THE CARCOSA COLLECTION PRESENTS

HOB

A BIZARRE QUATERMASS TRIBUTE

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CARCOSA COLLECTION CONTEST VI

HOB

Minister of Defense: You realise what you're implying? That we owe our human condition here to the intervention of insects?

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

This contest is dedicated to the Nigel Kneale works featuring Professor Bernard Quatermass.

The final sixth episode of Quatermass and the Pit was entitled HOB – and this document will likely be the last of the Carcosa Collections.

The themes of the Quatermass series involved alien invasions in a variety of ways. These alien invaders were not friendly like ET. They were totally alien, malign to human life, and their agendas were basic survival of the fittest species. Much of SF shows and films have borrowed from these shows. In fact, it is argued the entire X-Files meta plot was lifted mostly from these series. You will find mentions and tips of the hat to it in Cthulhoid offerings post 1960… Dr Who, Star Trek, and so on…

The Keeper’s favourite tale is Quatermass and the Pit – which combines elements of an invasion from 5 million years ago, resulting in human beings existence being brought about by genetic and other medical interventions by Martians. It also featured themes of psychometry, living images in inanimate objects, an explanation for Psi and the Supernatural. There is also an encephalo-projector to see into people’s dreams and thoughts… Poltergeist / PK galore… hypnotic thrall trances…all sorts of interesting things that should inspire a bizarrist, mentalist and mystery performer!

This collection of presentations involves elements and themes pulled from that Pit by mystery artists. Enjoy and be terrified!

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DID YOU KNOW? GOOGLING HOBS LANE – Ron Dayton

In Henley-on-Thames there is a real street named Hobbs End, and Hobbs Lanes exist numerous locations in the UK including

In Henley-on-Thames there is a real street named Hobbs End, and Hobbs Lanes exist numerous locations in the UK including Bristol, Beckley, and Woodmancote near Cirencester.

In the 1995 movie In the Mouth of Madness, a pastiche of H. P. Lovecraft directed by John Carpenter, Hobbs End is the name of a New England town in the books of fictional horror author Sutter Cane, "this century's most widely-read author". As parts of Sutter Cane's stories start to influence reality, Hobbs End also becomes real, and is the setting for much of the action in the movie. Carpenter had previously worked with Nigel Kneale, creator of the Quatermass character, on Halloween III: Season of the Witch; and has also used the pseudonym 'Martin Quatermass'.

Hobbs End is also used as the name of a village in the 1999 Peter Robinson book In a Dry Season.

Hobbs End is both the title of, and Pacific northwest setting for, a 2002 slasher film directed by Philip Segal. It received uniformly below-average reviews.

Hobb's End was used as a location in Gordon Rennie's story Caballistics, Inc. in British comic 2000AD.

The town at the centre of the British 2007 horror film Flick is also called Hobbs End.

When Ben meets the character of The Curator in Mark Gatiss's horror pastiche Crooked House, broadcast on BBC Four in December 2008, there is a partially obscured Hobb's End sign on a shelf above their heads.

A similar name crops up in the 1971 Doctor Who serial The Dæmons, which is set in the fictional Wiltshire village of Devil's End. The plot of The Dæmons bears several similarities to that of Quatermass and the Pit.

It becomes the name of a fictional Massachusetts town featured in the episode, "Here There Be Monsters", of the 2002 series Stephen King's Dead Zone. The plot focuses heavily on witchcraft and superstition.

Other references to Hobbs End

The Séance at Hobs Lane is the fifth album by the Drew Mulholland project Mount Vernon Arts Lab.

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A track on the band Force of Evil's album Black Empire is titled "Hobb's End".

The Chance Morrison project 'Requiem for Delinquency' released an album titled Hobs End in June 2009.

"Hobbs End" is the title of a station in a model railway used for staff training by London Transport in a training centre in West Kensington, London.[3]

"The Hobb's End Horror" is the title of a book by fictional author Sutter Cane in the film In the Mouth of Madness.

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A FRAGMENT OF FEAR FROM DAVID SACKS My father tinkered in Archeology – while that wasn’t his vocation – (he was an art director for the movie industry) – he did love to explore sites where movies were being made, and his career did take him to many places. Too many places far and near, strange and wonderful.

When I was older he would take me with him. We would excavate many areas together where we found some many different things. Some were simple arrowheads and others were strange beyond description. Has anyone heard of the ‘fegee mermaid’? Yes, no? It doesn’t matter for that isn’t what I want to share with you all this evening. No, rather, I have something here that has many interesting properties that we can explore together.

But first, a bit of its history. Where it originally came from, I cannot say, only that it was recovered in an area in England. I’ve heard rumors that this area was going to be part of an expansion of the underground in London, but never came to be. The locals say that it is the devil’s area! For a while, I thought that it was just superstition, but not anymore – and here is why…

1) Pass out surgical type gloves and have anyone who shall touch the artifact wear them.

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2) Pass the object to people – close-up most likely

3) Talk about the energy contained within – get them to feel something

4) Once return eddo a floating routine?

5) Have it exude energy – the chemical reaction to create fire and smoke

6) Quickly place back into the box from where it came (Hobbs type box)

7) Have someone put the coin/medallion back on box

8) Do EMF thing; causing the coin/medallion to jump – ‘That the last of its energy, for now’ spoken ominously

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String Games by Balaram/Bill Zuerner

I was born dead. I am here now because my Gramma revived me. I don't know exactly what happened, or how she did it, but I always felt close to her, I loved her to pieces, and she seemed to return a special affection to me.

She was a gifted, gifted storyteller, and I could listen to her for hours. The summer I spent with her is the happiest I can remember, digging in the garden, playing her odd, made-up games, and listening deeply in the warm evenings, on her porch under the Summer stars. It wasn't until much later that I began to understand the teachings she was passing on to me. Her stories always began in the same way: "A little boy walked along the path into the deep woods, heading for the clearing at the heart of the great trees..." and in my little-boy imagination, I was there, bare feet silent on the thick moss, shafts of sunlight spearing down thru the cool mist, the giant trees, a faint burble of a little creek somewhere near, lots of ferns… I would scamper happily down the path, till something would catch my attention, down one of the many side footpaths--a giant mushroom with windows, a ladder to a tree house, a barrow mound with a thick wooden door, a deep pool in the shade, a glimpse of gems in that cave behind the waterfall--and I’d be off to adventure! I always had a choice in the beginning--now a hero, a King! A flying boy with a sword! A rabbit with a vest, seeking the missing cabbage!…and on and on and on…! On her words, it was more like remembering than hearing for the first time-that was her great gift. I won’t say the endings were always happy--but they did always resolve, and I couldn’t wait for the next. Only once though, did the story seem to fail. It’s possible she was waiting for that one. That time--the boy made a very bad choice indeed. He knew somehow, not to go near that pit, kind of like an old well, the kind you were supposed to stay away from--it was dark, it stank of rot and mold, and the crumbly steps went down, way down--but he went anyway. It grew colder, and darker, but he still was waiting for the fun to begin--he knew he should go back, but he did not. Then something was very wrong, it was all black, and just as he wanted to turn and run--something was there with him, and suddenly, just like that--he couldn’t move, and something was crawling up his legs, now sitting on his chest--, it scrabbled up his body, now face-to face directly in front of him--just staring, taking his will to resist-just-like-that. What did it look like? What would YOU find most repugnant and revolting, what would chase the breath from YOUR lungs? It was like that. ‘That Which You Most Fear Is Coming Near‘--To the boy, it was insect-like, but with legs at odd angles, rows of sharp teeth, and horns--and he knew it from every nightmare he had ever had. And now, it had won… It had him, he would never leave, he would never do anything he wanted

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to again, and he couldn’t breath, and he was stuck FOREVER, and the thing was CRUSHING HIS CHEST AND HE COULDN’T MOVE AND HE COULDN’T BREATH AT ALL

and then Gramma was holding me, and I was crying, for a long time, and she said “when you open a door you shouldn’t, close it, and if you need help, ask”. After that, she began teaching me games, odd ones, all about choice, and where to look to find out how-to-get-it-right when choices go bad. It had to do with trust, and knowing, and knowing to remember--I always called them the string games. Would you like to try one?

I can’t tell you how it works--but maybe you’ll remember! Here, this will make it easier--this was the “string” I made, this little stone with the natural hole in it, I dug up in her garden--she was real proud of me for finding that, told me it would help me see the truth. I added the little clay head--I was very proud of my sculpting this bugger. I always remembered with this one.

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(Use of a Pendulum is explained and taught, as needed. For a trial, I lay out a few items in a row: A rattlesnake rattle, a toad leg, a poison mushroom, and a piece of candy. Next 4 or 5 glass jars are produced. They are I/2 filled with earth. The proper position is forced*.) Gramma used to say, “If you want to get the truth, you may have to shake things up a bit”. (The eliminated jars are one by one shaken up and down by the participant. Items buried rise to the surface. The jars contain: 1) An acorn, ‘the sacred seed’; 2) A rabbit’s foot, ‘symbol of good fortune **’ 3)Gems/crystals, the ‘blessings of wealth’ 4) A small jingle bell, ‘The joys of life’ The final jar is shaken. Bits of rubbish, cigarette butts, what may (or may not be) shreds of failed origami--and a large, insect-like creature-- slowly rise. It is locust-like, extra legs, rows of teeth, twin horns, large bulging eyes...ugly yet strangely familiar… The participant has ‘remembered’ and avoided the Pit.) No further explanation is given as the props are gathered.  

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* Volumes are written on the subject, by those much wiser than I, and I am sure you have a favorite method already. **Of course, not for the rabbit. N.B. More of this happened than should have. It wasn’t exactly the Hobs alien in my pit--( but I don’t want to talk about it!) Some of you may recognize the terrifying experience now called “Sleep Paralysis”. This occurs when the mind begins to awaken from deep sleep ahead of the body--in the few seconds before the systems synch again, one feels immobilized and unable to move--and the mind, still half in the dreaming state, conjures-up various extremely disturbing images to account for the experience. It is possible that the many tales of “alien abductions” are explained by these moments, as the evoked imagery from the older, and darker of our primitive pool of fears is made even more vivid and unforgettable by that intense few seconds of helplessness. Gramma was for real, as was my summer with her, and her unusual teaching methods. And yes, I would not be here at all but for Her.

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A TRIO OF TERROR FROM WILLEM STAPELBERG

A. KHEPRI After many years working as a warden I decided I had enough of human kind and bought a small farm near Excelsior to live the rest of my life as a hermit. The first time I saw the farm it was late in the afternoon and the sun was changing the clouds into a dark red glow that made the whole world and the mountains near the house look mystical to me and I felt that I was on another planet. The only place to get some water was from an old well near the house. The first night in my new house I lit a candle and there was a bright flash from the candle that made me sit back in my chair in shock not sure what happened. Later sitting near my old coal stove with a nice pot of coffee on the stove and an H p Lovecraft book for company.

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It felt that I was in heaven :-) I awoke very late that night and the coals in the stove were now small red embers and my book was on the ground near me. It was very quiet and there came no sound from the night animals and this made me think back with a smile to a film I had seen many years ago called the Blair witch. Looking out of the window I suddenly froze with shock for near the old well there was a red orb moving around appearing and then disappearing. Scared as I was I decided that there should be a natural explanation and decided to investigate these red orbs. Moving closer to the old well the orb changed to a green glow and in the glow of the green orb light there appeared what I can only call a nightmare for this was a creature with an insect head and the body of a human moving closer and closer to me. I could not run I could not move!!! "I come in peace and bring you a gift human" a crackling voice in my head said. This insect thing moved two hairy claws to me and in it was A small capsule about the size of an egg. I passed out with shock and fear. The next morning I awoke on the grass near the old well and in my hand was The capsule. I shakily opened the capsule and a beetle(scarab) jumped out at me .................. ITS inside of me now changing me taking over my mind and body and I am slowly losing the battle and there is no one here to help me ........... All alone, no electricity no phone in a desolate place as the creature within begins taking control of me. I AM COMING INTO BEING Arcanum Flash paper (use with candle) D'lite one or two (red and green glow of the orb or spacecraft)

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Sitting in the middle of a room with just the candle on a small table in front of you. There used to be a peanut tin that you could open and a spring snake would jump out At you maybe chance it into a capsule or maybe a real living Beatle in the capsule.

B. ALLEN THE ALIEN Thinking back many years to the first time I met Allen in Miss Daisy's grade 4 class. Allen was ten years old like me but he was very white and I later learned that He was an albino . Allen always sat in his dark corner in class with his sunglasses on Playing with a pen. The kids called him Allen the Alien. I watched Allen in class sitting his pen on a glass and then it would fall off the glass after a while all by itself.

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This magical pen of Allen was a wonder to the mind of a ten year old that was me. Allen and I became best friends and we use to slip out at night and meet near the old bridge . Sitting on the bridge we used to look at the moon that was so big and bright Talking. "Hey magic man lets go to home" said Allen to me finishing a can of coke. Allen called me magic man after I showed him some magic tricks from The magic set that mother gave me for my birthday. Allen loved it when I made a coin appear and disappear . Sadly my friend Allen passed away a few months later . The last time I was with Allen we were in his hospital room Sitting on his bed looking at the big bright moon Drinking coke. "I am going home away to the moon magic man " said Allen I zipped some coke. "Magic man...... This is my magic pen and I want you to have it" Said Allen smiling at me. Many years later I still have the magic pen Allen gave me . "I will be going home to the moon soon and I want YOU to have the Magic pen. The magic is more in the story There are pens you can buy from your magic shop that will fall over after a while Or use invisible thread. C. THE RING It was a dark rainy night and the rain was falling softly on the ground making circles around my feet. I entered the Shooting Star a small bar at the corner of the street to get away from the rain. Hoping that it would clear up soon so that I could make my way home.

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There was no one except the bartender and what looked like an old drunk sailor. "What can I get you" asked the bartender. I replied smiling "give me some old brown sherry for the cold please." The sailor walked to the chair next to me. "Mind if I sit here next to you good sir?" Not in the mood for a fight I just smiled and nodded my head. The bartender gave me my glass of old brown sherry and asked if I wanted anything else? "Yes give this old sailor also something please" I replied. "Thank you for your kindness good sir do you think we are the top of the food chain sir" said the old sailor smiling at me. I did not answer him. "My name is Red sir Red Jack " downing the glass of whisky with one gulp that the barman had put in front of him. "A kindness for a Kindness sir" said the old drunk sailor taking a ring out of his pocket that looked like it had a red stone on. "for you good Sir" said the old drunk sailor "a Magick ring". The old drunken sailor gently put the ring on the bar table and said in a soft voice to the ring "A kindness for a kindness you will protect the good sir'. What happened next I can only say is that I think the old brown sherry went straight to my head for every time I looked at the ring it seemed to have crawled closer and closer to my hand on the bar table. The rain stopped and I decided to make my way home. I did not want the old drunken sailor's ring and said that I would be back in a second. Leaving the ring there on the bar table. The strangest thing was the next morning the ring was on my bed table and this is how I got this strange ring with the red stone ..... I have been a private investigator for many years and one of the cases that was very interesting to me was that of Jack the ripper that I followed with interest in the news every day. At night I took the ring and put it into a small bottle on my bed table. A few night later I had a strange dream that I was walking in one of the side streets of London when I noticed a stranger not very far in front of me talking to a lady of the night. The stranger did not notice me for it was very misty as I approached

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them. Suddenly there was a knife in the stranger's hand and he cut the lady's throat Open with one cut. I stopped in my tracks with shock and it was then that the stranger noticed me turning slowly to me I saw that it was not a knife in his hand but he had what looked like a sharp claw I saw this creatures malformed face and it hit me like a brick wall this was the face of the drunk stranger that gave me the ring Red Jack but is was now something alien something out of a nightmare. Red Jack moved closer and closer with his claw raised ready to strike at me mumbling something in a crackling voice about top op the food chain. Red Jack was about to strike me down when I heard the ringing of a church bell loud and clear. Suddenly I awoke sitting up in bed . The ring that Red Jack gave me at the bar was hitting the small bottle at its sides and looked like the ring wanted to escape out of the bottle as if it was alive and that was the sound that I heard that awoke me. I still wonder what would have happened if this ring did not awoke me and save my live. The next morning I heard the paperboy shouting "Read all about it Jacks back". Sitting on my bed I knew that this alien creature was coming for me. The ring started to move in the bottle and I could swear that it looked like the red stone had some insect legs that when I heard a knock on the door... Arcanum Table Ring with magnet or p k ring Small bottle Strong magnet maybe a glorpi

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The Quatermass Protocols

by Dr. Steve Murray

SEE IT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX2BwgsxkSE&feature=youtube_gdata_player The effect in one sentence: a spectator correctly identifies an alien artefact hidden within one of four boxes using a pendulum; once attuned the spectator can use her bare hands to identify the box after a demonstration by the performer.

Requirements: Four similar ring boxes. An extra ring box to act as a rattle box. A suitably strange looking stone or amulet. A PK ring. A small magnet glued into the lid of one ring box. A pendulum (magnetic) – preferably wooden.

Script: “have you ever seen or held an alien artefact? This strange stone was found in the Arctic circle; the stone is actually a kind of ceramic, and it's constituents have never been found on these proportions on earth. Why is this relevant? Well, it has certain, er, affinities...

”there are some that believe the human race has evolved only after the interference of alien intelligence. The question is – which part of the human psychological make-up is derived from alien sources? Owing to the need for evolution, and the principal of survival of the fittest it seems only logical that the desire to destroy those different ourselves, or our competitors, is the dominant psychological force within us.

Okay, so perhaps you haven't destroyed anybody lately! At least I hope not ! However, have you ever lost your temper? Have you ever felt out-of-control for a moment? It's okay, I would ask you to reveal the details. I just want you to think of the time when you've really seriously lost your temper. Do you have an incident in mind? When you have I want you to start recreating that feeling of anger, injustice or rage inside yourself.

Allow it to peak and simmer as you take hold of pendulum. Move the pendulum over each one of these boxes until to you feel a definite difference. Be absolutely sure - this one? Ok, let's see...”

The box is opened to reveal the artefact. The others are shown to be empty.

”now I know you are genetically attuned - that is, you have some of the original alien DNA within you-, we can try a harder test. In fact, here, I'll show you: mix up the boxes for me when my back is turned.”

Participant does so. ”now all you need do is move your hand about 4 inches above the boxes like this.”

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Here the magus moves his oft hand over the boxes quickly getting a ’reading’ with the PK ring. He continues:

”The feeling this time will be very subtle - based on an internal intuition, rather than a feeling. Just go with it. Watch...”

Having already ’spotted’ the magnetic box, the performer then pantomimes feeling for the artefact. This phase helps cancel out the last, but it is the next phase that will cement the illusion in the mind of the participant.

”Ok, I think it's fine for you to know I have the DNA, but now I want you to try a few times...”

This phase uses the boxes all empty, secretly loading the box as a kind of HPC move (see video). The magnetic box may even be switched out with the rattle box if you feel the need to run!

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Dust of Forgetfulness Andreas S. Have you ever heard the theory, that mankind as we know it, is descended from aliens. A very weird theory of course. But what about all the different books, all the documentaries about that topic? Some said that the power of aliens could be telekinetic forces, telepathy and empathy. Have you ever had a feeling, when the phone rang and you really know who your phone partner is, before you grab the phone? Or during a conversation: someone says something and you think…Yes that is, what I would like to say… or two people say exactly the same in the same second? Coincidence? Maybe… Maybe some psychic fragments of an ancient alien race? Let me tell you a little story. In Oktober 1795 the lumberjack Daniel McGinnis cuts an old oak on the Oak Island. Suddenly the young man stumbled upon a round depression in the ground. He started to dug down 30 feet before he realized, that this was the entrance to some kind of tunnel. The first theories of an old pirates treasure took place. No one expected something else as a pirates treasure or an old hiding place from the Templers until they found some “things” which were not from Oak Island. For 200 years people are digging but no one found anything except barriers to prevent the investigators to solve the mystery. Till today 25 salvage companies try to solve it. All of them gave up, some because of mysterious events of death. Which secret lies behind this hole? A treasure? Or maybe the legends are true? The ancient Indian epos Mahabharata says: “Ina, we go to the underground dwellings (…) the underground dwellings were wonderful (…) In the middle of the room, his walls shine in mysterious lights, there were four blocks of transparent stone, and as I turned in full respect to them, I recognize four mysterious creatures in it. Four living dead! Four people sleeping, three men and one woman, they were lying in a liquid, which they covered up to their chest. Equal in detail to the human race, except they had six fingers and six toes, sleeping gods.” Is this the evidence of a UFO ? Today no one knows where the original hole is located, because of all the different treasure hunters, which were digging over the whole area. So maybe no one would ever figure out the secret of Oak Island. 3 Years ago I found an interesting auction on ebay. Someone sold a little stone from Oak Island. The guy wants to be quit of it because of his nightmares he had about the stone. Maybe a relic filled with the energy of a higher, older, ancient race? The Martian brings out a small display with a “normal looking” stone in it and place it in front of the audience.

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Let’s try a little experiment about our “power”… which is maybe our heritage of the Old Ones. The Martian choose a member of the audience and shows a bundle of strange looking pictures.

These symbols were found in different places all over the world. They are looking like some kind of runes mixed with hieroglyphs. Here you can see the symbols one by another. He spread out some cards with different symbols.

Do you remember these symbols? Maybe you have seen them in your dreams? Please choose one of them and show it to everybody. What do you think is the meaning of this? Do you have any idea? This is the symbol of ice, of frozen water or coldness very interesting, because… (now it’s time for cold reading…) Let’s try something special. Please put the card back in the Pile, I put the rest on top of it. Let’s take the Oak Island stone (…because I don’t want to touch it, I use a piece of paper…) and place it on top of these symbols. Now please use the power of your mind and try to influence the stone. Ok you’ll have to get the stone in direct view; therefore I’ll burn the paper. In an amazing flash, the stone burns through some of the cards.

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Look, you have stopped the stone from burning through the complete deck of symbols, let’s see, where he has stopped. Unbelievable, it stopped on top the card you choose. And if you want: touch the stone, it’s cold…stone-cold. So maybe the power of an Old Race lies within every one of us hidden in the fog of our unconscious mind. The Martian takes the Stone with a tweezers and put it into a glass and close it. Suddenly smoke appears. The Martian shows the display to the audience. Maybe sometime we are able to look through the dust of our past.

Beyond the Dust of Forgetfulness The Method There is nothing much to say about the methods. To let the stone burn through the cards, I use a version of “In a flash” by Jay Sankey. The Flashpaper is motivated because this stone is “so weird”, that I don’t wanna get in direct contact with it. To let the smoke appear I use the classic Liquid ammonia inside a second cap of the glass and Hydrochloric acid inside the glass. So when the glass is closed, the smoke appears.

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The Props The Symbols I use are Cthulhu Runes, which could be found as free-fonts in the internet. To show the effect on stage it’s more visual if you cut the cards in 148,5mm x 210mm. Don’t worry about the handling during the “in a flash”-cut . It’s no problem to handle cards in this size. Try it… The photos I use I also found via Google Pictures. Search for “ancient aliens”. If you have the possibility, you could use a beamer for the pictures. The “display” is a simple jam jar. I have two identical caps for it, to change it with the ammonia cap. Therefor the jar is in a clear plastic bag, which has a kind of zip to close it. A second plastic bag with the ammonia cap inside is in my leather bag. So after I open the jar, the cap goes back inside the plastic bag and I put it back in my leather bag. At the end of the routine I simply grab the plastic bag with the ammonia cap. Be careful, ammonia is smelling very strange! So have fun Andreas

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“HIVE MIND” CHRIS HANDA The nervous-looking man in the tweed suit stood there, holding a cardboard office filing box. He looked like at any point, he was either going to run or tell us all to don our tinfoil hats. It was bad enough that he had two fans set up in each corner of the room, blowing “in a pattern that would ensure enough wave cancellation to disrupt any outside interference.” God, those things make a lot of noise, especially when they are all operating at different speeds! He began to explain that not only are humans very malleable creatures, but they have also been influenced en masse many times during our short recorded history. How could anybody in the room argue with that? The oldest people in the room still had recollections of the Holocaust, those approaching middle age could all remember sports riots and the mob mentality associated with “wildings” in the late 1980s, and even the youngest had experienced the phenomenon of a “flash mob.” But this was different. This scholar claimed that we were being influenced by long-dead creatures from thousands of years ago and from a race not even of this planet.

Time to take stock in ALCOA and Stetson; this man was starting to make sense. He took what looked like a sort of safe deposit box out of the file box, and set it on the table. He removed two items: a small box with strange patterns all over it that appeared to be organic in composition, and another semi-spherical, translucent object that seemed to glow and pulsate without an obvious power source. The man explained that these items were found in a sort of time capsule, and that they were wrapped in parchment covered in an odd symbolic language remotely resembling writings found at Egyptian and South American dig sites. The man claimed that after long translation, the

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writings seemed to be instructions for some sort of experiment or demonstration. To the best of his knowledge, his demonstrations tonight would be a result of successful translation. The first thing that he did was pull out an envelope. The contents within were reported to be answers to a simple series of questions that would match the answers of the majority of the room. After asking the questions, and instructing the room to keep silent and not share answers, he asked the entire group to stand, and to sit only if the information did not match one or more of the items listed. He went through five questions: two numbers, two shapes, and one color were all that he asked. At the end of the list, if 20 people sat out of the group of 100, it seemed as if even all of those had more than one matching response to the list of five. Murmuring and mumbling ensued as the scholar asked the room to take their seats. Prior to asking everyone to sit, the gentleman selected one woman from the many people who stood the entire time. He explained that the demonstration would involve the setup of several objects of timeless value, with each one being systematically removed until one object remained. All would know whether the demonstration proved to be successful as each person in the room would take home a remembrance directly related to the outcome of the experiment. The gentleman unpacked the rest of the contents of the metal box: A gold coin, a silver coin, a ring with a large diamond in the setting, an ornate crystal perfume decanter, a small jade statue, and a toy plastic insect resembling some sort of cricket or grasshopper. He explained that, with the exception of the plastic trinket, all of the objects as well as the odd-looking box sitting on the table were valuable items that both came from the time capsule and would return to it unless chosen by tonight’s assistant in the demonstration. The lady chosen was asked to put the seven items in any linear order on the table, and that once the items were in place, instructions as to the elimination process would be given to her from within the strange box. The instructions would not be read beforehand so as to not influence her decision upon placement of the objects. It was also explained to her that the initial focus of all moves would be on the insect token. Any move would involve a switch of the insect with another object. If the insect were to be removed, then the next focus object would be the box, followed by the crystal container, the silver coin, and the gold coin, and the statue. The diamond, if left by default, would be the won object. If any of these objects were to be removed by course of the instructions, then the next item on the list would assume the role of the original token. “But…we don’t need to worry about that,” he said, quickly adding “just yet” with a nervous smile as the lady chose the order of her items. After the items were placed, the man picked up the box, opened it, and dumped a folded piece of paper into his hand. He offered it to the lady, asking her to read the instructions carefully and begin to make moves according to these instructions. Moving any object consisted merely of switching the token with either immediately adjacent object. All instructions were to be carried out with left and right being from the point of view of the lady and not the audience.

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The lady went through a thought process, stopping several times as she switched and removed objects as instructed. The last instruction on the table simply read, “Pick up the remaining item on the table. It is yours to keep. Ask everybody to find the card attached to the underside of the chair upon which they are sitting.” Every person in a chair found a card as indicated. Upon opening the card, on one side was a picture of a locust. The reverse side said “You have seen that regardless of choice of whatever item of value that was on the table, your representative of the species was left with no choice regardless of decisions made. Take this with you to serve as a reminder that you are of one mind, and that choices given to you will not alter the course of events. Do not attempt to dissuade us. It is all a part of the master plan.” The man quickly gathered up his belongings, only having to place the spherical object within the box in order to collect his belongings and head toward the exit behind him. It was only then that the stunned group noticed the strange humming sound just above the level of the many different fans in the room, very akin to the sound of locusts nested in a tree on a hot August night. It was also then that the group realized they were not being protected. The man would not be interested in tinfoil hats for the masses. The fans were placed to distract the people, not outside influences. The humming noise grew a bit louder as the first signs of panic crossed the faces of the crowd. INSPIRATION/ARCANUM I put together a version of a swindle turned magic effect as printed in Tony Griffith’s column in the December 1982 issue of GENII. According to Griffith, his inspiration comes from John Fisher’s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. The routine above is a variation of a similar routine that I wrote approximately 14 months ago. The workings involve two sets of instructions, one if the token is placed in an odd position and one if placed in an even position. The only difference in the instructions lies in the first set of moves: an evenly-positioned token must move two times in order to put it into position for the rest of the effect to work and an oddly-positioned token only makes one move. Here are the instructions that I would Use:

1. (Odd) Make one Move or (Even) Make two moves 2. Remove the two end items. 3. Make three moves. 4. Remove the two end items. 5. Make one move. 6. Remove the item on your left. 7. Make one move. 8. Remove the item on your left. 9. Pick up the remaining item on the table. It is yours to keep. Ask

everybody to find the card attached to the underside of the chair upon which they are sitting.

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The version that I originally made up as per Mr. Griffith’s instructions utilized two slips. I corner-marked them with a small “O” and “E” in case they ever become mixed up. In presentation, I kept them in the left (odd list) and right (even list) sides of my day to day wallet, relying upon nothing more than the impression that there only is one set of instructions to be given. Later, I used a Himber or Z-wallet for the effect, and once even carried around a non-locking card box. Since I have a modified version of a Kennedy Mystery Box courtesy of the Carcosa Collection, I thought that this would be perfect for my re-imagining of this effect. The gimmick needs to be converted to resemble a piece of matching paper, but the method is very effective. The odd set of instructions should be kept in the left front jacket pocket and the even set in the right front jacket pocket, both for easy access to be put into the “receiving end position” for a false transfer. I teach false transfers to non-magicians all the time, so this makes use of the Mystery Box an easy adaptation, but whatever method of indexing and/or switching you choose is up to you. The beginning series of psychological subtleties is something that I actually use as a “warm-up” when I am doing a mentalism set. My influences are from Banachek with a lot of the wording and audience management from both his PSYCHOLOGICAL SUBTLETIES series (Hey! Find my name and credit in Volume Two!) and Kenton Knepper’s WONDER WORDS series. The objects can be anything. I wanted to make them older, timeless objects of value: Gold, Silver, Diamond, Crystal, Jade. The box comes into play to subtle indicate that the instructions have been in plain sight the entire time. Of course, the worthless token could be anything. Griffith had them put up a 1 p coin as a bet. I like providing them with a reminder. The addition of the cards under the seat is to link the single helper to the audience, sort of as a callback to the group answers from the first part of the story. Paul Gertner also uses a the placement of an object under everybody’s seat in his play “Ten Fingers” and I love that idea as a solid piece of interaction with the entire audience. The boxes are any metal box and cardboard file box/copy paper box that you can find. The glowy thing is a battery-powered night light that can be found in novelty stores and in some new age catalogs/stores. The Sharper Image and Target carry similar items. A good and cheap low-tech solution would be to find a translucent container and place a glow stick inside of it. Originally presented as a bar bet or a bank night routine, I rewrote the script for my own use as a demonstration of fate vs. free choice a couple of years back. From there, altering it to something that might deal with the impact of the excavation of Hobbs Lane seemed like a natural fit. CHRIS HANDA

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Science, shmiance – A Vaguely Humorous Short Essay on Our Evolution.

By John Birleson. We’re all very proud of the fact that science is able to take facts and data and interpret them in such a way that when its analysis is done, we the public have the truth on many wondrous discoveries and iPads. Religious views aside, many people believe that human beings have essentially descended from apes…or in some cases ascended. This comes about because numerous skeletal remains of early hominids have been unearthed that appear to suggest an evolution from a more primitive form of human to the modern, magnificent sample of mankind you see when you stand in front of a mirror. Oh and some chap named Charles Darwin might have had something to do with this idea of evolution too. I think he had a pet Beagle…but that’s neither here nor there. The problem of having this multitude of differing hominid types is that it is difficult to establish if one evolved into another or if they were all individual subspecies of humans and that we as modern man are the only ones left in this prehistoric ‘survival of the fittest’.

In the past, there was much scientific exploration to find a missing link in the perceived progression from primitive humans to what we are now. So it was that in 1908 a skull was found that the scientific community widely accepted as such a ‘missing link’. This was known as ‘The Piltdown Man’. It was a huge discovery at the time and although I wasn’t there, I’m certain it would have captured the public’s imagination as well. So it must have been slightly embarrassing and a

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bit of a shock when nearly 40 years later this same discovery was proven by science to be a fake. Someone had played a hoax that the world had accepted as truth. At the time there was uproar in the scientific community and old, boney fingers were pointed at various suspects believed to be responsible for the hoax. It should be known that some very respectable turn of the century scientists were involved in the initial discovery and verification. It was generally accepted that one of the initial discoverers named Charles Dawson was ‘probably’ responsible for the hoax. He had died before the forgery had been discovered so he wasn’t available for comment on the issue….well maybe if we had some of his essential saltes…but that’s another story. People did gather evidence against Dawson, but it has never been conclusively proven who initiated the hoax. Perhaps it is a case for Sherlock Holmes? Or rather his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who incidentally it’s been suggested in more modern times, may well have been responsible for the Piltdown Man hoax. Fact can indeed be stranger than fiction in this case. Sir Arthur did have access to the dig site; he did possess a deep knowledge of skeletal remains and anatomy, had a grudge against the scientific community and was known to be fond of the odd hoax. Who better to create such a successful scheme for fooling the establishment other than the creator of the great detective? But I don’t want to lecture on archaeology or even discuss conspiracy theories. I merely site this as an example to show that despite the faith we put in science, it can and has misinterpreted data and facts to fit in with what it wants to believe. Even in something as important as the history of the human race and where we come from. Is it so farfetched to believe that we are descended from some kind of ancient Martian hybrid breeding program? If it’s true then I’d better go deactivate that Uranium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator. References: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (interesting article): http://www.tiac.net/~cri_a/piltdown/winslow.html Water evidence on mars: http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Mars_Rover_Finds_New_Evidence_of_Water_999.html

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KOTAH-MASS-TERPIECES

I.

" A RABBIT HOLE IS A PIT AS WELL "

Ever since watching all six episodes of Nigel

Kneale's series Quatermass And The Pit, visions of caves, trenches , graves and bottomless pits have found

their way into my thoughts and dreams.

Holes in the ground each and every one.

A rabbit hole might be considered a pit as well.

My mind wanders as well to images of Alice and the rabbit hole she tumbled into.

I see the large caterpillar, Absolem , sitting on the massive

mushroom.

He spoke to her whilst smoking something from his hookah. How strange and other worldly he must have seemed.

A caterpillar, precursor to the butterfly, who had learned human

speech and human vices.

The poem he selects for her to recite, reflects the metamorphosis from youth to old age, and hints at the loss of mind and faculties.

" You are old, Father William," the young man said,

"And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head—

Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,

"I feared it might injure the brain;

But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again."

In my mind I hear Alice reciting this poem to fulfill Absolem's request.

In my heart, I hear lyrics sung by Gracie Slick , which I enjoy the best.

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One pill makes you larger

And one pill makes you small And the ones that mother gives you

Don't do anything at all Go ask Alice

When she's ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits And you know you're going to fall

Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar Has given you the call

Call Alice When she was just small

When men on the chessboard

Get up and tell you where to go And you've just had some kind of mushroom

And your mind is moving slow Go ask Alice

I think she'll know

When logic and proportion Have fallen sloppy dead

And the White Knight is talking backwards And the Red Queen's "off with her head!"

Remember what the dormouse said; " Feed Your head. Feed your head. "

In my mind I see connections in the words to the premise set forth by

Nigel Kneale.

The catapillar seems an odd messenger indeed. Insectovore potential contender for the throne as a Monarch.

King Absolem has a familiar ring. Through the looking glass might reflect another king.

Absalom is the name I see, father/ leader of peace once the war is won.

In the depths and darkness of a pit, who can claim to know what exists, what is real.

Insects exist, insects are real, they are survivors and transformers.

Bottomless pits and rabbit holes are the most dangerous of all.

If you should absent mindedly wander to the rim of its hungry mouth and fall asunder.

Kneale's insects of infinite intellect may find you before any others.

Under their control, the species shall be joined as one.

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Brothers, feed your mind , beware the pit falls and foibles of all mankind.

There is no pit as deep as the ingenuity, resolve and spirit of a

human once he's warned.

The Cricket and Cicada's final song's been sung, Operation ORKIN , has begun.

II.

" KOTAH -MASS AND THE PIT "

The title 'Kotah -mass And the Pit, is tongue -in- cheek of course.

The fact that six stories were presented was intentional, as there

were six episodes in the original Nigel Kneale telecast of 'Quatermass And The Pit.

Each of my stories contained human beings interacting with a pit of

some sort, and insects.

Pendulums were referenced from time to time to as an homage to Poe.

The one thing missing from my stories were the magical effects.

I have always felt that the magic should be in the words we choose to tell the tale.

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Others feel a trick or two helps to create and complete a routine.

The following suggested effects are offered to satisfy that requirement.

For the story ' The Cicada's Cicala Beckons', a small bamboo or

metal cricket cage on a chain could be used as a pendulum, to pick out a specific insect picture from photo cards spread upon your table.

Spelling forces or magicians choice may also be employed.

A whole host of sleights or apparatus could cause insects of all

sorts to appear or vanish/ transform or morph. Imitation bugs or beetles can be altered to be magnetized or have hooks attached to

them ala the hooked coins or key. Sleeving is great for vanishes or loading too.

Consider these applications or others when thinking of the story, 'The Utica addendum as well.

For the tale, 'Returning To the Pit, I would suggest transforming a piece of coal into a large black beetle. A simple coin sleight would do the job, or triangular handkerchief fold such as used to change a

fork to a spoon within the rolled table napkin.

An old and elementary beginners trick, seldom used but effective never-the-less.

IT has been suggested that I recommend using the effect, the Invisible Touch for use in the old mans' story in ' Two Pits- Two

Pendulum. Very effective as you tell of the black widow lowering to his neck.

For the young boys tale, you could resurrect a dead fly or produce a

live grasshopper.

Or insect parts, wings ,legs and bodies could be made whole or magically reanimated

Lastly, for the story ' The Terra Rosa Pit, a spent bullet casing could

change into an insect by any of the methods mentioned above.

allow your imagination to run wild. Goggle toy or fake insects. There is a wide variety available, including light activated cock

roaches for less than two dollars apiece.

How wonderful is that !?

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III.

" THE TERRA ROSA PIT "

Sergeant Bernard Andre Linder served with the 3rd Infantry Division during WWII.

As a young man he had enlisted when the US entered the war in 1941.

Not long after he shipped out and left behind the red clay

of Waynesboro , Burke County Georgia.

During action in France, their motto was ' We shall remain there'.

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It became known as ' The Rock Of The Marne.

Nicknamed the ' Marne Division, it was one of the Army's premier assault units.

The 3rd Infantry Division fought on many Terra Rosa fronts.

Operation Torch found him in Morocco , later Provence France felt the

touch of their boots.

eventually the red ground of Sicily, Palermo and Lausitz , Germany would come to know members of the Marne Division as well.

The invasion of North Africa, landing at Fedala, and the capture of

half of French Morocco, were stepping stones for the 3rd infantry division and others.

Stones which led to their landing at Sicily Licata , then on to the

beaches of Torre di Gaffi , Mollarella and Falconara as the 3rd pushed on toward Palermo. The next to final stone was the race

to Massina.

The 15th Infantry was part of the 3rd Infantry Division's "Task Force Joss" in the invasion of Sicily.

Two sides of the same coin, a band of brothers to be sure. Their blood would make the soil an even darker shade of red.

As it turned out, one member of the 15 th Infantry would become the most decorated soldier of the war. His name was Audie Leon Murphy.

In July of 1943, the Regiment fought with distinction at Palermo.

The red soil baked in the heat of summer turned to crimson dust when strong winds blew.

This cinnabar world was alien to allied toops. Those dust storms painted a landscape which resembled Mars.

Mars the god of war, the symbol for the planet is the same symbol for man.

It seems these connections transcend mere coincidence , to become mans fate.

For Bernard the red soil in these distant places made him ache even more for home.

Years after having survived the war, Bernard would be visited by

ghosts of haunting memories.

Inexplicable visions of events which he believed occurred during the Palermo action.

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They came to him in the form of nightmares and night sweats.

A pill box instillation and remnants of the German tenth Army .

A machine gunner, a sniper and a mortar team on a ridge.

Combatants who survived compliments of a previous poor decision made by General Clark.

Like the quiet before the storm, in the shelter of a small stand of trees, Linder and the men under him managed to rapidly dig in.

Each fox hole becoming a Terra Rosa pit.

A hole in the ground, protection which they hoped would not

become their grave.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose, astraifing volly from the machinegun nest sent every target scrambeling. Jenkins, the radio man took

cover behind a nearby tree.

He managed to get off a call for help, shortly before the snipers bullet found him.

Other men then abandoned their chosen tree and ran to the closest fox

hole.

Linder never saw himself as a hero, but watching from his two man pit, he couldn't leave Jenkins lying in the open. He might not be dead.

Bernard ran to his unmoving brother and began dragging him to the relative safety .

A mortar shell ended the attempt just as they had reached the edge of

the fox hole.

The force and concussion of the blast tossed him into the hole.

Eventually reinforcements did arrive, thanks to Jenkins, saving others but not in time for him.

A sad reality of war.

A purple Heart awarded posthumously , cold comfort for his family.

Medics managed to trans port Bernard to the nearest Field Hospital .

A tent city of healing and recovery. Doctors and nurses risking their lives in this theater for the benefit of strangers. They triaged the

wounded and tended to their needs accordingly.

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As he lie on the white sheet of his cot, Bernard had no clue how close he had come to dying.

A nurse and an I.V. bag were his guardian angels for the first few

most critical days.

Angels in a hell such as this, just imagine.

It was a darker , more hideous angel that visited in his dreams in years still to come. Bernard spoke of the Terra Rosa Pit into which the mortar blast had flung him. Of being aware of injuries from shrapnel ripping through his flesh. Gaping slashes, tremendous pain and blood loss. Then a weird calm, and the sensation of something moving in the ground beneath his body. Something burrowing, digging upward as if desiring to escape. It was big, large enough to bow his back as it lifted and emerged. A huge insect like creature stared him in the face. Something about its eyes had a bizarrely human feel to them. Their look conveyed compassion rather than elicit dread. She gave birth then and there to scores of large pincer jawed youngsters. They crawled all over him, using their jaws like surgical clamps or staples to close the wounds. Their mother positioned her head over my chest, then regurgitated a great quantity of maggots The maggots cleaned up the nasty elements of the injuries It is a very ancient method to prevent infection and clean tattered gangrened edges. At least those are the images that come in his night sweat visions. Some where in the background he claims to hear the clink of dog tags. They, a hanging pendulum on a hook holding his morphine drip. Were his visions/ memories merely the by product of morphine, or were they something else?

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In this world and others, some things are best left unasked / unanswered.

IV.

" UTICA ADDENDUM "

It has been a long time since what was termed a 'strange disappearance' occurred at the Utica Asylum. A long time, but not long enough for memories not to torment me. Local reporters on a slow news day, resurrect the incident as 'filler' for a given column or time slot. Memories haunt and remind me, Joseph didn't ' vanish', he was ' abducted' ! I was there that night a massive swarm of insects infiltrated the facility. Those who were not insane prior to the invasion, inched closer in its aftermath. The general public thinks of Joseph as some half forgotten victim in a Cold Case file.

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It has been a long difficult struggle to come to terms with the guilt of my own inaction. Joseph was not a lunatic to be feared, he was in fact , an innocent. A savant with the ability to peer into the raging red dust storms of Mars and glimpse the summit of Olympus. The synaptic firing and wiring of his mind gave birth to an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He was obsessed with entomology, Egyptology , mankind, and the planet Mars. His insights and seemingly far fetched conspiratorial connections had the ring of truth. He believed the basic premise of the story Quatermass and the Pit was plausible if not fact. Did he realize it was a work of science fiction which mirrored the fears of a given era? I think the brilliance of his own mind sadly blinded him to a degree. Too pure, to innocent to see. I believe each world and place in time and space has its own reality. Technology brings new and dramatic revelations. New research into our own DNA seems to indicate humans evolved from fish rather than from apes. Why then not from insects as well? Our fears , imagination and perception are the anvil upon which many a flawed belief is forged. Creatures from Mars, here to attack or dominate mankind, are you serious , are you mad? Who in their right mind would believe such an absurd premise were possible? Ask those who heard Orson Well's Mercury Theater's presentation of War Of The Worlds in 1938. Research accounts of the mayhem utter panic and deaths/ suicides that ensued. Concerning things perceived and imagined, I submit the following numbered images.

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They prove absolutely nothing, but allow the mind to formulate its own conclusion.

V.

" THE CICADA'S CICALA BECKONS "

If I were to tell you a story, fantastically far fetched, might you still be inclined to listen? A tale which began as a spoken account of influences, thoughts and memories.

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The individual revealing them was not permitted access to sharp or pointed items such as a pencil. To make this tale less antiseptic and impersonal, lets refer to him as Joseph. In retrospect, perhaps I was not the most qualified person to record his demons. Since I am not a Psychiatrist , no doctor - patient privileges are being betrayed. The 'where 'of these exchanges may clarify the situation, more than the 'when' or 'how' . I had been employed at the Utica Asylum for over two decades at the time. In my capacity as an aid at the facility, I functioned as peace keeper / sometime friend. It was never an easy line to walk , many patients were so desperately ill . Long bouts of meandering depression, festering and erupting into rage. I felt compelled to offer up what compassion and dignity possible. My mantra being,' There but for the grace of God, go I' . Oddly enough, some patients voluntarily entered a cage like device we had created. It was known as the Utica Crib. Visualize an adult size version of a child's wooden crib. add to that a matching lid which locked in place. Now suspend the whole from chains, so it might be swung and rocked. The crib had been meant to hold suicidal women to prevent them harming themselves or others. One patient in particular asked to sleep inside the crib. He claimed its interior brought a since of calm and strength. And, yes, this is the same man who allowed me to chronicle connections made within his head. I don't know why, but as he lay in fetal slumber, he became a contented cricket in its cage.

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Strange imagery to be sure. I had no previous knowledge of his obsession with insects. No one ever came to visit, so at one point I inquired about family, relatives or friends. He launched into a long and detailed account of a distant uncles death. The uncle was a recluse and an avid collector of rare books. In a hastily penned suicide note, the uncle spoke of black larval demons, carpet beetle spawn. Of their quest to reach and feast on his beloved books. Gaining mans insights and knowledge as they dined. He reasoned that since he had read these books, and their contents now lie stored inside his brain. He feared dark larval predators would find him in his sleep. Burrow beneath his flesh, moving gradually to dine again. Having ate their fill they scurried ,celebrating, copulating within the confines of his skull. The buzz, the sound of exo skeletons rushing, brushing against one another. The noise had driven him to a frenzied state bordering on madness ,only he could end. with a single shot gun blast, deafening silence returned once again. In retrospect, I wonder if this tragedy had been the corrupting factor. A cannibalistic chrysalis inside a frail cerebral cocoon. Yet another tipping point for Joseph may be found in the tidbits of information he dropped. Like the trail of bread left by Hansel and Gretle to find their way back home. In the 195o's knowledge of science fiction televised series from the BBC , had somehow reached him. What impact might ' Quartermass and the Pit' have had on youthful fears and brooding thoughts? Strange insect like alien creatures and their craft discovered deep beneath the earth.

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The premise and the ghastly ramification for all man kind were quite haunting. There is no question that he had absorbed an encyclopedic knowledge of insects. Joseph spoke in distinctive ways. At times he disseminated knowledge in a muffled whisper. It was as if a secret were being shared between confidants and friends On other occasions all signs of meekness vanished. His voice was clear and matter -of- fact in its delivery. It was especially true when he revisited the subject of Quatermass and the Pit. The skeletal remains of hominids/ humanoids, discarded or shed exoskeletons as well. He said ," The metal covering the craft they discovered underground, had the coloring and luster of a Buprestid Beetle. As the interlopers drew near the metal began to reverberate and hum hypnotically. Its sound reminiscent of the Cicada's Cicala. " With little or no pause, he continued, " I hear it plainly on many nights. It is a soothing lullaby for the often troubled mind. When we are allowed to work in the garden, the soil speaks to me. I love her rich feel and smell, the way she conceals and serves. She reminds me that in just seventeen years, the Cicada will again rise from the soil to sing and serenade the waiting ear." He made connections and drew parallels between various civilizations and insects. Joseph spoke of Kepri the Scarab headed god. I attempted making a joke and by saying, " Joseph, scarab Arab, aren't there any centipedes in Egypt?" He went silent and glared at me for a moment. before responding. His eyes told me he thought I was a fool , long before his words rushed forth.

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" N0-0-0-o, neither centipedes nor spiders are classified as insects. The centipede though not pictured in hieroglyphs as such, was associated with Osiris, a mortuary god. My my how the theme repeats , the earth, life, death and rebirth/ resurrection." He took a breath and then began speaking of new whispers in the night. Rumors on the wind warning of the coming of the end of days. Why he brought this subject up is beyond my understanding. During the next few weeks, strange dreams began to seep into my nights. I Dreamt of an alien craft and hoards of insect minions roaming in the darkness. Scouring the land and dwellings , searching for and collecting human DNA. I imagined the almost super human attributes some insects already possess. The strength of the ant, the agility of the flea. The Blow Flies knack of smelling blood miles away. The gift of sensing pheromones for some, seeing ultraviolet colors for another. The skill to share directional information between honey bees via a dance. The long distance migration compass of the monarch butterfly. I imagined then that the wave of insect minions carried the DNA to the king or Queen , what ever resided inside the craft Quatermass had uncovered. Would we become a melding of insect and man, a grand experiment in some twisted new world order? Was Joseph's uncle essentially correct in his assessment? Insects to a degree have controlled and decimated mankind before. The flea carried the bubonic plague. The mosquito carried malaria to fill both graves and mortuaries. A variety of ticks have a lethal touch.

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Night sweats come with a fact Joseph had shared in casual conversation. Even the monstrous looking Stag beetle was referenced as an Open Epistle in Aleister Crowley's ' "Book Of Lies"

" D0 what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Death implies change and individuality.

If thou be that which hath no person,

Which is beyond changing, even beyond changelessness.

What hast thou to do with death?

In love, individuality is slain;

Who loves not love?

Love death therefore, and long eagerly for it.

Die Daily

I cannot pretend to understand all of the things Joseph thought about, dreamt about or feared.

But I do know, during the seventeen years I was his shadow

confidant and sometime protector;

It was 'he' who helped me to understand thoughts and fears of my own.

August 23rd, 1983 was the anniversary of seventeen years within the halls of Utica Asylum

Joseph requested to be placed inside the crib to rest securely for

the night.

The wind began to rise unexpectedly and violent. The song of the Cicada attempted match the pitch of the howling wind.

Tree branches lashed the exterior of our fortress.

The sound of smashing window glass echoed through the corridors.

Just before the power failed plunging the facility into

darkness, thick black swarms of flies and locus flooded every inch.

People panicked and utter chaos followed.

Their screams of sheer terror were deafening.

Just as quickly as the storm had enveloped us, an eerie calm returned as did the lights and power.

I ran to check on Joseph since he had been locked inside the crib.

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The crib hung rocking like a pendulum , but Joseph was no where to be

found.

It was as if the choking swarm had somehow devoured him.

Somewhere an ancient space craft rises from deep within the earth.

I now look to the earth and soil I can no longer garden for the sea of insects

I look to trees and see dry dead Cicada clinging like grotesque

barnacles.

I look to the moon and see its craters form the face of a stranger.

I look to Mars and sense Joseph's presence.

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VI.

" INTO A PIT THEY VANISH "

Deep and dark , the bottomless pits of the world lie in wait for some unfortunate to fall inside.

As if swallowed by the earth itself helplessly they tumble and

vanish into darkness.

But do they die as flesh and body smash upon an unseen rocky floor?

Or do they survive, caught in a network of sophisticated webbing spun specifically for that task?

Later, plucked free by alien insect creatures, and carried into

caverns even nearer to the core.

The subterranean dwellers have characteristics like those recorded in cases of alien abduction .

They are of short stature, with spindly limbs with big heads and

large eyes as seen in wasps or bees .

Their coloring is an almost military looking grayish green. Their exoskeleton doubling as body armor.

Since they are indeed the captors, it may well be the early stages of a

war they are waging.

Massive wings which allow them to move swiftly from place to place, buzzing in the process.

Their three legs it seems pick up vibrations / messages,

locations using sonar like triangulation.

Something about them, the interactions of the colony seems to mimic a human counterpart.

It seems to speak of a newly created ancient link, if such a thing

were possible.

Evolution sped up and manipulated by intelligent insect life forms?

Preposterous ! I quite agree, and yet , here they were. Insects studying and experimenting upon captive humans.

Humans subjected to all manner of probing, injections and minimally

invasive surgeries.

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Most frightening of all, their DNA was mapped then manipulated and altered during the captivity.

The men were paired with females who had been victims of the pit and held against their will.

It seemed their captors hoped they might be induced to produce

offspring of another kind.

Worker insects preened and fed them, then led them to the chamber of their queen .

She like the ancient Queen Hatshepsut, ruled over her domain with the

authority of a king.

The sign of Mars it seemed, influenced her survival mode and aggressiveness.

Few if any would be allowed to leave until her wishes had been complied with.

Those few who did wound up on the couches of psychiatrists for the

better part of their remaining years.

Haunted, terrorized by visions and memories of an alien abduction.

The fall into darkness being erroneously interpreted as flight into space.

The chamber deep beneath the earth remembered as a room within a

space ship.

The probing surgeries and endless experiments revisited for what they truly were.

Their greatest horror and tragedy was that in the end no one believed a single word they said.

Doubt and disbelief, the greatest asset in the success of an insect

queens master plan.

Milk carton children and other vanished souls may also have stumbled upon the waiting pits of the world.

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VII.

" RETURNING TO THE PIT "

Tambor Brown had spent a good share of his years in pubs in both the capacity of being a customer, then as a barman as well .

Stints at the pump of The Black Boy, The Green Man and other

establishments in Winchester were an education.

In the very shadow of what had once been known as the King's college, the Hyde Tavern was anything but hidden.

Uni's from Winchester university frequented it often. For the children of the well to do with more time than common sense on their

hands, it was an adventure, an outlet.

A place they could debate things offered in their courses.

How then might someone the likes of Tambor Brown fit in?

Tambor did not have an extensive formal education it is true. But he had indeed learned life lessons and street smarts exceptionally

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well. He also had an incredible facility for retaining information he had heard.

During his time behind this bar or another, he had heard many things.

Tambor had retained a wealth of factoids, insights and hard earned

knowledge.

A Good bar man learns social skills, becomes many things to many people; Father confessor, marriage counselor and sharer of half truths. A good ear and a good heart can be most comforting.

It was like sweet music to his ears the evening a small group of

students entered the establishment.

Not just 'any' students mind you, these were Film Theory students with a fire in their bellies.

Excited and passionate about something called 'Quatermass And the Pit,

they found seats at adjacent booths opposite the bar.

The perfect placement for an attentive barman to be even more attentive, if you get my drift.

The viewing of the film was new to this youthful lot. The BBC and

Nigel Kneale had aired it long before they were even born.

For Tambor the six part series was an Avant garde science fiction vision /prophecy.

It was a subject soon to be up for discussion, which he felt his

input might advance.

Perhaps with a bit of coaxing, Julie the waitress would act as his Devils advocate, time would tell.

Every group seems to have a spokesman or leader, in this instance his name was Julien L ongwell. His entourage of like minded cohorts consisted of seven additional members. Three gentlemen, Richard, Trent and Edward , and four young ladies; Abigail, Cheryl. Barbara and Joy. How cozy and convenient that the potential pairing of the sexes should work out so well. Convenient perhaps, but not always conducive to an open discussion or exchange of view points. Once they were seated at a booth, Julien opened the debate with a very simple question.

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" Now that we have all had the opportunity to view Nigel Kneale's " Quatermass And The Pit in its entirety, what is your initial take on things ? "

Richard was the first to reply to Julian’s query, saying;

" I thought the entire concept of the work was brilliant.

Ground breaking. thinking so far outside the box as to influence science fiction writings and films for decades to come. He chose a road which none before had traveled.

" For pity sake, tying Aliens from Mars in with the very evolution of

mankind, how radical is that !?"

Not to mention the rock solid background premise of the plot. Excavations in Hobbs Lane in London, reveal skeletons of a previously unknown species of hominid. As paleontologists dig further, they

uncover a missile-shaped object.

This ' object is mistakenly thought to be an unexploded bomb from the Second World War.

Thankfully, brilliant rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass is available to evaluate the situation. "

Like an annoying bell, Trent chimed in with his impression of the Quatermass series. He began with an opening line, no one could believe. " I really didn't like the fact that it was filmed in black and white. The special effects seemed really low budget. The Alien space craft looked like a flipping loaf of French Bread with bumps along its side. Do actually think an advanced intelligent life form would travel in a sandwich?" Edward jumped in next, Asking Trent in an agitated tone; " Are you daft mate, a little drunk or just plain stupid?" This film series played on psychological terror for its strength. You probably wouldn't know brilliant film making if it bit you on the arse." "So your alright with strands of hokey looking latex and bits of Tofu are passed off as genetic membranes? You are thrilled with cumbersome hatches that are threaded into place? I thought it was pathetic and laughable, that's all." And I think you dear Trent are pathetic and laughable, Richard countered.

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Of course it was filmed in black and white, the series was created as a six part series on BBC television fifty some years ago. You want color, better special effects and arguably better acting, watch the Hammer films remake. " Tambor stood , watched and listened in disbelief from behind the bar. He had all he could do to keep from laughing out loud. He couldn't wait to hear what the young ladies might have to toss in the pot. The elephant in the room was the fact that four of their number were female, and yet not one of the women had advanced an opinion. while its true they say women are from Venus and men are from Mars, ambor was a bit perplexed until the gal named Barbara stepped up to the plate. " I liked the film quite a lot in general", she began. " But I can't really say I was fond of the way the character of Barbara Judd was handled." She was one of the very few who had no 'title' of some sort other than 'assistant' . They portrayed her as a rather mousy subservient type. woman good enough to run errands , make coffee or be at Dr. Roney's beck and call. But Barbara Judd did the initial facial reconstruction of the ape man skull, she ran the tests on the decaying insect remains later on as well. And while so many of the good old boys and soldiers were soiling themselves down in the Pit , Judd's character braved returning to its office for important documents and notes. I didn't like the way she was treated like a guinea pig, voluntarily or not; or the way they said 'her' brain was more susceptible to the alien transmissions. What was that all about? some sort of twisted 'me Tarzan, you Jane code talk? were they suggesting the female brain was somehow inferior and there fore easily manipulated? " "Help me out here Mr. Barman, she said directly to Tambor Brown", with a smile. Tambor could see she wasn't a hard core feminist by any stretch of the imagination. He also found himself in agreement with several of the things she said. So now, the door had been opened, the proverbial ball was in his court. What stand might he take, how would he decide to respond?

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Tambor walked through that open door way with a twinkle in his eye, a smile and a rich full throated laugh. A laugh that did not mock, but spoke the rare language of camaraderie. " Ah yes , dear lady, I remember the full six hour televised series well. Saw it first hand when I was a younger man. the things you say are true. The war of the sexes is as real as any war of the worlds we might imagine. But times have come full circle, have changed / improved a bit . At least I think they have. It was such a different era. London as you know had survived the terrors of incessant bombing by the Nazis The fact that the mysterious craft was thought to be an unexploded bomb , spoke volumes of the hidden fears still ravaging societies sub conscious . They were lingering ghosts as well, seen in empty bombed out buildings. Specters of those who fell while protecting us and all the world from this alien invader. A force, creatures, not men, seeking domination, dominion of the entire world. Maybe the entire work was a metaphor for mankind itself ? It was a warning to be sure. Remember they mentioned concerns about Nuclear weapons. They said there was unrest in the middle east, and racial divisions and riots else where as well. All of these problems still exist in the world in the here and now. The more things change, the more they stay the same. " " What is it you're implying then 'Professor' Tambor? " , The chap named Edward asked . Are you saying that other than the Hammer studio big budget remake, something like the Pit could actually exist today ?" " Oh ya, ' Five Million Years to Earth'. the release they made on the other side of the pond, right? Good movie, well financed, and in glorious ' Technicolor' , Tambor said with a wink and a nod toward Trent. Better acting perhaps, a definite upgrading of creatures and their space craft. Big studios know other selling points as well. Sorry ladies, but sex sells, so they upgraded the Barbara Judd character as well.

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Barbara Shelly took over the reins most admirably. Brains, confidence and a great pair of legs, a win win combination. Hammers Scream Queen left Jack the Ripper and Dracula along the roadside during her journey to Quatermass's Pit ." It seems to me, our dear 'Professor' elects to dance around the question, rather than answer it. "

Trent said with a newly acquired sense of distain in his words .

It seems his ego was still bruised a bit by the chiding delivered

earlier.

" First of all Boy-o, I am not 'your' professor, I'm just a guy who serves up the pints here about.

I was asked in on your little discussion, and am trying to put some ideas out there as best I can.

Any body see me dancing here ? I'm not some horse and pony show, there's no cover charge, no two- drink minimum. Just forget

it, I'll shut my yap and let you do your thing."

If you're thirsty, for more than theory, Julie will be glad to take your order."

They did in fact order another round of libations, minus one.

Trent decided to leave his friends, to find others somewhere else.

The void was soon filled by more productive conversation.

Now, even the girls seemed more keen to hear what Tambor had to say.

He had gained their respect via the direct and honest manner in which he had cleared the air.

" The original location for the action at which the Pit was supposedly filmed was London.

Ninety - seven or so kilometers from here, a mere stone's throw away,

so to speak

The dig was for an underground station, the craft according to the now absent Trent, was a loaf of French Bread."

"Now imagine if you will, that the dig site is one of the many large Open pit mining operations here in the UK. Operations seeking

deep deposits of anthracite coal. Sites at which humongous machines scoop and dig and crush and crawl. They, like alien

creatures burrow and devour with a ravenous appetite. "

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" As we stand at the edge of the pits rim and look down into the crater. The equipment at the very floor, coated in coal dust, in dusks fading

light, becomes a setting most macabre.

The Midway rides at a dark Carnival of the Doomed.

It appears one of the powerful crusher crawlers has unearthed a foreign object of some sort.

Unearthed what ever it is, but didn't crush it, didn't even scratch it

in the slightest.

This thing is harder than a diamond. Its radical angular facet like surfaces, rival our most advanced stealth designs. It like

the Quatermass object is not made of metal."

"Our best scientific minds suggest it is a composite material of some kind.

Its composition, a melding of pseudo organic substances. possibly resembling the exo skeletons of a beetle

and webbing layers similar to that spun by an arachnid of some sort."

"Unlike the craft in the Nigel Kneale series, this is a container, a cryogenic chamber. Did it originate from Mars ? Who's to say it didn't. " " The crust of mars is 70 % comparable to ours. The massive polar caps of Mars are Dry ice for Pete's sake. A thermal container such as this could have hitched a ride to earth on or in a meteor. A very early, pre historic meteor strike. The sheer velocity and impact would have buried this thing deep inside the earth. Like an alien time capsule or chrysalis waiting to open or be hatched." "An alien species with superior intellect may indeed have had designs along those Kneale had suggested." This container, this black Pandora's box, may well contain and preserve the very essence of their DNA. How then might an alien creature transpose or infect another species they wished to over take/ blend in with? " How indeed" several of the students asked almost simultaneously. " I would create a specialized container. Its molecular and atomic structure would allow a form of osmosis to take place. The DNA saturated fumes of the dry ice would disperse, leech into and become part and parcel of all carbon based fuels the creatures of this planet now rely on.

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The alien off spring learned to adapt and survive. The burrowed deep, consumed the plant based food source the millennia of time and pressure had provided in abundance, Coal. peat, crude oil and the like. they say you are what you eat, so in a way the two became as one entity. Their waste, fluids, cells part and parcel with the fossil fuels." " Now, in essence Pandora's Box has been transformed into the Trojan Horse of Troy. The fuels we seek out and bring into our homes for heat, the gas the coal and oil. The petrol we use in our cars have one common denominator. They all burn and create emissions in one form or another. Smoke and fumes released directly into our atmosphere. Wisps of white or gray, ghosts of long dead aliens actually. Like Lazarus resurrected to be reborn inside every human to draw a breath. Absorbed into our very lungs and blood stream. One there free to mold us to their will or their form if that be their end game." All of the fears mankind had when Nigel Kneale first created his film are even more real and prevalent today. Nuclear proliferation, racial and economic turmoil and raging conflict in the middle east. " Talk of the End of Days, references to the ancient Mayan calendar seem to be the writing on the wall. The Martians it seems have already read it. Hell, for all we know, they nay have had a hand in writing it. Mars was named for the God of war you know. The planets blood red color more prophetic than coincidental? But wait, this invisible invasion and take over was subtle and ingenious. Domination of a planet and its inhabitants, sans a single drop of blood shed on either side. Almost as brilliant as Nigel Kneale himself. As we speak, human scientists are actively searching the universe for another planet suited to be our home some time in the future. When 'we' arrive, the Martians will have arrived as well!

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" TWO PITS, TWO PENDULUMS "

VIII.

" THE YOUNG BOY AND THE PIT "

The troubled young boy sat on the back porch of their house, his attention focused on a fly he had captured in his cupped hands. Oh so carefully, almost tenderly, he trapped its wings between his thumb and index finger. He had no intention of freeing it. In a moment he began dismantling it by tearing off its legs one by one. That task completed he moved on to the creatures wings. They too were ripped from its body, leaving only a tiny black torso lying there,

buzzing like a cell phone set on vibrate.

Large black ants could not escape being tormented as well. They were fated to be incinerated in the white laser beam of sunlight created by his magnifying glass. He found the strange aroma of the fine wisp of

smoke rising from the body quite pleasant, almost intoxicating / addictive.

A large dragon fly mesmerized him with its alternating hovering-

darting pattern of flight.

It glistened like a sun-catcher bauble hanging pendulum like from an unseen string.

Its large wings glistened in the sunlight. Instantly, he knew this was

a trophy victim he had to have.

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It evolved to become his obsession, his quest. He followed its erratic flight for hours

Eventually the boy found himself far from home .

He stood tired and dazed , mere yards from the rim of a large gravel pit on the outskirts of town.

A desolate place where the screams of a young boy might not be heard,

a body not soon found.

Burrowing insects of every kind had eaten the roots of the grass near the edge.

Diligently, they tunneled , making the soil more porous and unstable.

Any living thing venturing too near, did so at their own peril.

A boy obsessed with the dragon fly hovering, almost within reach

might not be wise.

The insect taunted and beckoned him to draw nearer, then seemed to smile as the lad tumbled like a crash car dummy toward the bottom of

the pit.

An avalanche of gravel covered him completely.

Being buried alive is a horrible way to die. It is slow enough for one to reflect on their transgressions.

Surely enough to guarantee they will not continue.

Even insects , in life's larger picture will seek retribution / justice.

As the body decays, insects will come to call and take their pound of

flesh.

Payment in full at last for atrocities endured.

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IX.

" THE OLD MAN AND HIS PIT "

----- A gnarled half dead tree watched as an old man walked toward a freshly dug open grave near by.

Its sprawling limbs and broad leaves could have shaded that

spot once upon a time.

But no longer, disease robbed it of its glory long ago

The old man eased up to the edge of this man made pit, six feet deep, six feet long by one yard wide.

He stood there in silence for the longest time. Slowly, a smug self

satisfied smiled came to his lips.

Then a low guttural laugh slithered from his mouth.

The casual observer could never guess the dark humor he found in his deed.

He was a newly liberated widower. The woman he had been wed to

for forty three years had died.

She a sickly woman he had been saddled with. The burden of caring for her was like a stone around his neck.

Feed her, bathe her, get her into and out of bed. see to her meds.

He viewed himself as a prisoner providing hospice care.

If she really loved him, why did she insist on punishing him by

lingering ?

In his mind, he had explored a plethora of possible scenarios to resolve this situation.

He had yet to find a fool proof method for causing his life partner to expire.

The answer came to him quite literally, in the form of a honey bee.

The bee was busily gathering pollen in the flower garden.

The flower garden was a place his wife adored, but could not tend herself.

This task there fore fell to him as well.

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His wife you see , could have an adverse reaction to a bee sting.

Its tiny dart could send her into anaphylactic shock and possible cardiac arrest.

the day before her sad and unexpected demise, he had discovered a bee tangled in a spider web.

fortunately he got to the bee before the spider had.

He transported the bee to the house in an empty amber plastic

pill vial .

That evening as he assisted in bathing her, he uncapped the vial and pressed the open end lightly on her back.

The assassin bee struck swift and silently.

With minimal thrashing or fanfare, her lifeless body soon sank into the water.

An open window the obvious ingress chosen by her killer.

Still gazing into the pit, the man did not see the spider descending

from the tree limb on a silver strand.

A deadly pendulum of death swaying in the gentle breeze.

This widow lowers to the widower to bestow her kiss.

He never glanced up, never saw the red hourglass marking on her abdomen.

he never felt her as she so gingerly came to light upon the back of his neck.

Two lone visitors to a grave site in a remote rural cemetery.

No one saw or head his body land in the pit with a sickening thud.

Poor devil the neighbors said. First his darling wife and then he passed suddenly.

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they surmised it may well have been from a broken heart.

The spider knows the truth. she knows all too well the quote ;

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. "

That thing in the pit should have never tampered with a sister spiders web.

When he took that bee caught in the garden web, he took food from her hungry brood.

The bee died after delivering its sting.

Its only right that the old man died as well.

The ratio of insects to man is two hundred million to one.

Do they control our minds?

No , not yet, that may take a bit more time.

The invasion Nigel Kneale first suggested is a clear and present

danger.

Mankind would be well advised to tread extremely lightly.

One errant misplaced step , followed by a crunch, might bring the whole bunch down upon you.

We will never be able to eat enough chocolate covered ants, bees or

grasshoppers to level the playing field.

It seems our only viable option would be to yield.

We like the old man in the pit, eventually will encounter them anew.

KOTAH

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The Quatermass Prophecy Chronicler’s Preface: In February, 2012, Dr. Spector (referred to as Dr. Spooky throughout this manuscript) proposed a challenge to his friends involving creating a presentation using the story or elements of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT as the basis. Finding nearly the full collection of the Quatermass storied online, I ordered them all so I could absorb everything I could. Somehow I ended up with an extra copy of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT. Upon watching the story, a British 6 part TV serial, I realized that I had seen the move that was based on it (5 MILLION YEARS TO EARTH) in my childhood, so the story was not unfamiliar. In 1958, Nigel Kneale, the author of this story, wrote of an alien craft being discovered amongst fossilized remains of human ancestors, and implying that these beings had influenced, and possibly directed our evolution. This is a common theory now that can be seen in many books and on the History series Ancient Aliens. He introduced a device that allows one to visually see the images thought of or in the mind of another. Scientists announced work on a similar device earlier this year, it was in the press at the time I had started watching the film. And lastly, the discovery of the “ship” itself; another major news story at this time was the discovery of what appears to be a spacecraft in the Baltic Sea.

Other elements of the story concerning PSI and occult studies also fit within the “current” model of research into these subjects. To me, it appeared that this story of more than 50 years ago predicted what was to come, it could be a “prophecy”. I sent my thoughts along with the extra copy of the DVD to Anton Black. Those who have followed my writings on this man will understand. Black is an expert in many different fields, and I wanted to get his thoughts on what I had observed. He did not reply. Just to weeks ago, I received an invitation to Black’s home. What follows is as faithful a description as I can provide. Tony Iacoviello March, 21, 2011

In 2010, what appears to be a flying saucer was discovered in the Baltic Sea. This was reported on by most all the major news sources in early 2011.

In 2011, scientist announced that they were developing a device that would allow visual observation of images from the mind, a very similar concept as to what is found in the Quatermass story.

”Beautiful” is the word I would use to describe the weather. It has been unseasonably warm all winter, and March is more like may this year. My previous visits to Black’s house have all been on miserable days, overcast, raining, dark, and dreary. This was the first time it was nice. Plus with the recent time change, it was still light out when I arrived. For those who have followed my previous exploits with Reverend Black, no further explanation of the man(?) is needed, for those reading this with no previous exposure: He is a dark and mysterious presence here, one who is usually avoided and when spoken of, is only mentioned in hushed tones. My own fear of the man has given way to respect and we have become friends. I feel comfortable enough to speak my mind with him in private, but I am still careful not to overstep my bounds, and I would never question him in front of others. I was met by the other three guests in front of the home. Like mine, their invitations read 7:00 PM, and they were wise enough not to ring the bell until that time. Joining me that evening was Martin (or Marty as he preferred to be called), he said he was a doctor, but to me looked way too you. It could just be that I am getting that old. Barbara was the name of the serious looking young woman, she looked to be in her late 20’s, but I’m not very good at judging ages anymore. When the last one mentioned her name, a shock realization came to me. Her name was April, she was a very young woman, maybe early 20’s, and had a very perky personality. What came to me was that we were coming up on the Spring Equinox, and there had been rumors of sacrifice in the past, April, the Rites of Spring, Anton Black, I was concerned! At precisely 7:00 we rang the door bell and immediate were greeted by Black. He welcomed us all and invited us into his home. There was a slight smile on his face when he looked at me. I was starting to get nervous. The evening started with a lot of small talk and introductions. It turns out Marty is a physician at one of the local hospitals, Barbara (or Barb) works as a financial analyst, and April is a graduate student at Harvard. Black introduced me as an author, and Professor of “Esoterica”; I smiled at the thought of that. We were motioned to the den, and asked to take a seat around the small table that was there. He positioned us while saying, “boy, girl, boy, girl”. So we ended up alternating going around the table. Then shaking his head, he said, “The energy isn’t right.” And he had Martin and I switch seats. “That’s better!” he finally said, smiled and nodded as us all. Picking up the small package that was on the table, he began to speak: “Tony sent this to me a few weeks ago. It contains a movie that was recommended to him by a friend, and it is a very interesting movie.” “The friend who recommended it is an internationally known Doctor of Psychiatry from Canada. In addition to his professional work, he is also a well known author and researcher of the Old One’s, something that may come up again later this evening, as well as having more than a passing knowledge of the occult. I don’t really know how he feels about having the many worlds he travels in know of his other interests, so I referr to him as Dr. Spooky.” “Spooky says that this is one of his favorite stories, and I see why. The hero of the story, Dr. Roney, is a Canadian Palaeontologist with more than a passing familiarity with Psychology, and a good knowledge of the occult. He is pretty much who Dr. Spooky may have been had he lived in that time.” “The story itself, without getting into too much detail can be described as: Fossils are discovered on a construction site, Roney is called in to examine. They are determined to be a missing link to humanity, dated at 5 millions years ago. He continues digging and what eventually is considered to be a spacecraft is discovered with more remains within it, as well as remains of alien creatures. By this time, his old friend, Rocket scientist Professor

Quatermass is involved as well as the two try to discover what the facts are concerning this and what is going on in London since the unearthing of the ship.” “I won’t spoil the story for you, in case you want to watch it, which I think you should. But there are many similarities in the story and to what has been happening in our world just over the past few years. Just a few months ago, what is believed by some to be a spacecraft was discovered in the Baltic Sea, and the ingenious device in the story that visualizes thoughts is becoming a reality according to storied released just moths ago. And the major premise of the story, well that is a field of study going on today, controversial, but still going on. If this much of the story has now come to pass, how much more may be true? Could this fantastic story of more than 50 years ago actually be a prophecy? Time will tell.” “The part I would like to focus on, and try a few things with you, if you are willing”, he nodded as he said this and we all nodded in agreement, in unison. “Yes, that part stems from a few lines of dialog near the end of the film. It is as follows” he said. “Quatermass: I wanted to kill you. I could do it without moving. I knew it. And I would have done it. Roney: Why? Did you know why? Quatermass: Yes. Because... Because you're different. I could feel it. You're not one of us. You had to be destroyed, destroyed! “ “This happens after quite a bit of telekinetic activity is displayed; all sorts of things fly across the screen, propelled by just thought. People are also experiencing what might best be called genetic memories.” “Genetic memories do exist, don’t shake your heads. Consider this, why do people fear the dark? Is it because it was when we were vulnerable generations ago? Why does a child scream when he sees a mouse, yet laughs and reaches out if he sees a rabbit? There is something deep within us that tells us what to fear, even as children. This is the part of the mind we are going to try to reach tonight.” “And Getting back to what Quatermass said to Roney and why that interests me, it speaks of subconsciously being able to recognize those who are different, even though they may look the same, it also speaks of causing action with the mind, without even moving…” Black then dropped the package he had been holding to the table and retrieved some items from atop his bookcase, what appeared to be a group of picture cards, and a pendulum. Looking at the group he said, “I’m going to need the assistance of one of you for this first experiment…” He flashed me a, “No, not you” look, smiled and said, “April, will you be my sacrificial lamb?” Smiling, she said, “Yes!”

THE WILD HUNT “Great” replied Black. “Marty, would you mix these picture cards for us?”, he said while performing an overhand shuffle of the cards, then he handed them to Marty. While Marty was shuffling the cards, Black held up the pendulum and said that they are an excellent tool for getting in touch with the subconscious. When the shuffling had stopped, he asked the cards to be placed on the table and for Barb to spread them out so that no two cards were touching. He mimed a circling motion with his hands as he said this. “April and I are going to go through a process, and I need you three to watch carefully. If there is any doubt on what happens, I will ask you to make a decision. Is that OK with you?” he asked. We all agreed, he then continued. “April, for the first round, I need you to pick two cards like this, and slide the forward.” He placed the index fingers of each hand on a card and slid them out from the rest. He slid the cards back, and waited for April to do what he had asked. “Fantastic! Now what I’m going to do is place on hand on the package Tony had sent and try to get a feeling from it and let it resonate through me. With my other hand, I’ll hold the pendulum over the two cards you selected and see what happens. There should be some sort of reaction.” Doing just as he described, holding the pendulum over each of the cards for a few moments, there was a reaction. The pendulum began circling over one and remained rather still over the other. Looking at each of us, he said, “This one had the bigger reaction.” And he slid that card off to the side away from the others, and the other back with the group. “Now we’ll switch, and you hold the pendulum.” “Place your other hand on the package, try to feel a connection. Relax with it for a few seconds. It will get easier as we go along.” Black then slid two cards out and looked at April. Lifting his right index finger just above the card he said, “I want you to keep your hand on the package and hold the pendulum of this card for a little bit, then move to this one.” He said as he lifted his left finger. “There should be a reaction over one of them. As he said this, I noticed he circled his right finger. April did as instructed and there was a larger reaction over one card. The roles reveres again, and they continued alternating and eliminating cards until there was just 1 left. Holding the pendulum over the remaining card, Black spoke again, “Over this one, I get no reaction! In fact, I have a felling of stillness. See, nothing is happening, no motion at all. Here, you try.” Handing the pendulum back to April he asked, “Is it the same for you?” He nodded as he said this. She held the pendulum over that card, and there was no motion, she smiled again. Retrieving the pendulum, he placed it atop the remaining card and turned his attention to the cards that had been eliminated and turned them all face up. They all depicted different aliens. “This one is Marvin, probably the first alien we are introduced to in our childhood. There is Superman, the man of steel from the planet Krypton. We have the Predator and the Alien from the movies. And this one, this is Cthulhu. He was written about by H.P. Lovecraft. An interesting side note is Lovecraft wrote himself into his stories as a character by the name of Randolph Carter, Rudolph Cartier was the producer of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, the story that inspired this night’s events. The back story of the evolution of man being

directed by aliens is actually taken from Lovecraft’s story, The Mountains of Madness. Kind of an interesting set of coincidences. Plus this guy here”, pointing to the picture, “is also a favorite of Dr. Spooky” “If you notice, all of these pictures share two traits, they are all aliens, and they are all printed in portrait.” “This picture, turning over the card that had been left over is in landscape, and seems a bit more familiar.” The card depicted a grasshopper, holding out it’s arm’ as if welcoming us, and it was indeed the only one printed in landscape. “April, could you please remove what is in the package?” She did, it was a DVD of QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, and there on the cover were insects resembling grasshoppers. Black continued, “And it is the only one that resembles what is on this DVD and what the story is about. It appears that it is possible to pick out those that are different, even though they may look the same.” “Would you like to put the other part to the test?” We all nodded yes, in time with his own nodding head. FREE SWING He table was cleared and Black went to has mantle and returned with a brass statuette of a crane. “This should work nicely’ he said as he placed it in the center of the table. “What I would like you all to do is to put your hands on the table, next to each other’s, not touching, but close enough so you can feel the heat, or the energy flowing from the people next to you. “ We did this and our hands formed a circle around the table. “The second part of the Quatermass statement, and I paraphrase, was that he could move things with his mind.” As he said this, he hung the pendulum from the top of the statuette, and it was suspended a few inches from the tabletop. Stepping back, and away from the table, Black continued, I want you to look at the pendulum, see it hanging there. In your mind, see it starting to rock, back and forth, it is moving slowly, back and forth, swaying one way, then the other, back and forth, see it moving, it is starting to move, push it with your mind, make it move more, it is swinging further now, push it, push it.“ As he said this, I could have sworn he was rocking slightly, in time with the back and forth statements, but that could have been my imagination. What was not my imagination was that the pendulum, hanging above the center of the table was moving and the movement was getting bigger and bigger. “Look at it!, screamed Black. “It is moving!” We were all amazed, just by concentrating on it and with our force of will we had moved it. Smiling, Black said, “I think that is enough for tonight, dinner should be ready. Let’s go eat, and perhaps after, we can go to the bar and imbibe some Grasshoppers.” He said with a wink.

The entire act being examined by a little friend. He seems to be drawn to a certain card…

A CONVERSATION WITH ANTON BLACK Tony: There has been a lot of discussion on the use and application of “compliance” lately. During this evening at your home, I did notice your use of it as well. Was that intentional? Black: I would not call what I do “compliance”; although it may seem to be that to some and I admit it does have elements of getting the guests to comply with what I set before them. I consider this more training and conditioning for subconscious reactions. If you consider how the night began; I invited you all in, verbally and with a body gesture. During the introductions, each person was asked to talk about them selves in turn, I gestured towards them, encourages their speech by nodding and some hand gestures, and did a stopping hand gesture when they were complete, I then pointed to the next. Each person also received a huge smile and a “thank you”. When it came time to move to the den, I used a hand motion to call. Then hand motions as well as verbal directions on where to sit, then the same when I moved two people. What this has done is built a pattern of not only my spoken requests, but of my gestures followed by the guest performing an action. This occurred many times over the evening, so there was a form of programming that took place. Much like the sales technique where you frame all of the questions to keep the client saying “yes”, so when you get to the pitch, he is already in the habit. They follow, the “sit”, the “rise”, the “shuffle” hand gestures, as well as the “yes” and “no” head shakes; in fact I illustrated every action they were to take, this prepares the guest follow my gestures, they subconsciously mirror my actions. So, it is not really “compliance”, “getting them to do as you say”; it is more of training them to subconsciously do as you do. Tony: So when you said that you were going to communicate with the subconscious mind, you were telling the truth? Black: Everything I said this night was 100% true. I told them I wanted to use a pendulum to communicate with their subconscious. I told them that as a group, we would try to identify all that were different from the item related to the film, and us. And finally I said that using the combined power of our minds, we would cause an object to move. This is exactly what occurred. Tony: Let’s talk about the “Wild Hunt”. I’ve seen you “locate” an object, or have the guests locate an object in many different ways. Some were very quick, some like this, a little drawn out. Can you explain why and how you did it the way you did?

Black: The story line had the concept of being able to identify those who are different, and they were to be destroyed. This made me think of Bob Neale’s Sole Survivor from MAGIC AND MEANING. I already had the idea of the pendulum for the second effect (inspired by the penultimate scene of the movie version). So using the pendulum in the first effect would justify its use for the second, plus it is the perfect tool for getting in touch with the subconscious. Besides, I love using pendulums, and it creates an interest with the guests. Everything said about their use is true, Marty, a physician, confirmed just this during the evening. As for the method used, the simple PATIO force fit perfectly. Tony: Can you explain the PATIO force, and how to use a pendulum with it? Black: Yes, yes, OK. The PATIO force, or Point At Two, Indicate One is just that. You alternate with the guest, picked two objects and having the other eliminate one. It will always work so long as you remember two simple things:

1. I am not odd. 2. Never pick the item to be forced.

That’s it. It really does not matter what the guest does. The first rule, “I am not odd”, means you don’t do the elimination if there are an odd amount of object to be chosen from. For example: If you are using 7 objects, you would pick out two objects for the guest to chose one for elimination. Applying rule “2”, you would never pick the item you want to force. It is never one of the offerings you present to the guest. And if the guest has provided it as one of the offerings for you to chose from, you don’t pick it. If there were 6 objects to selects from, you would have the guest select two, and you would eliminate 1 of them (just don’t eliminate the object to be forced). So, you’re never picking that object, and never offering it for selection means that it will be the last item left (provided you follow “I’m not odd” rule). As for the pendulum, it follows what you think. If you think it will move in a circle, it will. If you think it will move in a line, it will, if you think it will remain still, it will. Tony: You said the guest can do no wrong. What if she appears to have not selected a card, or selects both cards with the pendulum? Black: If the pendulum does not seem to be moving for her on either card, you have several choices: You can say “I see it moving, just a little, look1! It is starting to move more…” and it should start to move. You need to have emotion in your voice, encouraging the reaction.

You also have the option of switching one or both of the objects and say, “I think it will really move over this one!” Be encouraging and enthusiastic of anything she does, be her biggest fan and she won’t let you down. If it appears both are selected for elimination you have the choice of using the other members of the audience as judges as to which had greater motion. Or you can just eliminate both items, then say, “Try it one more time, I’ll bet you get a bigger reaction over one item this time!” This will end up resulting in the elimination of 3 items by the guest, and you will be back to an even number of items left, so you can pick (remember, I am not odd). I don’t have the issue with non responses though. If you notice, I picked April. I had observed her earlier and she was open with her emotions, smiling, laughing, plus she is very animated when she talks, not just moving her hands, her whole body moves. There was no doubt in my mind that the pendulum was going to move in her hands. Picking the right person for the first demonstration is critical. It sets the tone for anything else to follow. To ensure I get the movement I’m looking for, in this case circles, I start with an even number of objects, which means I demonstrate the use of the pendulum in the first round. Also, if you look at the card design I used, you will see how it encourages the circular motion of the pendulum. But if for some reason I get straight lines, I go with that. I don’t care if they are circles, lines, or no motion. As long as I have two different reactions motion/stillness, or lines/circles, that’s all that matters. For me, I like to think circles, and then stillness. The pendulum always responds in kind. Tony: Since you brought up the cards, I assume there is a mark on one, care to explain that? Also, how many cards do you use? Black: “Markings”, any system where you can differentiate the one item you want to force can be used. I’ll provide you with two different systems. How many cards? It all depends on how long you want to carry on for. I felt that for this demonstration, anywhere between 6 and 10 would be large enough to be respectable, but not too long so as to be boring. (Note: Sample backings and an assortment of cards that can be printed out and used are provided at the end of this manuscript.) Tony: So you identify where the force object is Make sure you don’t pick the force object If they pick it as one of the selection, ensure you eliminate the other one. Black: Right, and keep saying to yourself, “I’m not odd.” Someday it may even be true. Tony: For the final reveal, you used the DVD I sent you. For those who may not have that, what would you suggest they use?

The chain of the pendulum is just placed over the beak of the bird, with the beak entering one of the links. The bob of the pendulum is several inches above the tabletop (something not clear due to the angel of the photo). The remainder of the chain is just draped over and behind the figure to get it out of the way, allowing for a clear and un-confusing visual image of the pendulum.

Black: Yes, I used the DVD, it was there and served the purpose, since I’m talking about the film, it is only natural to have a copy of it If you don’t have the DVD you can make up faux cover and slide it into a DVD case. You could use picture from the movie or even have a replica of the insect. (Note: An image of the Hammer DVD cover and several still pictures are included at the end of the manuscript.) Tony: Can you explain the suspended pendulum (FREE SWING)? It was just there, hanging off a statue in the center of that table. No one touched it or even went near it. (Note: At this point, Black put the statue on the table in front of me and hung the pendulum just as in the earlier demonstration.) Black: Put your hands lightly on the table. Now look at the pendulum, see it move, visualize it tracing a small circle in the air, it is going around, and around, see it circling. Tony: It is moving, making a circle! Black: It is a pendulum reacting to your ideomotor responses. The pendulum is suspended from an object sitting on the table; your hands are in contact with the table. Subconsciously, you are transmitting the movements through your hands to the table to affect the stature to swing the pendulum. It is no different from holding say, a pen that has a pendulum hanging from it.

Tony: I had no idea this could be done. Black: Most people don’t, and I’m already regretting letting this out. It is great for séance work; I have a statuette of an angel holding a sword. The pendulum is hung from the sword, and answers simple questions with “yes”, “no”, “I don’t know”, and “undecided”. But that is a discussion for a different time. Perhaps I’ll tip how to ring a bell, for what is a bell suspended but a pendulum encased by another, or sitting on a table, a pendulum with a shell around it? Most all multi-pendulum work can be done is this way, it just takes the willingness to try and practice. You can even cause other items to move or topple over. But let’s get back to tonight’s work. Tony: All right, getting back you your demonstration: You used a brass figure from off your mantle, why? Black: It was there. Sure, I could have made a stand with a block of wood and a coat hanger, but why? Anything that the pendulum can sit on the table and the pendulum can be attached to will work. It can be a statuette, a lamp, virtually anything. I decided to be organic and use what was available. You might say I did it for you, showing you the impromptu nature of the effect. Tony: Are there any tips you can give on selecting an object to use? Black: Yes, you want something that is stable, but not overly wide on the base, and the higher the fulcrum point for the pendulum (where the pendulum attached to the object), the more responsive the pendulum will be. For example, I’ve been in buildings during earthquakes. On the first floor, I could barely feel anything. But on the 12th floor where I lived, we would sway with the tremors, we moved several feet in each direction, and things fell off the shelves. Oh, and the table… You don’t want a large, heavy table. The best tables I’ve found are ones that have just a little play (you can either rock the table or the top will move a little is you push it). Think of this as a form of table tilting, without tilting the table. 3 legged tables, card tables, even wooden kitchen tables work well. Like always, test before you perform and make sure it will work. Tony: OK, so I understand how and why it would move, with one person; but how do you cause it to move from side to side with multiple people? It seems to me, that with people surrounding it, their forces would cancel each other out as each would be trying to move it differently and at different speeds. Black: Yes, it is possible that they could cancel each other out, or cause the pendulum to move in a circle. But recall at the beginning of our conversation when you asked about “compliance” and I told you that I was creating a subconscious reverse mirroring type influence, where the guests would mirror my actions? This is where that comes into play.

First, my goal is to have it move in a line, back and forth, as opposed to a circle. The reason is that I want it to look different from the circular movements that happened earlier in the first effect. But I will take it if it circular movement occurs. Next, I never use “left’ and “right” as directions. I say, “back and forth”. These are arbitrary and can mean whatever I want them to mean; “left and right” have concrete definitions. As I ask them to visualize it moving back and forth, I sway my upper body slightly from side to side, my hands are extended in the air mirroring what theirs look like on the table, so I am directing them to slightly sway back and forth in the speed and direction they see me moving. It is very minor and may not even be consciously perceived, but it is there. This sets up a uniform direction of force and timing. Once the pendulum starts moving, they will use its motion and timing on their own to keep it going and increase it. Tony: With me, you just had it move in a circle. Why didn’t you have it move in a line, then have us change it to move in a circle? Black: This isn’t about me; it is about the guests discovering a power of their own. They have just succeeded in moving a stationary object with only their minds. Nothing else need be done. Anything additional would not build or add to what has happened, it could only diminish it, or turn what is an amazing moment into a trick by association. Yes, I could have had the pendulum change directions, cause the statuette to fall over, or even had the table shake and rise up off the floor; but in doing so, the demonstration becomes less about them, and when thinking back on it, less credible. Tony: Thank you for your time and sharing your thoughts.

The Cards

There are two differently designed sets of backs for you to choose from. The first one is the alien backs. There are simple in design and look clean, yet there is an easily spotted mark if you know where to look. The design actually resembles the grasshopper and reinforces the conclusion as all the others are different; the ending card is the only one that matches front and back. The ovular design of the image is there to subconsciously influence the pendulum to move in a circle. One image is marked. It is located on second page of alien backs. It is the last card. If you look at the chin area, there is a small mark in the chin area. (See the circled area in the image below), It is positioned on that page to print on the back of the grasshopper image (grasshopper and the marked image are on opposite corners so if the paper is turned around to print on the back, they will print on the same section.

The second design set is a full, all over back design. The spirals and circles in the design almost cause the pendulum to spin in a circle automatically. The eye sees these and the subconscious responds. The image is the same on both, but the one on the 1st design has been enlarged just a bit and turned slightly. This causes several differences. If you look at the two images side by side, you will notice that on the first image, there is 1 stream of white coming from the base of the pendulum (or rocket), extending to the end of the image on the side of the card. There is a second stream that runs almost along the top boarder of the card and turns the corner of the image white, but this does not extend to the side of the card. The second back has two streams heading towards the side. Additionally, if you look at the arms of the star in the center of the image of the 1st back, one extends to the end of the image. The same arm on the 2nd back does not extend to the end of the image. One image on page two of this back design is set as Back 2. It is the last card. It is positioned on that page to print on the back of the grasshopper image (grasshopper and the marked image are on opposite corners so if the paper is turned around to print on the back, they will print on the same section. There is also an additional page of Back 2 designs. An interesting element of this design is the star in the center. It has 4 arms extending from it. With a single dot on one of the arms, you can mark each set with a value of 1-5 (no dot for 1, a dot on the first arm for two, a dot on the 2nd arm for three, and so on), and as each back can be identifies as back 1 or Back 2, you can mark and then identify up to ten cards, if you wish to use that method.

Back 1 Notice the single white line extending from the pendulum at the top left

Back 2 Notice the two white lines extending from the pendulum at the top left

The Bug Alien (Grasshopper)

Unmarked backs

Last image is marked Marked back, see chin area

One line extends to the side from the pendulum, upper left corner is white, star spiral goes to edge of the image

Back 1 white corner

One line extends to the side from the pendulum, upper left corner is white, star spiral goes to edge of the image (all except image 4, the last one, are the same)

Page 2 Mixed spiral Backs

****Image below is back 2 it will line up with the grasshopper****

Two lines extend to the side from the pendulum, the upper left corner is blue, star spiral does not go to edge of image

Page 3 Spiral backs Full page of back 2

Extra Bug Pictures

DVD cover that can be printed if needed

Images that can be used in place of the DVD Or in place of a bug replica

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And now we have concluded our tour of the latest exhibit. We do hope you enjoyed your stay. Perhaps you shall awaken a new person in the morning… perhaps even as a new giant insect. May the Yellow Sign shine upon your path,

The Keeper …oh, gentle readers, if you wonder who won this competition… it was the Martians.

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