. There is no way to stop this. What have I done.
NATO forces have established a quarantine of Europe but I can’t help but feel like its too little too late. My estimate is that all infected nations in Europe will be consumed within the next month or two. The Corporation has started the construction of a company safe haven for us higher ups. All we can do is hope the construction is complete before this thing breaks quarantine.
15 February 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
The world is ending. Europe is gone. The quarantine is broken. We’ve got cases in Asia, South America, Here at home in the US, Australia and Africa nowhere is safe. I did this.
Infection number right now:

• Africa 100 Million
• Europe 890 Million
• Asia 250 Million
• North America 250 Thousand
• South America 120 Million
• Australia 24 Million

There is no hope
The safe zone is complete at least we are planning on moving all operations and personal within the week. I don’t know how I’m going to live with myself. Dixie is my only saving grace and at least she’ll be safe. I pray for the soul of all those my creation has killed.
20 March 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
Dixie is at the Safe zone.
I can’t live with myself any more. 4 billion people dead
Chapter 2
A New World
My name is Dixie Warren. Daughter of Dr Olivia Warren. Not that I’ve seen her in 15 years. I remember like it was yesterday. She told me to get on that NARU helicopter that she’d meet me at the safe zone. Those were the last words she ever said to me. I was 8 when the world ended.
Its been 15 years since the Outbreak. There isn’t really anything left of the old world. NARU still exists and turns out they created the virus and my mom was the head of the department that did it. They sold it to the Russians hoping they wouldn’t use it but they did.
It was specifically designed to spread and destroy as fast as possible and it did. I left the safe zone 2 years ago after I learned this information. Now I just spend my time wandering from town to town. My training on the NARU security team helps. At least I know all the best places to shoot a Freaker. That's what we call the infected and for good reason. Most of the time you’ll find them wondering around in groups of 5 to 10 if the group gets too big they turn on each other and form a pile of bodies devouring each other. They moan and scream to communicate and once they see you they will hunt you till you kill every last on of them or you get far enough away. They can run and are abnormally strong if there bodies aren’t damaged they’re a bitch to kill but I’m pretty good at it.
Right now I’m outside Richmond I’ve been stuck here for a week waiting for a large horde to move through. I’m hoping to hunt some of the stragglers and re-up on some supplies. A big horde like this usually leave a few hundred behind. My new AR has been waiting for some fun, I’ve got a new red dot and laser so I should be able to pop headshot after headshot but for now I should go find something to eat.
I’ve made it to a small department store outside the town. It looks like the horde is almost gone. Tons of freaks roaming around though. I can hear a few in the store. I’m going to try getting in through the back and take them out.
Made it back home and wow that store was a gold mine. I got food, water, bullets and even some whiskey. I’m going to enjoy the night then its time to hunt some stragglers. Then I’m thinking of going further south maybe New Orleans heard there might be a small settlement out there from another traveller, might be able to get another courier job or at least I’ll be able to stock up on supplies properly after all these years there isn’t much left in the cities to scavenge.
I better get some rest got a long day of freak killing and walking tomorrow.
Chapter 3
The Road to Home
I left Richmond yesterday. It’s a long road to New Orleans I wished I lived in the days when cars worked. NARU are the only people with working vehicles left and they aren’t exactly the sharing type. Its so lonely out here its been weeks since I last saw another living person the only things you see out here in the ruins are freaks by the hundreds. Its hard to believe the whole world was reduced to nothing by something my mom created. I remember her being the kindest most caring person in the world to think that she could create something so destructive is unbelievable. I’ve still got a long way to go the first city I should have to go through is Raleigh.
I’ve been walking for about a day and I can see the ruins from here. Its always so surreal to see the cities now, so desolate so empty. I remember growing up in Seattle, the city lights, the noise it was always so alive and busy. Now they’re all empty husks or mostly empty at least can’t forget about the freaks. Must’ve killed a thousand of them on my way here almost got bitten when one jumped me under an overpass about 10 miles back. Luckily my machete seems to be as good as ever at cutting up freaks. I should make it to Raleigh within the day.
Made it to Raleigh and its a mess, thousands of freaks I could hear the moaning and screaming from a mile away. I’m going to try finding my way around the city no point in trying to fight my way through a wall of freaks.
Heard crying coming from a house I walked past I decided to check it out and I found a young boy name Richie hiding in a bathroom with what looked like his infected parents trying to break the door down. I took both of them down with a clean headshot. The look on his face when he saw them dead breaks my heart. He says they’ve been hiding out in this house for a month or two after there homestead was overrun by freaks. Its a sad story but it gives me hope that people are at least trying to survive and rebuilt. He’s only 16 yet he’s seen so much and has nowhere else to go so I asked him if he wanted to stick with me and he was elated so I guess I’ve got a sidekick now. I’m not complaining should make the long lonely road more interesting. He’s got no combat experience but he can shoot a pistol so I gave him one of my backups at least I always carry extra. We’ve decided to hunker down for the night and do some scavenging before we leave for Charlotte tomorrow. I’ll be nice to have company for once I’ve been alone for so long.
I woke up to a gunshot and Richie screaming in the other room. When I got there I found Richie pale as snow and a little girl that was clearly infected shot lying on the floor. When I asked Richie who it was he replied in a cold distant voice “My little sister”. It was a heart breaking moment in less than 24 hours Richie had lost everyone. That was a feeling I knew too well my mom was all I had my dad died when I was really young and all I knew after the Outbreak before I left the safe haven was NARU but that wasn’t the best place to build personal connections just a bunch of science types that destroyed the world. Not exactly the most social lot and the security forces were just a bunch of military types that didn’t like the fact that as a teenager I was doing better than them in every metric except raw physical strength but even in that I was better than a lot of them. It’s almost time for us to get going I should pack up and make sure Richie’s okay.
We decided to stop by the old gun store on our way out of Raleigh. Richie mentioned seeing it when him and his dad went out to scavenge one time. He says it looked all locked up meaning there’s a good chance that there might still be something left to take. When we arrived there Richie was right it was locked tight it looked like there might be a way in from the roof so we decided to climb up when I got up there I was jumped by a freak that was just waiting but this one was different smarter in a way it heard me climbing up but instead of screaming and jumping off to get me it decided to hide and wait. In my years of freak killing I’ve never seen one that waits and ambushes. I hope this isn’t a sign that the infected are getting smarter. Anyway Richie popped it in the head and we got in to the gun store and what a find it was. I managed to get a brand new Glock 9 with a torch attachment and extended mag to replace the pistol I gave Richie. Speaking of Richie he decided on a 12 gauge pump with a tube extension and a AR-15 with a suppressor, extended mag and front grip. We also found enough ammo to keep us stocked even if we have to shoot our way to Charlotte now that we’re locked and loaded its time to leave this shit hole and start walking to the next shit hole at least for once I won’t be alone.
Chapter 4
The Road to Charlotte
We’d been walking for 60 miles before we were jumped by a gang of thugs. I caught a round to the leg before I knew what was happening Richie was more awake than me and managed to put a round through the bastards chest before his friends jumped out from behind two cars in front of us we managed to take cover behind a ruined car and we returned fire. I could see the thugs had no skill they just fired randomly in our direction while we were in cover I waited till they had to reload and tossed a molotov at one of them burning the bastard to a crisp. Richie rushed the other and unloaded some buckshot into his head. My leg hurts like a bitch. Richie bandaged it up for me he’s really starting to get used to life on the road. Looking at our map it looks like there is a gas station about 10 miles away so I guess I’ll limp my way there so we can hunker down while me leg heals. I still can’t believe I let the bastard catch me lacking but it won’t happen again
We made it too the gas station. The place looks almost perfectly preserved except the group of freaks that were shuffling around outside nothing that we couldn’t deal with. There is a lot of food and water here and we should be safe here while my leg heals. I hope we don’t run into any more problems till then. I trust Richie but he’s still learning and I’m not sure he’d be able to deal with any major problem on his own.
Its been 4 weeks since I took that shot to my leg and I’m feeling a lot better. Richie managed to find some painkiller so he was able to get the round out and everything healed nicely. He really is an amazing guy young and naive but he really is a good person. I don’t know how I did it without him for so long. It nice not being alone any more. I think I’m ready to get moving again we have about another 100 miles left to go before we get to Charlotte so we better get moving.
We’re about 20 miles from Charlotte, the roads been peaceful we ran into a group of survivors living on a pretty well fortified farm about 25 miles back. They were having issues with some freaks hanging around their water pumping station so we dealt with them for them in exchange for some antibiotics to help with an infection Richie got in his leg where he cut himself jumping a fence while a freak chased him before I could dome it. Only god knows how I didn’t get an infection in my leg after getting shot but he did from cutting himself on a rusty fence guess I’m just lucky. After helping them back we continued on our way. Nothing else interesting happened and Richie is looking a lot better and his cut is basically healed. We should get to Charlotte within the day but I want to stop on a hill on the Outskirts to set up base and get a look at the situation in the city because the farmers mentioned that a horde had passed through recently and they usually get held up in cities they should have moved on by now but better safe than sorry
Chapter 5
Charlotte
We made it to the hill outside Charlotte and the place is infested millions of freaks. I’ve never seen so many of them in one place and I think I know why. In the middle of the city is an old NARU emergency treatment centre. A place where all of the cities first infected were sent. A good plan till there were to many of them and quarantine was broken then all it was was a collection of infected right in the middle of the city which lead to the whole thing being infected much faster. I’m guessing this caused most of the freaks to pile and the smell was attracting more. Oh I forgot to mention the smell imagine a pile of thousands of rotting corpses that’s the smell I’m talking about. There’s no chance we’ll be able to get through the city but I need to get to that NARU site. There might be some old documents or something about my mom I need to find out what happened to her. I’ve spoken to Richie and we both agree that we should try and divert the horde away so we can have time to get to the NARU centre.
Richie has volunteered to draw the hordes attention away while I get to the NARU building. The plan is he triggers an explosion at an old gas station on the other side of town while I get to the building and look for information about the virus and what happened to my mom. All I know is that my mom created the virus while working for NARU. I need to find out what happened to her. I hate putting Richie at risk but it needs to be done.
I just heard the explosion and it works thousands of freaks started moving like a tidal wave of flesh towards the sound I hope Richie is on his way to the meeting place at the abandoned NARU checkpoint on the south side of town but I don’t have time to think about it now I’m almost at the NARU centre I need to be as fast as possible
I made it to the NARU centre and it’s covered in bodies there’s no way I can get in it looks more like a pile of living human corpses than a building I’m guessing the freaks all turned on and consumed each other till they were all stuck and fused together. I’m making my way to the NARU checkpoint I hope Richie is already there and safe.
I made it to the NARU checkpoint and reunited with Richie. He was covered in blood and gore. He had to kill hundreds of freaks to make it here. He says he was almost bitten a few times. I can’t believe I risked his life for nothing. I’ll never do it again. While exploring the place I found this.
20 March 2025
Dr Olivia Warren
Dixie is at the Safe zone.
I can’t live with myself any more. 4 billion people dead
The final communication between my mom and NARU it turns out she couldn’t live with the guilt and decided to kill herself. I can’t blame her I would probably do the same if I was the reason the world ended and killed billions of people but it still breaks my heart. I am happy to know she’s dead and not infected lumbering around somewhere.
Richie is exhausted and so am I were going to take a brake here and continue on to Atlanta tomorrow.
Everything is packed up and we’re ready to go. Last night was rough I kept watch while Richie slept I hate to admit it but I think I’m falling in love with him. I never really had a first love I live for 13 years at NARU but I was the oldest kid there by far by the time any of the boys were close to my age I was already jaded and thinking about leaving so I didn’t pay any attention to them but Richie is different when I found him he was so helpless and lost now he’s strong, confident and he’s so loyal to me. I don’t want to speak to soon by I think he might feel the same way I guess time will tell we still have a long road to walk together. Speaking of walking Atlanta here we come.
Chapter 6
Road to Atlanta
We ran into a group of survivors hiding in a shed on the outskirts of Charlotte on our way home two parents and a little girl they were all bitten and waiting to turn they begged us to put them down before they turned so I did but I think it took a toll on Richie. He’s been almost silent since it must’ve reminded him of his parents and little sister I hope the day never comes that one of us get bitten and the other one has to decide whether or not to do it but if it does I hope Richie has what it takes to put me down if not I hope I get to do it myself before I turn but I shouldn’t be thinking about things like that. Thinking about your own death is a pretty sure-fire way to make it happen.
We ran into a pretty large group of infected must’ve been about 20 of them but all of them behaved the same as the one that jumped me on the roof of the gun store back in Raleigh. I guess that confirms that it wasn’t a once off thing but I still wonder what causes it maybe I’ll find out one day. We took them all down and continued on I hate to admit it but I really enjoy killing freaks call it therapy I guess. Richie is running low on ammo for his 12 gauge. There should be a gun store in about 30 miles so we should be able to restock there. My ammo supplies are also running a bit low only got about a hundred rounds per gun left. I know that sounds like a lot but with all the freaks on the roads it barely enough after Raleigh I had about a 500 per gun. Lets hope we don’t run into any large hordes till we get to the gun store.
We made it to the gun store just to find it controlled by 2 less than friendly guys. They opened fire as soon as they same us. We returned fire and we’re about to enter the store. Richie kicked the door down and I rushed in I let of two shots taking down the one guy the other was a second away from filling me with bullets from his Uzi but luckily Richie put a round through his chest and another through his right eye before he could. Thank god. I don’t know what I would do without him. We’ve decided to rest tonight and continue tomorrow morning.
Dixie: “Hey Richie”
Richie: “Hey Dixie”
Dixie: ”How you feeling buddy”
Richie: ”Oh you know always OK”
Dixie: ”That’s good buddy”
Richie: “Hey Dixie thank you for everything you really are the best thing that ever happened to me”
Dixie: ”Don’t mention it buddy I love you”
We’re almost 20 miles away from Atlanta and I’m not hopeful judging by smell. I’m guessing its going to be a lot worse than Charlotte but we’ll have to wait and see.
We’ve made it to the outskirts of Atlanta and its as bad as I thought there are hundreds of body piles almost the size of buildings. The living freaks move around the city streets like blood through the veins of the body. Some of them are engaged in massive fights with other groups ripping each other apart.
We’re going in tomorrow but for now Richie’s hunting while I scope out the area. I hope he brings some venison anything but rabbit. I’m sick of rabbit meat. When he comes back I want to try and cuddle up to him and see what happens
Richie and I have eaten and we’re getting ready to sleep. I asked Richie if I could sleep in his sleeping bag with him. He looked at me like I was crazy but once I insisted I was serious I could see the joy on his face so we cuddled up for the night and went to sleep
Wow it felt so amazing sleeping in Richie’s arms and today everything feels different but in a good way everything just feels more intimate we had an amazing conversation about life this morning and it feels like our bond is on a whole new level. Its time to go explore Atlanta there should be an old NARU field hospital on the North-side of town but we’ve got a whole city to get through before that.
Chapter 7
Atlanta
Atlanta is a nightmare right now we’re stuck in a pharmacy bunch of freaks trying to get to us. I’m busy wiring up a pipe bomb while Richie holds the door then when I’m done BOOM
Richie Move....
BOOM....
Well that’s one way to deal with freaks. Always hate being covered in gore though. We’re near the city centre now and its as bad as we thought the place is infested with freaks every building, street and alley we’ve been fighting for every mile we’ve been moving basically carving our way through the city leaving streets flooded in blood but its worth it I can see the NARU hospital and it looks like I might be able to get in this time.
We’re Exploring the NARU hospital and its a goldmine I found a bunch of old documentation on the virus and even some reports of small towns keeping quarantine for years after the Fall. There’s also apparently an old supply and weapons depot nearby so were going there next.
Richie has been opening up a lot his little sister was out playing when a freak got her. Her parents couldn’t put her down so she turned and bit them he hid in the bathroom for 2 days before I got there and put then out of the misery. I wish I could understand how he feels because I never had anyone except my mom and I lost her so young so it never really affected me. I love him so much. This would be so difficult without him.
We made it to the NARU supply depot and it basically empty I mean it make sense Atlanta was one of the first city to fall due to vast number of infected that moved in from the nearby NARU detention camp. That was a bright idea locking up a bunch infected in one place and expecting the place to last. So the city fell to chaos pretty quickly and NARU withdrew most likely taking everything with them that or it was looted after the city fell doesn’t matter now its almost night and we should get some rest we’re going to camp on a nearby rooftop.
Sitting on the roof with Richie and a fire I can’t help but feel like life isn’t that bad yeah its not what it used to be but I mean I have food and freedom and someone I love what more could someone want from life. Looking out at the desolate streets full of freaks well except the streets we pushed through I see the death of the old world and the birth of a new one.
I should get to sleep we got a long road to Birmingham tomorrow. Its so warm and cosy pressed up against Richie.
Chapter 8
The Road To Birmingham
On our way out of Atlanta we ran into a huge freak and I mean a huge motherfucker must’ve been at least 10 feet tall and covered in muscle it looked like it was made of at least 5 other freaks. He tossed Richie against a car and knocked him out I managed to chop one of its arms off before it threw me 10 feat in the air and I crashed down on my back and passed out when I woke up Richie was putting round after round in the things chest and it still wouldn’t go down to I ran jumped on its back and used my machete to chop the freaks head off and burnt the body with a molotov just to be sure the thing was dead
Richie was pretty beat up and I’m not going to lie so was I my back hurts like a bitch but we keep on going no matter what because we still have each other. Still I wonder how those freaks got combined into that thing. Maybe that’s why they pile the way they do so they can combine into something bigger I remember something in one of the NARU document mentioning the virus being able to cause “cellular recombination” so I wonder if that’s not maybe what happened and if it is it means things are about to get a lot worse and a lot more dangerous.
We’re about 50 miles always from Birmingham now. The road has been pretty quite only the occasional group of freaks and the group of raiders we ran into outside a gas station awhile back but this time we got the drop on them and not the other way round gave all three of them a new hole in the head Richie was worried that they might be survivors till we found Sandra tied up in the gas station bathroom turns out the bastards grabbed her from her family farm during the night a few days ago and have been taking turns on her over and over since then. We agreed to take her home its the least we could do after everything that happened to her. When we got her home we found the place burnt down and her family butchered outside. I’m guessing after they grabbed her the bastards came back to finish the job. She’s decided to stick with us she’s a lot older than me and Richie. She used to be a nurse before the Outbreak she dealt with some of the first infected until NARU took over the hospitals. When things really started to go bad she moved back to Alabama to her old family farm to live with her parents they managed to set everything up before the Fall and have been living there since well till recently. She’s pretty shook about the whole situation but she should be okay in a day or two. We’ve all lost something in this new world.
We’ve made it to the outskirts of Birmingham and the place is a fortress looks like remnants of the US military and NARU have fortified the place they have watch towers, auto-turrents and armed patrols. Also looks like they have a lot of military hardware. I know better than to approach the main gate NARU has a shoot on site order for all there quarantine zones no reason to assume this place would be any different. Still I have to get a look inside. Tonight while Richie and Sandra set up camp I’m going to look around and see if I can find a way in. I have to know what’s going on here.
I’ve taken a look around and I’ve found a way in through an old sewer pipe running into an old factory from there I should be able to sneak into the city and have a look around maybe they have some new information on the virus or at least I should be able to find some weapons for Sandra
Chapter 9
Birmingham
Richie and Sandra are waiting for me back at camp while I go explore the city. I left most of my kit behind except my Glock and combat knife. I’m not planning on getting into any fights and if I do I want the finished as quickly as possible. I’ve made it to the sewer pipe it should lead me to the sewer grate I saw on the other side of the fence from there I should have free reign over the city as long as I avoid the NARU patrols and don’t draw to much attention to myself.
I’ve made it into the city and it looks like something out of a George Orwell novel. Security cameras on every street, I’ve seen security forces beat a man to death and another group drag a young women kicking and screaming into an abandoned building. I hate to say it but I think life is better outside with the freaks than in here. Can’t say I’m surprised there’s a reason I left the NARU security forces and the safe zone. Lets just say civilian life and happiness has never been on their priority list. I can see a NARU supply depot I should be able to get a uniform and standard load out last I remember NARU doesn’t have a way of removing employees from the database so my security id number should still work.
I was right NARU never changes I just used my id to get a brand new NARU-P-2a NARU's home grown assault rifle basically its everything the AR-15 is but better its literally a gun made for killing freaks and you can feel it. I always wished I stole one when I left but I guess better late than never I also scanned through a few of the latest security reports and it seems like big guys like we fought back in Atlanta are becoming more common as well as a new faster infected with razor sharp claws that hunt and ambush their victims. We haven’t ran into one of those yet and I hope we don’t any time soon. I hope Richie and Sandra are okay, they should be we have no shortage of fire-power but I still worry. I’m going to keep taking a look around and maybe find out how they’ve maintained quarantine for so long
Well I got my answer and its not a good one. The NARU higher ups here basically outlawed being sick. Anyone with any symptoms that might be HRV-1 are immediately executed and burnt without exception I guess that’s one way to maintain quarantine but I can’t help but wonder how many thousands of innocent people have died to maintain it.
I think its about time I get out of here and back to Richie and Sandra.
I made it back to camp. I’m so happy to be back with Richie. He went out hunting and brought back a nice fat wild pig for dinner. Sandra is looking a lot better as well she still has that distant look in her eye but that should go away soon
Next stop Montgomery Alabama.
Chapter 10
The Road to Montgomery
I still can’t get it out of my head. The freaks are changing getting more dangerous, if I understand correctly the longer they are infected the more unstable the virus gets leading to mutations. I hope this doesn’t mean that the longer we survive the harder its going to get but there’s no point in worrying about whether or not the freaks are going to be stronger in the future as long as we make sure we get stronger too it should work out just fine. Richie and I are doing really well our love kinda makes everything a lot easier. Gives us a reason if that makes sense Sandra on the other hand is kinda dead weight if I’m being honest but its not her fault. She’s been through a lot Richie and I do our best to look out for her and take care of her. I just wish she’d start to adjust to life out here she still winches every time we take out a group of freaks or thugs and she’s a bleeding heart. Yesterday as we were going past a little abandoned convenience store we heard a little girl crying when we asked what was wrong she said they were trapped and needed help. It was obviously a trap we could see the store was fortified and the little girl looked too happy for a kid whose parents were stuck and dying but Sandra insisted we go in and help and what do you know the kids parents are perfectly healthy and holding us at gun point luckily I’m pretty quick on the draw and managed to put two rounds through the fathers chest and Richie tackled the mom. I walked up to the big dude and put one through the head to make sure the mom learns her lesson. We agreed to let her and her daughter live as long as the promised to stop robbing travellers. Sandra couldn’t handle the fact that I finished the dad off even though I think that was better than leaving his family to watch him bleed out because there was no way he would have survive I shot him through both of his lungs they would have filled up with blood and he would have chocked to death I did him a favour by putting him down but she didn’t see it that way even threatened to go it on her own until Richie and I told her to go ahead if she really thought it was the best thing for her. She then decided to stick with us
We’re nearly at the outskirts of Montgomery, we just passed the old civil rights monument. The roads been a bit too still I have a bad feeling about what we’re going to find when we get there

Simply Vanilla - Anarchy with NO Hacking!

We have been online since 2019 with a strong discord community and active players. No hacking/duping allowed. Vanilla world-borders and accessible Nether-roof.
IP: simplyvanilla.net
Discord: https://discord.gg/dP7SqPF
Website: https://simplyvanilla.net
Map size: 10 TB+
What escaping spawn looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrveAGWT4LE
Can you do better? Join Today! - escape spawn, make your starter base, make allies, betray and conquer bases!

Introduction

Welcome, summoners! In the complex world of League of Legends, mastering macro strategies is essential for players who want to control the game beyond mere individual skirmishes. This guide dives deep into the art of macro gameplay, teaching you how to read the game, make strategic decisions, and lead your team to victory through superior map management and objective control.

Understanding Macro Play

What is Macro Play? Macro play refers to strategic decisions that affect the broader game state, including objective control, wave management, and territory dominance. It contrasts with micro play, which focuses on individual mechanics and lane battles.
Why Focus on Macro?

• Game-Winning Strategy: Effective macro play can lead to a significant advantage, often deciding the outcome of games.
• Team Synergy and Control: It enhances team coordination and allows for more predictable and controlled gameplay.
• Long-Term Advantages: Mastering macro strategies can consistently put your team ahead by maximizing resource allocation and timing.

Core Components of Macro Mastery

To excel in macro strategies, players must develop skills in several key areas:

• Objective Prioritization: Understanding which objectives (like dragons, barons, or turrets) will most benefit your team's current state.
• Map Awareness: Keeping track of ally and enemy positions to make informed decisions without needing constant updates.
• Wave Management: Manipulating minion waves to create pressure on the map, forcing the enemy team to respond to your movements.

Advanced Macro Strategies

Implement these advanced tactics to refine your macro play:

• Rotational Play: Learn how to move as a team around the map, securing objectives and gaining territorial control.
• Vision Control and Denial: Use wards and sweepers effectively to control sight lines and deny the enemy team valuable information.
• Pressure Points: Identify and exert pressure on the weakest points in the enemy's defense to split their focus and resources.

Building Team Coordination

Since macro play heavily relies on team efforts, enhancing team dynamics is crucial:

• Clear Communication: Develop concise and clear communication habits to quickly relay strategic decisions.
• Role Responsibilities: Ensure each team member understands their role in macro strategies, from the split-pusher to the team fight initiator.
• Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt strategies based on the evolving state of the game and the enemy's responses.

Leveraging Technology and Tools

Use technological aids to sharpen your macro skills:

• Replay Analysis Tools: Utilize tools to analyze game replays for missed opportunities and successful strategies.
• Strategic Planning Software: Some tools can help simulate different game states for strategic planning.
• Real-Time Decision Making Aids: Explore apps and platforms that provide real-time advice based on current game data.

Conclusion

Mastering macro strategies in League of Legends opens up new dimensions of gameplay. It allows players to influence the game at a strategic level, leading to more consistent and impactful wins. By focusing on macro play, you develop a deeper understanding of League's complexities and how to manipulate them to your advantage.

Call to Action

Ready to take your strategic gameplay to the next level? Dive deeper into macro strategies with our in-depth tutorials and case studies available on our website. Join discussions and exchange tips with other strategic players on our subreddit. Enhance your macro skills and dominate the Rift!

A Daily chronicle of AI Innovations May 14th 2024:
🚀 GPT-4o: 2x faster, 50% cheaper, 5x rate limits than GPT-4 Turbo
🗣️ OpenAI unveils GPT-4o and new voice capabilities
🔍 TikTok tests ChatGPT-powered search results
🎧 Meta explores AI-assisted earphones with built-in cameras
💰 Anthropic launches Claude in Europe in the hope of raising more money
🤖 UAE launches a new AI model to compete with big tech
🖥️ Japan team builds Gen AI foundation model using supercomputer Fukagu
⏰ Microsoft Places finds the best time for your next office day
🤝 U.S. and China to meet in Geneva to discuss AI risks
🎧 Meta developing AI-powered ‘Camerabuds’
Enjoying these daily updates, subscribe below for more: Read Aloud For Me - Recommend AI Tools For Me
OpenAI unveils GPT-4o and new voice capabilities
https://www.youtube.com/live/DQacCB9tDaw?si=J_jFlxvKZUOOIJoX
OpenAI just unveiled GPT-4o, a new advanced multimodal model that integrates text, vision and audio processing, setting new benchmarks for performance – alongside a slew of new features.
The new model:
GPT-4o provides improved performance across text, vision, audio, coding, and non-English generations, smashing GPT-4T’s performance. The new model is 50% cheaper to use, has 5x higher rate limits than GPT-4T, and boasts 2x the generation speed of previous models. The new model was also revealed to be the mysterious ‘im-also-a-good-gpt2-chatbot’ found in the Lmsys Arena last week. Voice and other upgrades:
New voice capabilities include real-time responses, detecting and responding with emotion, and combining voice with text and vision. The demo showcased feats like real-time translation, two AI models analyzing a live video, and using voice and vision for tutoring and coding assistance. OpenAI’s blog also detailed advances like 3D generation, font creation, huge improvements to text generation within images, sound effect synthesis, and more. OpenAI also announced a new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS with a refreshed UI, integrating directly into computer workflows. Free for everyone:
GPT-4o, GPTs, and features like memory and data analysis are now available to all users, bringing advanced capabilities to the free tier for the first time. The GPT-4o model is currently rolling out to all users in ChatGPT and via the API, with the new voice capabilities expected to arrive over the coming weeks. Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/DQacCB9tDaw?si=J_jFlxvKZUOOIJoX
GPT-4o: 2x faster, 50% cheaper, 5x rate limits than GPT-4 Turbo
OpenAI unveiled its new flagship model, GPT-4o (“o” stands for “omni”). It provides GPT-4-level intelligence but is 2x faster, 50% cheaper, has 5x higher rate limits, and enhanced text, voice, and vision capabilities than GPT-4 Turbo. It also matches GPT-4 Turbo performance on text in English and code, with significant improvements for text in non-English languages.
GPT-4o can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 ms, with an average of 320 ms, which is similar to human response time in a conversation. It is available in the ChatGPT free tier and to Plus users.
Why does it matter?
GPT-4o is a step towards much more natural human-computer interaction. It accepts any combination of text, audio, and image as input and generates any combination of text, audio, and image outputs. GPT-4o will set a new benchmark for AI capabilities and pave the way for more intelligent and accessible AI systems.
Source: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o
TikTok tests ChatGPT-powered search results
TikTok is testing a new search feature that uses AI to generate results for some queries. For certain search terms, like recipes or product recommendations, TikTok will display AI-generated answers at the top of the results. These answers are powered by ChatGPT, and when you click on one of these AI results, it takes you to a page with a full response.
TikTok is also testing "search highlights," which appear at the top of some searches. However, it's unclear whether these highlights are AI-generated.
TikTok is also testing "search highlights," which appear at the top of some searches. However, it's unclear whether these highlights are AI-generated.
Why does it matter?
It could make search on TikTok more authoritative and reliable by providing factual answers from AI models like ChatGPT. This could greatly impact how people use TikTok for search and information gathering, thereby positioning TikTok more directly as a search engine competitor to Google, catering to younger users' preferences.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155875/tiktok-ai-generated-search-results-highlights-chatgpt
Meta explores AI-assisted earphones with built-in cameras
Meta is currently exploring AI-powered earphones with built-in cameras. The project is known internally as “Camerabuds;” however, it’s uncertain if the final product will be in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones. The cameras let the AI take in surrounding information visually, allowing it to translate foreign languages, identify objects, and more.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly seen several possible designs but has not been satisfied with them. Outside of design, the major hurdle is fitting a camera and batteries in a tiny device like an earbud.
Why does it matter?
For the AI wearable space, Meta's development hints at a growing interest in AI-infused devices, potentially paving the way for more sophisticated and interactive wearables. Regarding earphones, this development suggests a potential shift towards more intelligent and feature-rich earphone designs, offering users enhanced functionalities like real-time translation and object identification.
Source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-explores-ai-assisted-earphones-with-cameras
🎧 Meta developing AI-powered ‘Camerabuds’
Meta is reportedly in the early stages of developing AI-powered earphones, known internally as "Camerabuds,” — aiming to compete with OpenAI and Apple as tech giants rush to infuse AI into wearable devices.
‘Camerabuds’ would map user surroundings, capable of identifying objects and translating foreign languages using built-in cameras.
Meta already has its AI-powered Ray Ban smart glasses, while OpenAI and Apple are also exploring similar AI wearable earbud tech.
Potential challenges include bulkiness, heat generation, and privacy concerns, especially for users with long hair that might obstruct the cameras.
Despite Meta’s shaky track record with hardware ventures, Mark Zuckerberg is investing heavily in a future that he believes includes AI embedded into every device. But will standalone devices like this be able to win over users if and when a fully AI-integrated phone hits the market?
Source: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-explores-ai-assisted-earphones-with-cameras
New AI Job Opportunities on May 14th, 2024
🔍 Perplexity AI - Search Engineer: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59717759-search-engineer
📋 Shield AI - Project Manager: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59662354-project-manager-r2638
🌍 C3 AI - General Manager, ESG: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59647575-general-manager-esg
☁️ Scale AI - Software Engineer, Cloud Infra: https://jobs.therundown.ai/jobs/59597384-software-engineer-cloud-infra
What Else Is Happening in AI on May 14th, 2024❗
💰 Anthropic launches Claude in Europe in the hope of raising more money
Anthropic launches Claude in Europe with support for “multiple languages,” including French, German, Italian, and Spanish across Claude.ai, its iOS app, and its business plan for teams. The launch comes after Anthropic extended its API to Europe for developers. Both moves are part of its bigger push to raise more money for rapid growth. (Link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/13/anthropic-is-expanding-to-europe-and-raising-more-money)
🤖 UAE launches a new AI model to compete with big tech
Abu Dhabi's Technology Innovation Institute (TII) released Falcon 2 series: Falcon 2 11B, a text-based model, and Falcon 2 11B VLM, a vision-to-language model that can generate a text description of an uploaded image. This Gen AI model could compete with some of the biggest technology companies and make UAE a strong candidate in the Gen AI space. (Link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/uae-releases-new-ai-model-compete-with-big-tech-2024-05-13)
🖥️ Japan team builds Gen AI foundation model using supercomputer Fukagu
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers and others have announced the development of an LLM that can serve as a foundation for Gen AI using the Japanese supercomputer Fugaku. Trained extensively on Japanese data, which accounts for 60% of the total training data, the Fugaku-LLM model is expected to lead research on Gen AI tailored to domestic needs. (Link: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/11/japan/ai-fugaku-language-model-japanese)
⏰ Microsoft Places finds the best time for your next office day
Microsoft has launched a new app called Microsoft Places that uses AI to help employees and managers coordinate their in-office days and book meeting rooms. The application integrates with Outlook and Microsoft Teams, allowing employees to view and share their office plans and get AI-powered suggestions on which days they should come in. (Link: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155204/microsoft-places-ai-hybrid-office-feature)
🤝 U.S. and China to meet in Geneva to discuss AI risks
The U.S. and China will hold their first formal government-to-government discussion on the risks of artificial intelligence in Geneva. The U.S. side will be led by officials from the National Security Council and State Department, while the Chinese side will be led by officials from the Foreign Ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission. (Link: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/U.S.-and-China-to-hold-first-talks-on-AI-risks-in-Geneva)
Enjoying these daily updates, subscribe below for more: Read Aloud For Me - Recommend AI Tools For Me

I have a polish ally and germany no longer exists, they have been split between the dutch, chechs, poles, and me. should i wage war on my former allies? take over russia with them? become hegemon or conqueror of europe?

• August 2020
  • Start to notice symptoms
• August 2021 - October 2021
  • Undergo an elimination diet to try to see if I have food intolerances
• November 2021
  • See a naturopathic doctor – basically doesn’t help at all.
• December 2022
  • See a gastroenterologist in Colorado. (South Denver Gastroenterology)
    • Undergo tests – they come back healthy. Blood test = healthy. Don’t have Celiac. They do say that my thyroid is technically in the healthy range but to watch it.
• January 2023
  • Undergo a breath test – comes back positive for SIBO.
• March 2023
  • Take a round of Xifaxan – no improvements in symptoms.
• May 2023
  • Take a second round of Xifaxan – no improvements in symptoms.
  • Undergo a second breath test – comes back positive for SIBO but with improvements in the test measurements.
• June 2023
  • Take a third round of Xifaxan – no improvements in symptoms.
• July 2023
  • Undergo the Ruscio Elemental Heal Diet for 6 days – notice some improvements in symptoms.
  • Undergo a low-FODMAP diet for about a month – notice bad symptoms starting to return.
• August 2023
  • Pray and start eating without any restrictions – notice symptoms
• September 2023
  • Symptoms start to get worse.
  • See Dr. Hannah Hamlin. She begins by prescribing me the following:
    • Treatment Plan for SIBO:
    • Triple Probiotic Therapy: Take one stick per day for 60 days.
    • Herbal Antimicrobial Protocol:
    • Biota-Clear 1b : 2 pills, 2x per day, best with food, 2 bottles of 60 capsules needed
    • Biota-Clear 1a : 4 pills, 2x per day, best with food, 2 bottles of 120 capsules needed
    • Multivitamin: 2 per day for 60 days
    • Supplement/dp/B07KCZ6CDW/ref=sr_1_24?crid=BE5KSKA02TSD&keywords=multivitamin&qid=1695244863&rdc=1&sprefix=multivitamin,aps,102&sr=8-24
    • Nutrition: Low-FODMAP Diet - see handout - Remember to follow only 80% of the time.
    • Movement: F45 2-3x per week, walk/yoga 30 min 2-3x per week.
    • Sleep: Aim for 8.5 hours of sleep per night on average.
    • Supplements: Continue vitamin C at home, hold other home supplements at this time.
• October 2023
  • The protocol was not helping. Dr. Hannah Hamlin then prescribes that I halve the doses of herbal antimicrobials and halve the probiotic stick per day. The Low FODMAP diet did not seem to be helping, so she told me I no longer needed to live by it.
  • October 5, 2023
    • Started the entire protocol
  • October 16, 2023
    • Started doing the half dosage amounts
  • October 18, 2023
    • Stopped doing the low FODMAP since I was still bloated even when only eating strictly low FODMAP meals.
  • October 18 - 30, 2023
    • Was going in waves of being super slim and then being back to super bloated again
• November 2023
  • November 1, 2023
    • Ceased all medicine to see if the supplements leaving my body would return my body to a balance.
  • November 1 - 8, 2023
    • Saw great improvements and reduced bloating
  • November 9, 2023
    • Bad bloating and constipation until November 11
  • November 11, 2023
    • Excluding November 9, I had sen significant improvements in my symptoms. The symptoms that remained included excessive burping (even when having not consumed food) and light bloating even if I had not eaten.
  • November 17, 2023
    • Meet with Dr. Hannah Hamlin. She prescribes that I take Psyllium Husk and Magnesium daily to combat constipation. She also advises that I reintroduce the probiotics and herbal antimicrobials from before at full dosages until running out of them.
• December 2023
  • December 6, 2023
    • Started the regimen again, and my bloating and constipation had been super bad since. The constipation pills were not helping either. Thus, Dr. Hannah Hamlin advises me to hold off on the probiotics and herbal antimicrobials until I start having daily bowel movements.
  • December 16, 2023
    • After following Dr. Hamlin’s above advice, my body definitely improved, but the constipation remained. I am having daily bowel movements, but it doesn’t feel like they are fully getting everything out. I tried eating foods rich in fiber, running on the treadmill, drinking black coffee, etc., but nothing seemed to make a consistent impact. Remaining symptoms: constipation, bloating (not as bad as originally but still present), and burping even when having not eaten anything.
  • End of December, 2023
    • Start using senna tea to increase bowel movements. I had multiple days in a row where my stomach was completely flat and healthy looking.
    • BUT, I left for Europe for a 3-week long study abroad trip, and now my stomach is back to being very bloated and constipated daily–despite using senna tea during the trip. I was discouraged because I was doing really well right up until I started traveling for study abroad.
• January 2024
  • January 29, 2024
    • Appointment with Dr. Hannah Hamlin. She said: Week 1: continue Psyllium Husk and magnesium for daily bowel movements. Week 2: Start probiotic sticks. Remember the first days can sometimes cause a worsening of symptoms. If by day 7, you aren’t back to baseline of feeling better, then decrease to ½ dose per day. Week 3: Start herbal antimicrobials. Follow up in 6 weeks.
• February 2024
  • February 3, 2024
    • Get an infection and have to take the antibiotic Amoxicillin. Halt all other medication until completed the round of Amoxicillin.
• March 2024
  • Continued the protocol prescribed in January, 2024. Within a week or so, my stomach was doing MUCH better after starting the probiotic sticks. Unfortunately, I got sick again for the second time and had to take Amoxicillin again. Then, my stomach was extremely bloated and felt like I had regressed. Spoke with Dr. Hannah Hamlin, and she advised that I continue the treatment described in January, 2024.
• April 2024
  • April 17, 2024
    • Met with Dr. Hamlin. Felt like my body was 80% better on a 100% scale.
    • She advised that I finish the protocol outlined in January, 2024.
  • April 29, 2024
    • I had been taking vitamins to try to prevent getting sick again (since I had been sick twice earlier in the year. Realized the Iron supplement I was taking may have been causing extra constipation–so I ceased taking all extra at-home vitamins other than Vitamin D. I continued the protocol that Dr. Hannah Hamlin had prescribed.
• May 2024
  • May 9, 2024
    • Finished the protocol outlined in January, 2024. My stomach honestly seemed worse.
    • Met with Dr. Hannah Hamlin. She prescribed that I start trying to do core exercises to strengthen my stomach and that I try meditation…

Symptoms:

• Constant bloating – look like I’m 7 months pregnant all the time
• Excessive gas
• Excessive bloating that causes discomfort and tiredness
• Constipation

Not consistent but symptoms I encountered in the past:

• Fatigue, tiredness
• Brain fog? (not fully sure if that’s what I am experiencing, but I will feel out-of-it at times.)

Simply Vanilla - Anarchy with NO Hacking!

https://preview.redd.it/1s33su88yg0d1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1090c3da35e45e5bbd155d0ab5ab56f922f357ad
We have been online since 2019 with a strong discord community and active players. No hacking/duping allowed. Vanilla world-borders and accessible Nether-roof.
IP: simplyvanilla.net
Discord: https://discord.gg/dP7SqPF
Website: https://simplyvanilla.net
Map size: 10 TB+
What escaping spawn looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrveAGWT4LE
Can you do better? Join Today! - escape spawn, make your starter base, make allies, betray and conquer bases!
https://i.redd.it/of2z2mb8yg0d1.gif

Trojan(Liberate) is hilariously fun once you install it on enough Fabricators. Killing enough of a type of enemy will trigger the engineers to load and process schematics onto fabricators. After fabricating a converted unit, the deficient that triggered the fabrication event will remain. Trojaning enough fabs leads to corrupted fabrication cycles, where more allied units get fabricated because the number deficient was never addressed.
Having ~50 newly units aligned with warlord leave the map should be another trigger for Warlord alliance attention. >! In addition to DSF sterilization, garrison compromise.!< When my new friends left the map, they didn't spawn/show on the branch even though we went to the same exit. Such a shame, I was hoping to enter the caves with 20 or units and just smash everything.

In a recent interview on CEO.CA's "Inside The Boardroom," Shane Williams, President, CEO & Director of West Red Lake Gold Mines (Ticker: WRLG.v) , provided valuable insights into the company's recent achievements and future strategies. The interview primarily focused on the company's gold recovery efforts at its Madsen Mill and its aggressive exploration and drilling plans aimed at enhancing resource potential at the Madsen and Rowan Gold Projects.
Williams highlighted West Red Lake Gold Mines (WRLG) as a fast-track developer benefiting from established infrastructure and solid financial backing. When WRLg.v acquired the Madsen Gold Project, the project already had $350 million invested into its infrastructure by previous owners, and came with $270M of associated tax losses. Additionally, WRLG receives financial and strategic support from mining investor and billionaire Frank Giustra, enhancing its operational capabilities and market positioning.
Madsen Mill Cleanup Operation:
A significant achievement discussed in the interview was WRLG's successful cleanup operation at its Madsen Mill. Through meticulous cleaning, previously inaccessible gold reserves within the mill were discovered, surpassing initial recovery estimates. The company anticipates recovering a total of 2,500 ounces of gold from the cleanup program.
2024 Work Program:
Looking ahead, Williams outlined WRLG's ambitious 2024 work program, emphasizing geochemical sampling, regional mapping, and an extensive diamond drilling program at the Rowan property. These initiatives aim to expand resource potential and optimize production capabilities.
Exploration at Madsen:
Williams elaborated on WRLG's exploration endeavors at the Madsen Project, highlighting promising targets such as the North and South Austin zones. These zones, located in proximity to existing infrastructure, hold significant potential to enhance project economics.
Key Drilling Intercepts:
Currently the South Austin zone has an Indicated mineral resource of 474,600 ounces grading 8.7 grams per tonne gold and an inferred resource of 31,800 oz grading 8.7 g/t Au.
Some of WRLG's latest key drilling intercepts from this zone include:
•⁠ ⁠3.1m @ 21.33 g/t Au, including 0.5m @ 32.74 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠9m @ 6.75 g/t Au, including 0.9m @ 27.91 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠and 2.55m @ 6.08 g/t Au, including 1m @ 11.08 g/t Au
The interview highlighted WRLG's commitment to maximizing shareholder value through effective resource extraction and aggressive exploration strategies, ill drop the link to the full interview below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLemeui0fAA
*Posted on behalf of West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd.

In a recent interview on CEO.CA's "Inside The Boardroom," Shane Williams, President, CEO & Director of West Red Lake Gold Mines (Ticker: WRLG.v) , provided valuable insights into the company's recent achievements and future strategies. The interview primarily focused on the company's gold recovery efforts at its Madsen Mill and its aggressive exploration and drilling plans aimed at enhancing resource potential at the Madsen and Rowan Gold Projects.
Williams highlighted West Red Lake Gold Mines (WRLG) as a fast-track developer benefiting from established infrastructure and solid financial backing. When WRLg.v acquired the Madsen Gold Project, the project already had $350 million invested into its infrastructure by previous owners, and came with $270M of associated tax losses. Additionally, WRLG receives financial and strategic support from mining investor and billionaire Frank Giustra, enhancing its operational capabilities and market positioning.
Madsen Mill Cleanup Operation:
A significant achievement discussed in the interview was WRLG's successful cleanup operation at its Madsen Mill. Through meticulous cleaning, previously inaccessible gold reserves within the mill were discovered, surpassing initial recovery estimates. The company anticipates recovering a total of 2,500 ounces of gold from the cleanup program.
2024 Work Program:
Looking ahead, Williams outlined WRLG's ambitious 2024 work program, emphasizing geochemical sampling, regional mapping, and an extensive diamond drilling program at the Rowan property. These initiatives aim to expand resource potential and optimize production capabilities.
Exploration at Madsen:
Williams elaborated on WRLG's exploration endeavors at the Madsen Project, highlighting promising targets such as the North and South Austin zones. These zones, located in proximity to existing infrastructure, hold significant potential to enhance project economics.
Key Drilling Intercepts:
Currently the South Austin zone has an Indicated mineral resource of 474,600 ounces grading 8.7 grams per tonne gold and an inferred resource of 31,800 oz grading 8.7 g/t Au.
Some of WRLG's latest key drilling intercepts from this zone include:
•⁠ ⁠3.1m @ 21.33 g/t Au, including 0.5m @ 32.74 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠9m @ 6.75 g/t Au, including 0.9m @ 27.91 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠and 2.55m @ 6.08 g/t Au, including 1m @ 11.08 g/t Au
The interview highlighted WRLG's commitment to maximizing shareholder value through effective resource extraction and aggressive exploration strategies, ill drop the link to the full interview below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLemeui0fAA
*Posted on behalf of West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd.

In a recent interview on CEO.CA's "Inside The Boardroom," Shane Williams, President, CEO & Director of West Red Lake Gold Mines (Ticker: WRLG.v) , provided valuable insights into the company's recent achievements and future strategies. The interview primarily focused on the company's gold recovery efforts at its Madsen Mill and its aggressive exploration and drilling plans aimed at enhancing resource potential at the Madsen and Rowan Gold Projects.
Williams highlighted West Red Lake Gold Mines (WRLG) as a fast-track developer benefiting from established infrastructure and solid financial backing. When WRLg.v acquired the Madsen Gold Project, the project already had $350 million invested into its infrastructure by previous owners, and came with $270M of associated tax losses. Additionally, WRLG receives financial and strategic support from mining investor and billionaire Frank Giustra, enhancing its operational capabilities and market positioning.
Madsen Mill Cleanup Operation:
A significant achievement discussed in the interview was WRLG's successful cleanup operation at its Madsen Mill. Through meticulous cleaning, previously inaccessible gold reserves within the mill were discovered, surpassing initial recovery estimates. The company anticipates recovering a total of 2,500 ounces of gold from the cleanup program.
2024 Work Program:
Looking ahead, Williams outlined WRLG's ambitious 2024 work program, emphasizing geochemical sampling, regional mapping, and an extensive diamond drilling program at the Rowan property. These initiatives aim to expand resource potential and optimize production capabilities.
Exploration at Madsen:
Williams elaborated on WRLG's exploration endeavors at the Madsen Project, highlighting promising targets such as the North and South Austin zones. These zones, located in proximity to existing infrastructure, hold significant potential to enhance project economics.
Key Drilling Intercepts:
Currently the South Austin zone has an Indicated mineral resource of 474,600 ounces grading 8.7 grams per tonne gold and an inferred resource of 31,800 oz grading 8.7 g/t Au.
Some of WRLG's latest key drilling intercepts from this zone include:
•⁠ ⁠3.1m @ 21.33 g/t Au, including 0.5m @ 32.74 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠9m @ 6.75 g/t Au, including 0.9m @ 27.91 g/t Au
•⁠ ⁠and 2.55m @ 6.08 g/t Au, including 1m @ 11.08 g/t Au
The interview highlighted WRLG's commitment to maximizing shareholder value through effective resource extraction and aggressive exploration strategies, ill drop the link to the full interview below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLemeui0fAA
*Posted on behalf of West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd.

It's that season again! lets get out there and support our local businesses and our community.
June 1st - Kickoff Block Party (21+) @ Cocktail You'll find us on June 1st from 7-10pm on the 2300 & 2400 blocks of Central Ave dancing in streets, enjoying live entertainment, and celebrating in a way that only the LGBTQIA+ community can! Featuring DJ Ace Vedo, a giant Red Bull truck, local LGBTQIA+ performers, corn hole, and a few surprises, the first Satur-GAY of June in the Grand Central District will not disappoint! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-kickoff-block-party
June 6th - Stonewall Reception ($75pp) @ The James Museum Join us in celebrating the history of the Pride movement while supporting St Pete Pride's mission during this impactful event. With guest speakers, open bar, and some other special treats, this is an evening you won't want to miss. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/stonewall-reception-2024
June 8th - Youth & Family Day (free) @ North Straub Park This joy-filled event will bring thousands of LGBTQIA+ youth, queer families and allies to North Straub Park for this one-of-a-kind Pride event. Last year’s event was a remarkable reflection of St. Pete’s diverse and open-minded community, with many of the attendees being ally families. Guests will enjoy family-focused activities, vendors, and main stage performances. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/st-pete-pride-youth-family-day
June 13th - Rhythms of Pride (Latin Dance) @ Wet Spot Get ready for a night filled with vibrant music, dazzling drag performances, and captivating arts from south of the border. Experience the fiery spirit and colorful culture of our Latin Queer family as we come together to dance, laugh, and celebrate. DJ Ace Vedo will be spinning the hottest beats to keep the energy high all night long. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-rhythms-of-pride
June 14th & 15th - Shades of Pride (Juneteenth Remembrance) @ The Factory Day 1, Friday, from 5:30pm-3:00am will feature a Prequel to Ballroom, Poetry Slam and Night Party. Day 2, Saturday, from 1:00pm-3:00am will feature panel discussions, live musical performances and closing out with The Honors Ball. https://www.stpetepride.org/events/shades-of-pride-2024
June 22nd - Pride Parade Festival (free) @ North & South Straub Parks The festival, held on June 22nd, from 2pm-10pm, in North and South Straub parks will host a variety of local vendors and food trucks, Glamstand front row parade seating, beverage gardens, multiple stages, family area, and more! Make sure to check back for event maps and updates! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-pride-parade-festival
June 22nd - Pride Parade (free) @ Bayshore Dr Get your confetti, Pride flags, and dancing shoes ready as over 100 groups march the parade route coming together for an unforgettable celebration of inclusion, representation, and visibility! Grab your crew and get set to show that world that in Florida love always wins! https://www.stpetepride.org/events/2024-st-pete-pride-parade-presented-by-seminole-hard-rock-hotel-casino-tampa

In the realm of nature, nothing quite captures the awe-inspiring force of lightning. Even in our modern-day age, with all our wonders and technologies, witnessing a lightning strike and hearing its thunderous sound can’t help but leave us with a sense of awe and respect for the power of the natural world.
Among the Cherokee, a special kind of respect was paid to lightning. The burnt wood from trees struck by lightning was sought after by shamans. The wood would be buried in soil to ensure a healthy crop and warriors were rubbed with the charred wood for strength, effectively being “charged with bolts of sacred fire”.
To the Cherokee and other groups, lightning was a dramatic display from the spiritual realm, and served as a reminder of the spiritual forces that pervade the natural world and influence human life.
Interestingly, the branching pattern observed in lightning strikes is mirrored across various natural phenomena in our world, with one of the most recognizable patterns being the network of branches in trees.
This striking similarity stems from a shared principle of growth and movement: both the electric charge of lightning and the tree limb navigate from a point of lower potential to one of higher potential, albeit in opposite directions—lightning moves from a high potential charge to a lower one, while a tree limb grows towards a zone with low potential, in this case, a shaded area, towards a zone of greater potential, or sunlight exposure.
This observation highlights a universal pattern of progression; each decision branching out like the limbs of a tree or the forks of a lightning bolt. Perhaps this progression is archetypal, instilled by the Logos as a concept, which is why it is so prevalent. When perceived from a broader perspective, our lives too unfold in a similar branching design, marked by choices and diverging paths that closely resemble the intricate patterns seen in trees and lightning.
This image of a tree and lighting serves to demonstrate that the realm we inhabit is full of metaphors pointing toward higher concepts. Matter is, as the author Walter Russel wrote, “merely the record of ideas and not the ideas themselves”.
Material objects are the shadow of a greater concept which is more nebulous and abstract. The idea reigns supreme, yet its manifestation is physical form. For instance, before we create anything in the physical, it begins first as an idea in the imagination.
Within the imagination, the concept is still nebulous and it has the opportunity to take many forms. It is not yet concrete and “real”. It is still in “potential”.
Once the concept is acted upon, and work is done to bring it into form, then suddenly it has a real-world impact. It is “real”. Yet, at the same time, it’s not real. It’s only the shadow of the concept itself.
This brings up an interesting question: which is superior? The idea or the form based on the idea?
Some would suggest that the point of art, for instance, is to convey concepts. Observing a masterpiece allows us to converse with concepts of a higher order, transcending the physicality of the art piece itself. It matters not what medium the art takes, what matters is the concept that is being conveyed.
This dynamic interplay between the ethereal and the tangible showcases how higher ideas manifest and how these manifestations, in turn, draw us closer to the divine.
As the author and occultist David Goddard writes in his book Tree of Sapphires,
“By the penetrative observations of the Microcosm, you receive intimations of the Macrocosm”.
Perhaps no spiritual tradition encapsulates this concept more distinctly than Qabalah.
Qabalah is a form of Jewish mysticism aimed at understanding the nature of God and the universe. It offers a framework for comprehending the relationships between the Divine, the cosmos, and humanity through a system of ten spheres (Sephiroth) and 22 paths that represent different aspects and levels of consciousness and reality.
The system is visually represented by the Tree of Life, which serves as a map illustrating how the Infinite One, or Ain Sof, interacts with the finite world. Its emanations are called Sephiroth, which are attributes or aspects of the Infinite One.
Holistically, the Tree of Life can be viewed as the process through which the Infinite One differentiates itself into physical reality, metaphorically representing the transition from 0 to 1. It also represents the path back towards unity, from the lower to the higher.
As David Goodard writes,
“It is the lighting flash from Kether at the top of the tree, down to Malkuth that shows the path of involution, or the One Life-Power descending, plane by plane, veiling itself in denser vibratory states.
The sequence of the lighting flash from Malkuth ascending to Kether is the way of evolution, termed the Path of the Return.”
It is the Path of the Return that we will be discussing - starting with the very last sphere on the tree: Malkuth
Malkuth
The Tree of Life is a visual metaphor for how the One differentiates itself into many. One way to study the tree is to see it as a system of triangles made up of various interconnected paths. These paths are described as Activating, Formative and Balancing.
The author Robert Wang in his book The Qabalistic Tarot writes,
“...each of the key triangles on the Tree refers to one part of the Soul: The Supernal Triangle is the Supreme Spiritual Self, the Ethical Triangle is the Higher Self, and the Astral Triangle is the Personality in incarnation.”
In addition, he writes “the core structure of each part of the Self is composed of three aspects, an Activating (Yod-Fire), a Formative (Heh-Water) and an energy which is Balancing (Vau-Air)”
Therefore, each sphere works with the other to form the whole. The only exception is the final sphere, Malkuth. Malkuth contains all three aspects and includes a fourth: “Heh” or “Earth”. Yod Heh Vau Heh, also known as the Tetragrammaton, or the “unprounceable name of God”. Malkuth is the solidified end result of the actions of the Yod Heh and Vau.
You might also liken these forces to the Hegelian dialectic of Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis.
The forces can also be thought of states of consciousness.
The Tree of Life is also divided into three Pillars. The left Pillar are considered “active” forces and the spheres on the right side of the Pillar are considered “formative” or “passive” forces. Within the Middle are the equalibrating forces, considered consciousness itself by Qabalaist.
To visualize this better, think of music played from a guitar. The string is the formative, or passive force, the tension and vibration of the string is the active force, yet without the balancing force of the musician, no music could be created. You would just have noise.
We should regonize that there is no true beginning and no true “end”. When one looks at the Tree, both the bottom, Malkuth, and the top, Kether are both the beginning and the end. The top of the Tree contains the sphere known as Ain Soph, which is God prior to any self-manifestation, existing in no-thing, or what Ra refers to “Intelligent Infinity”.
Therefore, as the light moves further from Kether, it gradually gets stepped down into lower and lower vibrations, filtered through the activating, formative and balancing forces of each triangle.
Malkuth is denest realm on the tree, the “final” destination of the light from the One. It is the what we call the physical universe, the world of form.
In the book The Mystical Qabalah, the author and mystic Dion Fortune writes this about Malkuth,
“It is the formative, concreting function of Malkuth which finally renders tangible and definite what was, upon the higher planes, intangible and indefinite, and this is its great service to manifestation and its characteristic power.”
Within Malkuth, the tangible is precise, and the abstract takes a backseat. Forms here acquire a defined outline, in contrast to the superior spheres where the form is fluid and undefined.
Malkuth is the grounding point of the Divine’s will, where the idea finally becomes manifest.
However, the process of grounding this energy requires the use of channels and links.
Dion Fortune also writes,
“The whole problem of Malkuth is a problem of channels and connecting links. The rest of the work is done by the mind on the subtler planes; the real difficulty lies in the transition from the subtle to the dense, for the subtle is so ill-equipped to work on the dense. This transition is effected by means of the magnetism of living things, whether organic or inorganic.”
The physical, being a dense realm, can be difficult to break through without the appropriate channels and magnetism of beings and objects existing in this realm.
Being immersed in matter, it can be easy to think that we are cut off from the Divine. And, while it can be difficult to hear at times, the subtle calling of Spirit is always transmitting information.
As we work on clearing the rocks and thorns that block the heart, it becomes easier to hear the call of Spirit and to form that connection to the higher realms.
The more we form the connection and listen to the higher callings of Spirit, the greater impact Spirit can have in Malkuth.
The conduit for this connection is, of course, you. All of us have the potential to be channels for the Divine. In fact, as wanderers, this is perhaps the main reason for incarnating on this planet.
To act as that grounding point for the Divine. This is the natural role of humanity. To be the embodiment of Spirit in the physical realm of Malkuth.
This is the act of being a co-creator of the Logos.
Recall that each Logos is responsible for setting up the archetypal framework of a particular system. Everything materializing in Malkuth is a direct offspring of these archetypical blueprints.
Take, for example, the form of the galaxy. Our galaxy adopts a "spiral" configuration which one can see throughout the physical universe. This shape happens to resonate deeply with narrative structures, notably the "Hero's Journey"—a seemingly universal storytelling structure that is found in almost all myths told across cultures and time.
It can be argued that the reason this storytelling structure is so universal is because it is archetypal. That is, it is not learned, but rather inherent in all of us, accessible by those sensitive enough to perceive within the Deep Mind.
The narrative arc of the hero's journey unfolds as follows: The protagonist starts with a certain limitation, be it a belief system or another type of restraint. Eventually, the call to adventure beckons, leading them to accept this quest.
This journey propels them through trials and tribulations, adversity, and shadowy depths, facilitating their growth and leading to the acquisition of vital wisdom. After triumphing over these challenges, the hero returns, ready to embark on a new cycle, equipped with newfound insights.
This narrative framework underscores the principle of continual growth. To evolve spiritually, one must journey beyond the familiar, confront their inner darkness, and from this confrontation, arise, reborn. However, like in real life, the process is never-ending.
If one were to conceptualize this structure visually, it would mirror the form of a spiral.
Since the spiral shape is so ubiquitous, and if we understand that the Divine imprints higher concepts into the physical, then it appears that this archetypal story structure could be a universal pattern, at least in our logos.
This raises an interesting thought: galaxies with alternative formations might operate under distinct archetypal systems, a reflection of the endless variety and complexity inherent in the cosmos. Perhaps a hint as to what those archetypal frameworks could be is found it the shape of their galaxies.
How often have we heard of individuals being suddenly "struck" by a bolt of "creative genius"? Numerous tales abound of artists, scientists, writers, and the like who have given birth to magnificent creations, only to profess that the origin of their "unique" ideas felt as though they were not entirely of their own making but were, in essence, "channeled" from an external source.
This phenomenon suggests a connection to a higher reservoir of knowledge and inspiration, indicating that profound concepts are omnipresent, awaiting discovery and expression in our world.
This is part of our role here in Malkuth. To be conduits, grounding points, for higher concepts. To be the builders, where we can, of the archetypal frameworks thought up by the Logos.
This is true co-creation. To be aligned with the Divine, with Nature, allows one to receive, thus enabling them to move beyond the limitations imposed by Malkuth.
Malkuth is the first step on a journey back to the Ain Soph, back to no-thing. It is an essential step in our journey. As Dion Fortune writes,
“The Qabalah teaches that the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and that unless we learn the lessons of Malkuth there can be no lasting progress beyond. The fact is that our first spiritual lessons come from those around us.
And if we cannot function effectively on the material level, learning from the day to day patterns which we have chosen for our incarnation, it is unlikely that we will be able to function effectively on a more refined spiritual plane. The ability to sense the importance of the ordinary is a special form of discrimination.”