

Leibowitz Concludes

# Book 9 of 13

### by

## Edward Drobinski

Copyright © 2019 by Edward Drobinski

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2019 by Edward M. Drobinski

Well within the imagined constraints regarding the precise precision of impressiveness, all spurious and soon to be overstated rights are supposedly reserved, and are hereby ludicrously claimed as such; the result of the confines of the US law which provides a modicum of protection to written materiel; strongly encouraging plagiarism, which is now disciplined by a righteous "Shame on you" from inconsequential writers and college professors on the US Federal Government dole. Since it may appear as amateurish to leave this blurb out, and though unpunished breaches invariably will be the case, this section is customarily mandated to say in sad futility that no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means except those so authorized, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in the course of writing a review; limited to one of the laudatory type. A sincere thanks is extended to those who have allowed this time-saving boilerplate to be copied under a spurious CCO license.

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Understand? Fictitious? As in untrue, fabricated, invented, made-up (not like in Liberace), false, pretend, fictional, conjured, and all those other words one calls liars. In fact they are so obviously fictitious that any attempt to assert otherwise would have to be the mercenary ploy of some lazy, non-productive crook or crooks, counseled, aided, and abetted by an otherwise unemployed chiseler or chiselers, as yet un-dismissed from the less than diligent bar. Any fancied apparent similarity to real persons is not intended by the author insofar as the author can conjure every possible archetype and their subdivisions upon subdivisions upon subdivisions ....... and if thought to be detected is either a coincidence or the product of your own sick and troubled imagination; perhaps most practically suggestive of an intensification in treatment and dosage.

Where the names of real places, corporations, institutions, and public figures may be projected onto made up stuff, they are intended to denote only such said made up stuff, not anything presently real as of the time of this entirely conjectural and metaphorical writing.

I hope that you are one of those blessed with common sense, thereby being one who did not bother to read this semi-obligatory absurdity.

Portions have previously appeared in the following; New Yorker, Esquire, Playboy, New York Times, Ploughshares, Paris Review, and the halls of prestigious Horror Sleaze Trash (HST). Need the writer say more?

### Contents

**27**

### The Bing of BOP

Resurrecting his interest in the confidential, yet non-direction-leading information he had acquired on-line about Michael Jackson, Isaac used some otherwise idle time in an attempt to distill the 6,500,000MB of information he had procured about the formerly fiery pop king.

In another YouTube search for more information he entered Michael Jackson once again, but perhaps miraculously, in the sense that some attribute "miracles" and sentient status to keyboard changeable algorithms, he was this time given a three down option to click on "Bing of Bop." It drew his rapt attention, as it had never been there, or maybe he hadn't noticed it before. At any rate, most significantly, as well as that may be determined by his undoubtedly biased, yet flawed personal perception that the crap right in your face seemed to be "in the moment," that phrase a tad grandiose in an artistic sense, but wearily sufficient only engendered through lack of competition, and despite no YouTube attestation, convincing as it ignores present and certainly future legal ramifications, or may be taken as a sign of abject stupidity or total disregard, either posture demonstrative of the willingness, if not excitement at entertaining an un-necessary death wish, to the extent of their relationship with real time, it occurred to him that the seemingly silly little rhyme off "king of pop" might also suggest the third most used search engine; which is owned and operated by Microsoft; Bing; while also referring to an old jazz, improvisational style, most say invented by Charlie Parker in America in the mid-1940's; Bop, sometimes called bebop.

He clicked on it, and soon eyed something wearing a loose fitting rubber mask which appeared to be unevenly paralyzed at shifting and varying places, something like what is produced in a blender, upper, non-self-integral limb shaken, when one overweights the asparagus portion, a folk name, for the asparagus that is, sparrow grass, scientific name asparagus officinalis, a green, perennial flowering plant species in the genus Asparagus; its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable, which was once mistakenly classified in the lily family, like the related Allium species, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now considered to be in the family Amaryllidaceae and asparagus in the Asparagaceae, though "expert" sources differ as to the native range of Asparagus officinalis, but generally include most of Europe and western temperate Asia, where it is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, and listened.

Rubber face started out with a cover of Michael Jackson's "Bad," with the provocative and portentous opening line of "Your butt is mine," but further heightened the inflammatory presentation with a seamless segue into a moonwalking cover of Tommy James-Joan Jett's hit, "Crimson and Clover." Overall, Isaac regarded the show as "Devo at their worst," granting one extra star for obviously having been a non-professional production. But at the last moment, he was intrigued beyond belief when he heard that Rubber Greenie Igor-Face closed with "It's over, it's over," rather than the expected "Over and over." To further add credence to Rubber Face, his-her exposed hair, which insistently protruded from the top of his-her Walmart Halloween mask burst into flames, just like images he had seen of the holy spirit and Michael Jackson; rather than wild, a seemingly measured response to something not in the business of being measured, and then the screen went to the blue screen of death, which actually can be "resurrected" if one knows which buttons to push.

Totally freaked, Isaac ignored the less immediate e-mail option he most often used and instantaneously pushed Joyce' icon on his smart phone to pass the news, in search of an answer. When she finally answered well into the third ring with a "Mmmyellow, Isaac," he nervously rattled off the new information he had uncovered, undoubtedly getting some of the detail wrong.

Joyce replied; "A green rubber mask?"

"Yes!"

"How can you be sure that it's rubber?"

"Well, I can't be certain. It could have been **thermoplastic olefins, thermoplastic elastomers, or even that dastardly nitrile** butadiene."

"Was it shiny?"

"No, I don't think so, but I'm really not sure. It seemed to have a moving paralysis."

"Then it's the nitrile butadiene."

"So?"

"So, you should tell me. You're the one who called."

"Joyce, you're not dealing with the concept, and I'm all like fijiting over here."

"You should relax, or you'll get yourself such an aneurism."

"I beg your pardon. You have no reason to think that."

"Mazel tov. You're much younger than BO."

"So, what do you make of Mr. Rubber?"

"You mean Mr. Nitrile Butadiene?"

"Whatever."

"Well, it makes a difference to me, as I just hate rubbers. They're like having wrapped latkes in your business, and they smell funny too. No, no. I like the pill, and I don't have to worry about switching until I'm fifty, when I'll likely go for NuvaRing."  
"Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. In my time of need you do the Joan Rivers on me."

"What kind of rivers?"

"Joan, like in Jett, you vayblekh shed."

"Okay, listen Isaac. I've got some company here. You're describing some asshole singer no one ever heard of, and he's doing the most popularly common Millennial genre; apocalypse. So without more information, why should we worry?"

"You could say the same thing about the Khazar stuff."

"There's information and then there's information, boychik. Gotta go. Bye."

Isaac felt awful. Not only had he gotten the ultimate insult of a conspiracy theory nut finding him foolish. He was still thinking that any minute a singing green man on fire would appear at his window, doing the moon walk. He figured that the best thing he could do under the circumstances was to get under the blankets.

**28**

### Unattributed Clandestine Dialogue of the Highest Order

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Ad nauseum?

### The Thirteenth Tribe

By Arthur Koestler

Stylized cover of "The Thirteenth Tribe" by Arthur Koestler; property of the author.

Toward the end of a long, successful career as an author and journalist, Arthur Koestler upset many by writing "The Thirteenth Tribe." In the book, Koestler advances the thesis that Ashkenazi Jews are not descended from the historical Israelites of antiquity, but from Khazars, a Turkic people originating in and populating an empire north of and between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. Koestler's hypothesis is that the Khazars, who converted to Judaism in the 8th century, migrated westward into current Eastern Europe, primarily Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Hungary and Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries when the Khazar Empire was collapsing.

This book is mentioned here because Koestler's popularity made the Khazar issue much better known in 1976. However, with 21st century scientific methods, further excavation in ancient Khazaria, and an alternative use logic utilized by some, his stated conclusions are highly suspect. The idiosyncrasy is that his stated to be well intended book was largely seen for decades as being anti-Jewish, Zionism, and Israel, yet in 2015 Zohar Ben-Yahu, Israeli Prime Minister adopted his findings as the official view of the state.

This does seem strange, unless it is viewed in the context of well-meaning error, later used for political expediency.

At the end of the book's last chapter, Koestler summarizes its content and his intentions as follows: "In Part One of this book I have attempted to trace the history of the Khazar Empire based on the scant existing sources. In Part Two, Chapters V-VII, I have compiled the historical evidence which indicates that the bulk of Eastern Jewry, and hence of world Jewry, is of Khazar-Turkish, rather than Semitic origin. In the last chapter I have tried to show that the evidence from anthropology concurs with history in refuting the popular belief in a Jewish race descended from the biblical tribe."

The book was extremely unpopular with Jewish advocates. Criticisms included characterizing it as amateur anthropology, that it was highly derivative of two previous books, that it was controversial, and that its conclusions were radical. But for the most part people pretended to ignore it, despite Koestler having already been a noted Jewish author, as being anti-Jewish, Zionism, and Israel.

In the subsequent 2006 publication of "The Invention of the Jewish People," Shlomo Sand, historian of cinema, French intellectual history, and nationalism at Tel Aviv University, wrote; "While the Khazars scared off the Israeli historians, not one of whom has published a single paper on the subject."

Koestler's 'Thirteenth Tribe' annoyed and provoked angry responses. Hebrew readers had no access to the book itself for many years, learning about it only through the venomous denunciations." Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education editor Evan Goldstein states "Sand suggests that those who attacked Koestler's book did so not because it lacked merit, but because the critics were cowards and ideologues. No one wants to go looking under stones when venomous scorpions might be lurking beneath them, waiting to attack the self-image of the existing ethnos and its (Israel's) territorial ambitions."

In the Arab world the theory espoused in Koestler's book was adopted by persons who argued that if Ashkenazi Jews are primarily Khazar and not Semitic in origin, they would have no historical claim to Israel, nor would they be the subject of the Biblical promise of Canaan to the Israelites, thus undermining the theological basis of both Jewish religious Zionists and Christian Zionists. The Saudi Arabian delegate to the United Nations argued that Koestler's theory "negated Israel's right to exist." Koestler did not see alleged Khazar ancestry as diminishing the claim of Jews to Israel, which he felt was based on the secular United Nations mandate and not on Biblical covenants or genetic inheritance. In his view, "The problem of the Khazar infusion a thousand years ago... is irrelevant to modern Israel."

Koestler's book was praised by the neo-Nazi magazine "The Thunderbolt," as "the political bombshell of the century," and it was enthusiastically supported by followers of the Christian Identity (White nationalist at the time, meaning something milder in 2019) movement. According to Jeffery Kaplan, "'The Thirteenth Tribe' was 'Identity's primary source for the Khazar theory;' they felt Koestler's book confirmed their own beliefs regarding Jews, and sold it 'through their mail order services.'" Goldstein writes that "Koestler and the Khazar theory he advanced lives on in the fever swamps of the white nationalist movement." Michael Barkun writes that Koestler was apparently "either unaware of or oblivious to the use anti-Semites had made of the Khazar theory since its introduction at the turn of the century." Being purposely redundant, now it is official Israeli policy.

Kostler's biographer quoted him as saying that he "was convinced that if he could prove that the bulk of Eastern European Jews (the ancestors of today's Ashkenazim) were descended from the Khazars, the racial basis for anti-Semitism would be removed and anti-Semitism itself could disappear."

"It was among Ashkenazi Jews," says the Encyclopedia Americana, "that the idea of political Zionism emerged, leading ultimately to the establishment of the state of Israel. In the late 1960's, Ashkenazi Jews numbered some 11 million, about 84 percent of the world Jewish population."

Other commentaries, some much later, include;

1) "Mr. Koestler's book is as readable as it is thought-provoking. Nothing could be more stimulating than the skill, elegance and erudition with which he marshals his facts and develops his theories."

2) "Carefully researched book" that "refutes the idea of a Jewish 'race'."

3) "When it was released, the academic critique of its research was prompt, public, and generally negative."

4) "Savaged by critics."

5) "All too facile, despite the obvious effort and time the author spent on his study."

6) "Koestler offers a blizzard of information but not enough hard facts to support his thesis".

7) Has "neither the value of a well-executed honest piece of scholarship nor the emotional appeal of a polemic; only the earmarks of a poorly researched and hastily written book."

8) "A mixture of flawed etymologies and misinterpreted primary sources."

9) An "eccentric work, and Koestler was unequipped with the specialist background the subject might be thought to require, but he nevertheless made an amateur's serious attempt to investigate and support the theory."

10) "There is no known evidence to support the theory that the ancestors of Polish Jewry were Jews who came from the Crimean Jewish kingdom of Khazaria. Koestler is the best-known advocate of the theory."

11) "A combination of discredited and forgotten ideas."

12) "Selective use of facts for a grossly polemical end, and is risible as scholarship."

13) "Was almost entirely hypothetical and based on the slenderest of circumstantial evidence. The book is evidence that Koestler's brain was starting to fail him."

Koestler's biographer quoted him as saying that he "was convinced that if he could prove that the bulk of Eastern European Jews (the ancestors of today's Ashkenazim) were descended from the Khazars, the racial basis for anti-Semitism would be removed and anti-Semitism itself could disappear." While the position of the detractors is evident and seemingly fitting not only vis-à-vis how anti-Jewish, Zion, and Israel positions could use it, but as to how Koestler's methodology was more speculative than scientific, and weirdly as in "future sight" to see that Zohar Ben-Yahu, Israeli Prime Minister, took the same official position for Israel in 2015. In what seems a perverse joke of some sort, this prior "anti-Jewish heresy" became "certified." Taking these statements as spoken or written, without assuming an unprovable willing subterfuge, the only possible logic which could bridge these two statements is that Koestler, ruling elite Likud member Zohar Ben-Yahu, the experts, and Israel itself are anti-Jewish, in this case as differentiated from anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic.

More interesting is that this is precisely what the True Torah Jews have believed for quite some time.

"The Khazars were not descended from the Tribes," said Koestler, "but, as we have seen, they shared a certain cosmopolitanism and other social characteristics with their co-religionists. Somewhere in the historical roots of the Ashkenazi Khazars there incubated a desire to possess a national Jewish homeland. That desire expressed itself in the form of a Messianic movement in twelfth century Khazaria that took on the texture of a "Jewish crusade" whose goal was the forcible subjugation of Palestine." This desire for a Jewish homeland echoed down the centuries and found expression again.

This Koestler section was included at more length than his conclusions merit in retrospect. The book world thanks him for bringing the issue to mass attention and recognizes the impediment provided by less information available in 1976. The purpose of this section is to familiarize the reader with an idea of how much this issue has always touched nerves and is manipulated by interests which may do so out of "calculated" self-interest, random stupidity, disinterest, or a fear for their own popularity, clouding and disparaging the views presented by real seekers of the truth.

**29**

### Historical Khazars

Slippery When Wet; the kind courtesy of Pexels.com under their CC0 license; modified.

Over breakfast Isaac reviewed one of his remaining books of school notes. He attended Hebrew School up until the age of thirteen, when his parents said that "he was old enough to decide" if he'd continue. He quit on the spot, but always retained fond memories of Rabbi Meir Hertzberg, who first introduced him to the complexities of the Khazars.

A plethora of scholarly theories, and no agreement

### Judaism

The Khazar so-called "Moses coin" found in the Spillings Hoard and dated c. 800; public domain.

The Khazar "Moses coin" is inscribed with "Moses is the messenger of God" instead of the usual Muslim text "Muhammad is the messenger of God." The conversion of Khazars to Judaism is reported by external sources and in the Khazar Correspondence, though doubts persist. Hebrew documents, whose authenticity was long doubted and challenged, are now widely accepted by specialists as either authentic or as reflecting internal Khazar traditions. Archaeological evidence for conversion, on the other hand, remains elusive, and may reflect either the incompleteness of excavations, or that the stratum of actual adherents was thin. Conversion of steppe or peripheral tribes to a universal religion is a fairly well attested phenomenon, and the Khazar conversion to Judaism, though unusual, would not have been unique. Other scholars have concluded that the conversion of the Khazar elite to Judaism never happened. A few scholars, Moshe Gil, recently seconded by Shaul Stampfer, dismiss the conversion as a myth.

Jews from both the Islamic world and Byzantium are known to have migrated to Khazaria during periods of persecution under Heraclius, Justinian II, Leo III, and Romanus Lakapēnos. For Simon Schama, Jewish communities from the Balkans and the Bosphoran Crimea, especially from Panticapaeum, began migrating to the more hospitable climate of pagan Khazaria in the wake of these persecutions, and were joined there by Jews from Armenia. The Geniza fragments, he argues, make it clear the Judaizing reforms sent roots down into the whole of the population. The pattern is one of an elite conversion preceding large-scale adoption of the new religion by the general population, which often resisted the imposition. One important condition for mass conversion was a settled urban state, where churches, synagogues or mosques provided a focus for religion, as opposed to the free nomadic lifestyle of life on the open steppes. A tradition of the Iranian Judeo-Tats claims that their ancestors were responsible for the Khazar conversion. A legend traceable to the 16th century Italian rabbi Judah Moscato attributed it to Yitzhak ha-Sangari.

Both the date of the conversion, and the extent of its influence beyond the elite, often minimized in some scholarship, are a matter of dispute, but at some point between 740 and 920 CE, the Khazar royalty and nobility appear to have converted to Judaism, in part, it is argued, perhaps to deflect competing pressures from Arabs and Byzantines to accept either Islam or Orthodoxy. Christian of Stavelot in his Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam, ca. 860–870's refers to Gazari, presumably Khazars, as living in the lands of Gog and Magog, who were circumcised and omnem Judaismum observat—observing all the laws of Judaism. New numismatic evidence of coins dated 837-8 bearing the inscriptions "Arḍ al-ḫazar," Land of the Khazars, or "Mûsâ rasûl Allâh," Moses is the messenger of God, in imitation of the Islamic coin phrase: Muḥammad rasûl Allâh, suggest to many the conversion took place in that decade. Olsson argues that the 837-8 evidence marks only the beginning of a long and difficult official Judaization that concluded some decades later. A 9th century Jewish traveller, Eldad ha-Dani, is said to have informed Spanish Jews in 883 that there was a Jewish polity in the East, and that fragments of the legendary Ten Lost Tribes, part of the line of Simeon and half-line of Manasseh, dwelt in "the land of the Khazars", receiving tribute from some 25 to 28 kingdoms. Another view holds that by the 10th century, while the royal clan officially claimed Judaism, a non-normative variety of Islamization took place among the majority of Khazars. By the 10th century, the letter of King Joseph asserts that, after the royal conversion, "Israel returned (yashuvu yisra'el) with the people of Qazaria (to Judaism) in complete repentance (bi-teshuvah shelemah). Persian historian Ibn al-Faqîh wrote that "all the Khazars are Jews, but they have been Judaized recently." Ibn Fadlân, based on his Caliphal mission of 921–922 to the Volga Bulğars, also reported that "the core element of the state, the Khazars, were Judaized," something underwritten by the Qaraite scholar Ya'kub Qirqisânî around 937. The conversion appears to have occurred against a background of frictions arising from both an intensification of Byzantine missionary activity from the Crimea to the Caucasus, and Arab attempts to wrest control over the latter in the 8th century and a revolt, put down, by the Khazars around the mid-9th century is often invoked as in part influenced by their refusal to accept Judaism. Modern scholars generally see the conversion as a slow process through three stages, which accords with Richard Eaton's model of syncretic inclusion, gradual identification and, finally, displacement of the older tradition.

Sometime between 954 and 961, Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ, from al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), wrote a letter of inquiry addressed to the ruler of Khazaria, and received a reply from Joseph of Khazaria. The exchanges of this Khazar correspondence, together with the Schechter letter discovered in the Cairo Geniza and the famous platonizing dialogue by Judah Halevi, Sefer ha-Kuzari ('The Khazar'), which plausibly drew on such sources, provide us with the only direct evidence of the indigenous traditions concerning the conversion. King Bulan is said to have driven out the sorcerers, and to have received angelic visitations exhorting him to find the true religion, upon which, accompanied by his vizier, he travelled to desert mountains of Warsān on a seashore, where he came across a cave rising from the plain of Tiyul in which Jews used to celebrate the Sabbath. Here he was circumcised. Bulan is then said to have convened a royal debate between exponents of the three Abrahamic religions. He decided to convert when he was convinced of Judaism's superiority. Many scholars situate this c. 740, a date supported by Halevi's own account. The details are both Judaic and Türkic: a Türkic ethnogonic myth speaks of an ancestral cave in which the Āshǐnà were conceived from the mating of their human ancestor and a wolf ancestress. These accounts suggest that there was a rationalizing syncretism of native pagan traditions with Jewish law, by melding through the motif of the cave, a site of ancestral ritual and repository of forgotten sacred texts, Türkic myths of origin and Jewish notions of redemption of Israel's fallen people. It is generally agreed they adopted Rabbinical rather than Qaraite Judaism.

Ibn Fadlan reports that the settlement of disputes in Khazaria was adjudicated by judges hailing each from his community, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Pagan. Some evidence suggests that the Khazar king saw himself as a defender of Jews even beyond the kingdom's frontiers, retaliating against Muslim or Christian interests in Khazaria in the wake of Islamic and Byzantine persecutions of Jews abroad. Ibn Fadlan recounts specifically an incident in which the king of Khazaria destroyed the minaret of a mosque in Atil as revenge for the destruction of a synagogue in Dâr al-Bâbûnaj, and allegedly said he would have done worse were it not for a fear that the Muslims might retaliate in turn against Jews. Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ sought information on Khazaria in the hope he might discover "a place on this earth where harassed Israel can rule itself" and wrote that, were it to prove true that Khazaria had such a king, he would not hesitate to forsake his high office and his family in order to emigrate there.

Abraham Harkavy noted in 1877 that an Arabic

commentary on Isaiah 48:14, ascribed to Saadia Gaon or to the Karaite scholar Benjamin Nahâwandî, interpreted "The Lord hath loved him" as a reference "to the Khazars, who will go and destroy Babel" or Babylonia, a name used to designate the country of the Arabs. This has been taken as an indication of hopes by Jews that the Khazars might succeed in destroying the Caliphate.

Islam

In 965, as the Qağanate was struggling against the victorious campaign of the Rus' prince Sviatoslav, the Islamic historian Ibn al-Athîr mentions that Khazaria, attacked by the Oğuz, sought help from Khwarezm, but their appeal was rejected because they were regarded as "infidels." Save for the king, the Khazarians are said to have converted to Islam in order to secure an alliance, and the Turks were, with Khwarezm's military assistance repelled. It was this that, according to Ibn al-Athîr, led the Jewish king of Khazar to convert to Islam.

Claims of Khazar ancestry

Claims of Khazar origins for peoples, or suggestions that Khazars were absorbed by them, have been made regarding the Slavic Judaising Subbotniks, the Muslim Karachays, Kumyks, Kazakhs, Avars, the Cossacks of the Don region, the Turkic-speaking Krymchaks and their Crimean neighbours the Karaites to the Moldavian Csángós, the Hungarians, the Mountain Jews and others. Turkic speaking Crimean Karaites, known in the Crimean Tatar language as Qaraylar, some of whom migrated in 19th century from Crimea to Poland and Lithuania have claimed Khazar origins. Specialists in Khazar history question the connection. Scholarship is likewise sceptical of claims that the Tatar-speaking Krymchak Jews of the Crimea descend from Khazars.

Several scholars have suggested that the Khazars did not disappear after the dissolution of their Empire, but migrated west to eventually form part of the core of the later Ashkenazi Jewish population of Europe. This hypothesis is greeted with skepticism or caution by most scholars. The German Orientalist Karl Neumann, in the context of an earlier controversy about possible connections between Khazars and the ancestors of the Slavic peoples, suggested as early as 1847 emigrant Khazars might have influenced the core population of Eastern European Jews.

The theory was then taken up by Abraham Eliyahu Harkavi in 1869, when he also claimed a possible link between the Khazars and Ashkenazi, but the theory that Khazar converts formed a major proportion of Ashkenazi was first proposed to a Western public in a lecture by Ernest Renan in 1883. Occasional suggestions emerged that there was a small Khazar component in East European Jews in works by Joseph Jacobs (1886), Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu, a critic of anti-Semitism (1893), Maksymilian Ernest Gumplowicz, and by the Russian-Jewish anthropologist Samuel Weissenberg. In 1909 Hugo von Kutschera developed the notion into a book length study, arguing Khazars formed the foundational core of the modern Ashkenazi. Maurice Fishberg introduced the notion to American audiences in 1911. The idea was also taken up by the Polish-Jewish economic historian and General Zionist Yitzhak Schipper in 1918. Scholarly anthropologists, such as Roland B. Dixon (1923), and writers like H. G. Wells (1921) used it to argue that "The main part of Jewry never was in Judea," a thesis that was to have a political echo in later opinion. In 1932, Samuel Krauss ventured the theory that the biblical Ashkenaz referred to northern Asia Minor, and identified it with the Khazars, a position immediately disputed by Jacob Mann. Ten years later, in 1942, Abraham N. Polak, later professor for the history of the Middle Ages at Tel Aviv University, published a Hebrew monograph in which he concluded that the East European Jews came from Khazaria. D.M. Dunlop, writing in 1954, thought very little evidence backed what he regarded as a mere assumption, and argued that the Ashkenazi-Khazar descent theory went far beyond what "our imperfect records" permit. Léon Poliakov, while assuming the Jews of Western Europe resulted from a "panmixia" in the 1st millennium, asserted in 1955 that it was widely assumed that Europe's Eastern Jews descended from a mixture of Khazarian and German Jews. Poliak's work found some support in Salo Wittmayer Baron and Ben-Zion Dinur, but was dismissed by Bernard Weinryb as a fiction in 1962. Bernard Lewis is of the opinion that the word in Cairo Geniza interpreted as Khazaria is actually Hakkari and therefore it relates to the Kurds of the Hakkari mountains in southeast Turkey.

The Khazar-Ashkenazi hypothesis came to the attention of a much wider public with the publication of Arthur Koestler's "The Thirteenth Tribe" in 1976, which was both positively reviewed, but most often dismissed as a fantasy, and a somewhat dangerous one. Israel's ambassador to Britain branded it "an anti-Semitic action financed by the Palestinians," while Bernard Lewis claimed that the idea was not supported by any evidence whatsoever, and had been abandoned by all serious scholars. Raphael Patai, however, registered some support for the idea that Khazar remnants had played a role in the growth of Eastern European Jewish communities, and several amateur researchers, such as Boris Altschüler (1994), kept the thesis in the public eye. The theory has been occasionally manipulated to deny Jewish nationhood. Recently, a variety of approaches, from the linguistics of Paul Wexler to the historiography of Shlomo Sand and the population genetics of Eran Elhaik, a geneticist from the University of Sheffield have emerged to keep the theory alive. In broad academic perspective, both the idea that the Khazars converted en masse to Judaism, and the suggestion they emigrated to form the core population of Ashkenazi Jewry, remain highly polemical issues.

One thesis held that the Khazar Jewish population went into a northern diaspora and had a significant impact on the rise of Ashkenazi Jews. Connected to this thesis is the theory, expounded by Paul Wexler, that the grammar of Yiddish contains a Khazar substrate. In 2018, Kevin Alan Brook cited genetic data to argue against the claim that Ashkenazim have any amount of Khazarian ancestry.

Use in anti-Semitic polemics

According to Michael Barkun, the Khazar hypothesis never played any major role in anti-Semitism, though he writes that histories of the latter rather oddly overlook the influence it has exercised on American antisemites since the restrictions on immigration in the 1920s. Maurice Fishberg and Roland B Dixon's works were later exploited in racist and religious polemical literature in both Britain, in British Israelism, and the United States. Particularly after the publication of Burton J. Hendrick's "The Jews in America" in 1923, it began to enjoy a vogue among advocates of immigration restriction in the 1920s; racial theorists like Lothrop Stoddard; anti-Semitic conspiracy-theorists like the Ku Klux Klan's Hiram Wesley Evans; anti-communist polemicists like John O. Beaty and Wilmot Robertson, whose views influenced David Duke. According to Yehoshafat Harkabi in 1968 and others, it played a role in Arab anti-Zionist polemics, and took on an anti-semitic edge. Bernard Lewis, noting in 1987 that Arab scholars had dropped it, remarked that it only occasionally emerged in Arab political discourse. It has also played some role in Soviet anti-Semitic chauvinism and Slavic Eurasian historiography, particularly in the works of scholars like Lev Gumilev. It came to be exploited by the White supremacist Christian movement and even by terrorist esoteric cults like Aum Shinrikyō.

Genetic studies

The hypothesis of Khazarian ancestry in Ashkenazi has also been a subject of discussion in the field of population genetics, wherein claims have been made concerning evidence both for and against it. Eran Elhaik argued in 2012 for a significant Khazar component in the paternal line based on the study of Y-DNA of Ashkenazi Jews using Caucasian populations, Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijani Jews, as proxies. The evidence from historians he used has been criticised by Shaul Stampfer and the technical response to such a position is dismissive, arguing that, if traces of descent from Khazars exist in the Ashkenazi gene pool, the contribution would be quite minor, or insignificant.

According to Nadia Abu El-Haj, the issues of origins are generally complicated by the difficulties of writing history via genome studies and the biases of emotional investments in different narratives, depending on whether the emphasis lies on direct descent or on conversion within Jewish history. The lack of Khazar DNA samples that might allow verification also presents difficulties.

Crimean Karaite claims

In 1839, Abraham Firkovich was appointed by the Russian government as a researcher into the origins of the Jewish sect known as the Karaites. In 1846, one of his acquaintances the Russian orientalist Vasilii Vasil'evich Grigor'ev (1816–1881) theorized that the Crimean Karaites were of Khazar stock. Firkovich vehemently rejected the idea. The allegation, though unfamiliar to the Karaites themselves at the time, was quickly taken up by outsiders. Firkovich successfully petitioned the Russian government to exempt the Karaites from anti-Jewish laws on the grounds that Karaites had immigrated to Europe before the crucifixion of Jesus and thus could not be held responsible for his death. He travelled widely and amassed a large collection of Judaic artefacts, visiting Egypt and Palestine, as well as the Caucasus and Crimea. The authenticity of his collection has been widely challenged among historians, and today Firkovich is widely regarded as a forger who falsified older documents and changed the dates on tombstones, and also exaggerated the size and importance of the kingdom.

Many Karaim deny Israelite origins and consider themselves to be descendants of the Khazars, while specialists in Khazar history also question the connection. Brook's genetic study of European Karaites found no evidence of a Khazar or Turkic origin for any uniparental lineage but did reveal the European Karaites' links to Egyptian Karaites and to Rabbinical Jewish communities.

In literature

"The Kuzari" is an influential work written by the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi (c. 1075–1141). Divided into five essays, it takes the form of a fictional dialogue between the pagan king of the Khazars and a Jew who was invited to instruct him in the tenets of the Jewish religion. The intent of the work, although based on Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ's correspondence with the Khazar king, was not historical, but rather to defend Judaism as a revealed religion, written in the context, firstly of Karaite challenges to the Spanish rabbinical intelligentsia, and then against temptations to adapt Aristotelianism and Islamic philosophy to the Jewish faith. Originally written in Arabic, it was translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon. Benjamin Disraeli's early novel "Alroy" (1833) draws on Menachem ben Solomon's story. The question of mass religious conversion and the indeterminability of the truth of stories about identity and conversion are central themes of Milorad Pavić's best-selling mystery story.

Dictionary of the Khazars

H.N. Turteltaub's "Justinian," Marek Halter's "Book of Abraham" and "Wind of the Khazars," and Michael Chabon's "Gentlemen of the Road" allude to or feature elements of Khazar history or create fictional Khazar characters.

Cities associated with the Khazars

Atil, Khazaran, Samandar; in the Caucasus, Balanjar, Kazarki, Sambalut, and Samiran; in Crimea and the Taman region, Kerch, Theodosia, Yevpatoria, Samkarsh, and Sudak; and in the Don valley, Sarkel. A number of Khazar settlements have been discovered in the Mayaki-Saltovo region. Some scholars suppose that the Khazar settlement of Sambat on the Dnieper refers to the later Kiev.

**30**

### The Rider

And it came to pass that on the eighth day of his journey, a tired, gray pilgrim on horseback approached the home he had left in search of adventure and knowledge when a young man. The Rider had unceremoniously travelled for what seemed an overly long lifetime, and only now had any inkling that, as a child, he was ridiculously and overly susceptible to the provocative, cackling, shrill, bugle wails of the disingenuous, painted sirens. The lures had posed on the steep mountainside outside of town, right on the slope where he was now perched, as the cacophonous sentries, positioned at the desired land's gates made a mockery of the fixed, written words of the book he had favored in youth. The Rider pulled back the reins and dismounted his black, white, and gray spotted companion and together they took in the view.

His eyes panned over a setting which seemed to be other than what his half century old memory recalled. Below were the brown and the flimsy, which had callously encroached on the green and the sturdy which were what was in his mind. On the ground near him were the charred stumps and the haphazard, blackened, fallen logs. The visible insects had devoured the majority of the softer brown wood, but seemed to have no interest in the parts which had been scorched. These remnants, which were slowly being absorbed by the earth on which they now rested, sat like an un-excavated burial ground.

His aged and now diminished ears heard nothing, but the sporadic echoing whistle of the earth upsetting wind; making an abundance of short lived dust devils. It howled in gusts in defiance of soothing convention, as it unsuccessfully tried to once again regain the stature deceiving, un-kept promise of its former flamboyant prominence. Yet, he also knew that the insistent wind had its undeniable mellowing place in his realm of otherwise stagnant and mounting heat. It immediately made a liar of him when it blew dust into Spotty's eyes. Without the benefit of hands, she had no way to brush away the rude, petty grains which accumulated to hamper her vision. The shaking of her head alleviated much of the initial intrusions, but was ineffective when the moisture induced widening muddy deposits at the corners. The grounded Rider used his fingers to clear her eyes. As always, she first balked, afraid of injury to the vital, sensitive area. The Rider found the repetition of the old story somewhat silly; but never said so. This was the millionth time he put his hands under her chin and said; "Hey girl; you should know by now that I'd never hurt you." Like always, Spotty sighed and relaxed while the Rider cleared her eyes.

The time-consuming, eight day trip, no doubt clearly foreseeable by the enlightened, had taken him only an un-enlightened and decaying half century. But now, he thought that he was finally home. The thoughts of what might have been if he was brighter and more fortunate were ones he had to forget. The past was gone and now irrelevant. It was simple as that as he had managed to think in his busy rational moments. He had long prior learned how to hold back the publicly embarrassing tears, saving them for his ample idle solitude. The Rider rubbed away his own accumulating corner deposits.

He came to a complete halt on the bounteously recalled, but presently treeless hill. He overlooked the town. He could only now try to fool himself by doubting that it was the place he did once seek to leave. Things had changed. That person was not him; it had to be someone else caught in the inevitably, drowning whirlpool. The harsh realities of what he truly believed, but didn't want to remember, only served as a testimony to his long term and wasting, weak culpability. The thought had to go away, if he had any chance of keeping on, though he knew that his keeping on had no relevance to anyone but to him, Spotty, and possibly his present boss. He recognized this depressed mindset was just another manifestation of self-indulgence; popular with the privileged and their affected mimics, while in reality he knew that it was just another simple display of humanity's will to go on; all too often used for short term personal gain. Still in its grips despite accurate recognition of the enemy, he temporarily considered willing himself to death, but could not sustain the pain-ending thought. The illogical, sorrow generating, yet irrepressible hope of a deep-rooted, childish dream would not let him succumb to the comfortable numbness.

He attempted to get out of his head and into what was around him today; in what apparently passes for someone's version of "reality," their own. In that process the Rider found it easier and truer to substitute his own. He had come to know that his attitude had much in common with what everyone else dealt with daily; and here he was, reflecting on it like another poor imitation of Narcissus. Yet, if he were to insist on only viewing his own perceptions, it would only solidify his isolation. He took a long drink from his brown, fringed, leather canteen; in that process apprehensively noticing that the only remaining water contained in it rested at the bottom. His eyes went to Spotty. At first she was apprehensively looking at him. She then whinnied; low, sad and shyly; shook her head from side to side, though that movement was no longer personally necessary. She looked the other way; not in any sense of defiance; not in any sense of boredom; not in any sense of disgust; not in any sense of ill will; but maybe in a sense of a feeling of inadequacy coupled with the sense of a feeling of; "Get off it. It leads nowhere!" The Rider thought that he might understand and caressed her.

The magnificence of his anciently and possibly mistakenly recalled fertile valley; its compelling view, punitively, pitilessly and perhaps condescendingly, was obvious to him and was right in the face of Spotty and he. His exhausted and partially open eyes looked, though the part of him which insisted on survival recommended that they be closed. He resisted survival compulsions and saw that the steep hillside itself, not only evidenced a consuming inferno; the date anyone's guess; only displayed sawn tree stumps which because of the regularity of the cuts, appear to have been taken down prior to the fire. Now they were apparently resolute in their commemorated mortality; a museum of undesired, immobile tranquility, no longer having any hope of shifting their many lost branches in the fickle breeze. Their un-moving, but making-the-best-of-things remains overlooked the wrinkled, parched, presently desert town, as reluctantly, did the Rider. He thought that he remembered bucolic, green, springtime dalliances, happily extending their bold, newly acquired progressions into a cloudless, blue sky, which seemed well within reach. Though there was no evidence of his memory, he was stubbornly certain that he was right. For a privileged, melancholically, happy and hopeless moment, his possibly objective faulty, primal recollection of what he dreamed of in his youth; as to the beauty which once was on, above, and below the hill, on which he now stood, pounded his brain like exhilaration coupled with an unspoken admonishment. The remnants of the sweet dream were clearly in front of his face. The reality was much as his almost forgotten, foolish, and romantic, once upon a time fantasy. The unattained dream which he now considered to be the innocent delusion of a youthful and erroneously thought to be a never-to-come-again oasis of the sincerely joyful shared the libidinous embodiment of a loving soul which had long prior succumbed to the infectious, prevalent passion, or never really was, outside of his thoughts. It was the substance of fantasy to be enjoyed only when one was alone and ready for sleep. At some compromising point, his prior resistance to the predominant and ever-flowing waves wore out. The comfort of the old innocent songs were overwhelmed by a silent cacophony of guilty, tainted, universally, though not personally produced ugly realities, which were the result of a magnanimous smiling viewpoint which seemed to be clearly right in front of his faulty brain and eyes. While the heart of the saddened one was capable of an extremely limited foray into the life of a hermit monk, his nether regions seemed to have a mind of their own and without any semblance of sociably acceptable constraints, looked elsewhere. Was there any choice? It was a storm of relentless, blinding dust which gratuitously dropped its dominant, physically "real," and un-welcomely imposed obscurations on the desperate, unhappy groupings he sought to elude. Unlike many years prior, he now knew that he rightly belonged with them. He knew and hated that stupidly stubborn aspect of himself, in which he appeared as reticent or shy, but was a truly unwilling and unenthusiastic prognosticator and procrastinator, in fear of the horror he had seen inflicted on the openly vulnerable. There was no way to live with open eyes and simultaneously avoid it. For her and only her, he had frantically prayed to un-listening ears for a cessation of the cruel wind; each entreaty performed with less zeal than the prior failure, until it was gone. He knew that he and she were just more of the condemned, didn't understand why it had to be this way, and yet still desired to attempt a personally judicial, righteous journey home for the others. Maybe his lost, seemingly simple, misremembered dream could be their way, if not his. Besides, he had nothing to gain by denying the others who had done him no harm.

Below him in the valley, though he found the implied idea of his lofty placement personally repugnant, yet egoistically impossible to ignore, he saw the scraps of his failed dream. The barren, desolate appearance of the tangibly inescapable, brutal physical environs of his originally desired home below caused him to chastise himself for long ago having taken a series of wrong turns, simultaneously almost forgiving himself when he realized that the arduous excursion was not what he sought. It was merely what seemed to be there; bearing the testimony of all that went before him and all that he had heard about then. For 'Occam's Razor' aficionados, the simplest and easiest criticism was that it was unforgivably common. The Rider was harder on himself. Despite all the good justifications, he couldn't forgive himself for taking a route which, had he taken the trouble to mindfully scrutinize, was obviously a route to hell. Can a teenager be expected to understand the experienced, unobstructed, regretful viewpoint gained in old age? Perhaps that was so for a few geniuses imprisoned in the company of many timid followers of rules. It seemed a travesty, in any sense of his concept of justice, for his current mindset to be only possible after a youth of regretted, self-indulgence, away from those he loved. There must be another way; a path hidden. ........ He thought that he would not be convicted by a jury of his peers as he had never seen it, and had no practical reason to think that it existed anywhere outside of the pretenses of the holier-than-thou-outdo-doo-dah-daddy positions already claimed by the fame-seeking, mental defectives. Yet, every unexplainable thing in him told him that he should have known and that he was guilty and did not have to wait for the legalities of a sentencing hearing. The punishment was inflicted before charges were filed.

He again wondered if he were yet another person merely consigned to the wrong time and place. He had been so mistakenly sure of the decency of so many other locations that he found the question unanswerable. He had to try to forget the failure of all that was part of the past and hope and believe that he was about to enter something new; as well as something old. A successful life seemed to demand the contradiction. Without the belief in that one in a million, "miraculous," and naïve long shot, he may as well have stayed up on the hill with the butchered, burned and unirrigated tree stumps. If the denizens of the valley city were averse to him, so be it. He could know that only after having tried to befriend them.

He again mounted Spotty and rode his companion of thirty years. The black, white and gray spotted mare now struggled with every step she took on the sloped and treacherous terrain. He held the reins slackly and made no effort to compel her to move with anything other than the speed and course with which she was most secure. As he experienced the careful slow steps she took, he again gazed into their valley destination. It didn't look as if it could have been the likely recipient of the idealized, weathered memories he had of a youth spent in wordless modification of the place, which he had thought was purposely, stupidly and onerously set on thwarting every feeble attempt he made to find any paltry sense of freedom. Now, he was saddened, as it merely appeared dry, forlorn and abandoned.

Despite his undesired, underwhelming feeling that he was likely to be returning to a place which had obviously seen better times, his corrected and egalitarian emotions made him want to enter the town of his birth; strongly and inescapably. He was reticent to appear as someone pompous, patronizing or condescending to the town he loved; but left. He also knew that this perception would inescapably be that of some; he could only hope not many. This was nothing more than a sad joke to him. He had lost the protracted match, time was running out and he wished that he had never left. Yet he knew all too well the authority and prominence of appearances. Despite the length of his trip, his blue denim shirt, pants and open jacket were only lightly soiled and he still had the company and friendship of faithful Spotty. She meandered assuredly through the obstacles, her eyes necessarily fixed in concentration on the confounding stumps and deteriorating logs.

The Rider reluctantly peered toward the river to his left; or what remained of it. The playground of his swimming childhood had become a congregation of clustered dry islands interspersed by small trickles insufficient to provide aquatic cover for a shellfish. For a brief moment he wondered if this was the place he had left. His doubt was extinguished by his sighting of the irrigation ditches, now much too high above the river to be the receptacle of anything other than the hot, dry air.

He momentarily considered going back to the farce with which he was fluent after a lifetime of learning the patois. ....... He couldn't bring himself to and he realistically thought it best to continue on as he hadn't the time to backtrack. Going back was an option open only to the young.

He rode a few more steps, until a bearded man on foot, with glasses in need of recurrent manipulation turned the switchback corner. He had to stop Spotty as the bespectacled man was too busy carrying on a heated conversation with a person whom only he saw to pay any attention to others who might be on the hill. When they got close he could see that the bearded man was young; no more than thirty years of age. The Stranger came to an abrupt, jerking stop and used his quivering fingers to reposition his glasses higher on his nose, poking an eye in the process. Embarrassed, he said; "Why don't you watch where you're going!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm standing still. Can't you see?"

".............. Well, good that you think you are." The Stranger inserted two fingers under his glasses, and rubbed a blinking eye. He mumbled; "I do see some movement. Where are you going?"

The Rider extended his right hand, palm up, toward the town, and said; "To the place of my birth. Is it still home to anyone?"

The bearded one again meddled with his glasses, leaving them more misaligned than they had been prior to his alteration. He tugged at his beard and said; "Why must you ask difficult questions?"

".............. Perhaps, I can rephrase it. Does anyone live there?"

"I don't know. No difference to me."

"Have you been down there?"

The Stranger cackled when he replied; "Questions. Questions. Questions. But, this one is finally an indication of lost presumptions. Thank you. No, I have not." He found this uninformed response singularly amusing and added; "I have been well advised to avoid this demise, euphemistically known as Cambio de la Vida. Jesus has said; 'Let the dead stay with the dead.'"

Spotty snorted and looked back toward her mount as if to say; "Both of you have got to be kidding." The Rider said; "No matter what it is now called by the inexperienced young, I will always remember its sweet wonders. When I was born there it was known throughout the country as Propicio; a place of abundance. It matters none to me if it has mockingly become known as Cambio de la Vida, as I will always belong there. It is merely a circling back to an infancy; oblivious to labels." Thinking that he had said something discourse ending, if not particularly dazzling, he smirked as he confidently retrieved a hand rolled cigarette from his shirt pocket and struck a match, lighting it.

The pedestrian Stranger with the vision challenge jumped back and his glazed eyes widened in horror. He said; "This place is so dry, an ember could trigger a raging wildfire. Didn't you see the condition of the river?"

He inhaled deeply and said; "Yeah? ....... Hard to miss. My compliments on your fantastic grasp of the obvious. ....... Now, who's asking the stupid questions?"

The bearded one again frantically tried to straighten his glasses, and quickly circumvented Spotty, in a quick stepping attempt to get away from the flickering flame. He had moved ten feet when he stopped and called back, seeking the last word; "You're crazy! You're absolutely crazy! ......... What do you think is on the other side of the ridge?"

The Rider calmly shrugged and said; "I don't remember. I really don't. ........ Maybe nothin' worth rememberin'. maybe Paradise. ........ What day is today? I can't remember that either."

The Stranger wasn't asked, but chose to blurt out; "I don't know. I really don't. ....... Whatever its un-name, it's a day to move on."

"Finally, we agree on somethin'"

"There's nuthin' down there."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Look, all you can see is fallen down shacks."

"Can't see over the ridge from here."

"Gotta be the same. I've been in these parts all my life and I never seen a damn thing. 'Sides, there's no water down there. If you make it to the ridge you'll never make it back."

"I don't know. Don't matter. My boss wants me to deliver a book to some lady."

The Stranger couldn't control his laughter. He said; "Hey, jerk. (Giggle.) You can (Snort.) just throw the book away (Mucous wiped on sleeve.) and say that you delivered it."

"I ain't like that. That's why he pays me good."

"Wages! Wages! S***! Can get that anywhere without dying of thirst. Man!! Use your f****** head."

" .................................... "

"What?"

"I was usin' my f****** head."

Snort. "Try usin' it the shrewd way. How's he gonna know? This one time won't hurt."

"I don't know how he's gonna know. He's pretty damn smart though."

"Smart compared to you I guess."

"He's got the biggest cattle and horse operation back east. What you got?"

" ................. Probably inherited it."

"Made it all himself. That's what everyone says."

"Dangerous down there."

"Got a gun for the rattlers."

The Rider retrieved a tiny, leather bound, un-titled book from his saddlebag and read aloud. "Just as it is the task of the enlightened beings of numbers to make generous, good use of their numbers to explain things in a two-fold, in sync manner, which the beings of substance can understand; it is also the task of the enlightened beings of substance to make generous, good use of their substance to explain things in a two-fold, in sync manner which the beings of numbers can understand; both parties at once being clearly overt and clearly mysterious. It is at this point that the third riders make themselves known to all. Differing ability levels are recognized and respected. An honest effort is all that is required. But, woe be to those who hold back or deceive. They not only hurt the other, but themselves. Their inaction or falsity condemns all to a tedious, boring lifetime of 'preaching banalities to the choir,' at best. It is at this point that the suicide phantom of Styx makes its presence known and the haunting, black specter has achieved what it and you think to be immortality. But, it is Death."

The Rider dismounted in order to put the book back in his saddlebag.

Spotty became uncomfortable standing unevenly on the slope. She carefully worked her way down to the field and commenced running at full tilt.

The Stranger said; "See Spot run."

"What's a scribe doin' in the wasteland?"

"Lookin' for somethin' worth stealin'. What else?" ....... "What the hell was all that crap supposed to mean?"

The now pedestrian Rider laughingly replied; "You're the smart one. You tell me. F*** do I know? It's just my job to deliver this little book. Figured I'd take a look at it at night. ........ I just gotta keep movin'. Got a great, great horse helpin' me. ....... See ya, ...... maybe."

The Stranger walked west, away from the river, continuing to fidget with his glasses. When he got out of normal hearing range, Spotty started back up the hill to the Rider. She moved more quickly this time, as she had learned the terrain.

The Rider dwelled a bit, smiled, puffed and straddled Spotty, who complied and demonstrated her continuance to show their mutual disdain for paths. They went straight down the hill, more and more certain that they were on their way home. He uttered; 'Head for Siempre Carretera.'

He pulled the reins gently and Spotty slowly loped over the dry shrubs, their disturbed cotton now loose and filling the air near ground level with snow flurries

The Rider was fearful that he was too late, but he and Spotty were aiming to go over that ridge.

**31**

### News – 5-25-22

WP Brand Studio

In co-operation with "Washington Gone Postal" and "The Kiev Daily,"

"a patriotic supporter of the homeland"

May 25, 2022

### Get Me to the Doctor

May 25, 2022. The war in Ukraine is more devastating than you know. No one is paying any attention, but this has been going on heavy duty for six years already, and it would seem that no one outside the region affected has heard of it. It's kind of big stuff, and has the potential to spread. Would you like to be living in the following building or have the following brouhaha with your riding mower? Of course not. But, this is what Ukranians have been putting up with for an entire decade, and you can bet your ass that they're pissed. You would be too. And on top of all this crap, they have the complications supplied by the Jews sent from Israel, making claims and telling them what to do. If it wasn't for the plentiful Horilka, there would undoubtedly be constant hand to hand combat.

A Ukrainian fighter stands in a building damaged by shelling in Avdiivka, Ukraine; public domain.

A Ukrainian fighter seems strangely calm as a nearby exposion destroys a tank in Avdiivka, Ukraine; public domain.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region is entering its seventh year. More than 15,000 people have been killed in this persistent conflict, including 3,800 civilians. Nearly two million people have been internally displaced or put at risk if they remain in their homes.

Today, the Donbas war is among the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with frequent attacks occurring from both sides across the oblasts or provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk. Before the war, this compact, heavily urbanized and industrialized region held nearly 15 percent of Ukraine's 6.6 million population and generated 20 percent of its gross domestic product.

Now it's a war zone. And our research has documented that, as its hospitals and medical facilities are destroyed; perhaps even targeted; its citizens are being deprived of basic health care services, echoing Syria's similar if larger crisis.

This is content which is more or less promised to be paid for by an advertiser, Northrop Grumman Technical Systems; and is published by WP Brand Studio. The "Washington Gone Postal" and "The Kiev Daily" newsrooms were not involved in the creation of this content. Learn more about WP BrandStudio at www//http/WPBrands.com. Flexible tech solutions can prepare your business for nearly any challenge, but first you need a game plan. Read More Here.

So what happened in Ukraine? How did it happen? In 2013, Ukraine was divided between those who wanted to affiliate with Russia and those who leaned toward Europe and NATO. In Kiev, in what was called the Maidan Revolution, the pro-Europe faction overthrew the kleptocratic and Russian-leaning Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

When does Russian propaganda work? And when does it backfire? Here's what we found. Reactions in the Donbas, a region bordering Russia and composed of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, varied. Separatist forces, abetted by Russia, began fighting the Ukrainian military, soon fortified by backup from Russian army units. That fighting has damaged the Donbas's basic infrastructure, particularly hospitals and clinics, making it hard for the government to deliver core services such as health care.

Combatants often attack hospitals. In Syria, human rights organizations and the UN Security Council have denounced these attacks as violations of international law. Fewer observers have noticed the attacks on Ukraine's hospitals, even though the World Health Organization documented 33 such attacks from 2014 through 2016.

As part of a larger study, we compiled an inventory of the 247 registered hospitals and clinics in the Donbas. We then examined UN reports, investigations by nongovernmental organizations, central news reports in Ukraine and Russia, and Donetsk and Luhansk newspapers for evidence of healthcare infrastructure damage from 2014 through 2017. We geo-located all specific reports of damage, eliminating duplicates. We found that one-third of all Donbas medical facilities had been damaged. Our resulting geospatial database reveals patterns of "bricks and mortar" damage to the healthcare system, as you can see below.

Map of some ostensible import to WP; public domain.

Adjusting for multiple hits, we found that 82 medical facilities; one-third of all those in the Donbas, had reported damage. That's far more than those reported by the World Health Organization. However, the bricks-and-mortar damage doesn't show casualties among medical personnel or the loss of vehicles. Nor does it show how local civilians suffered severe damage to their housing and access to heat, electricity and clean water. Many of the residents who've stayed must now risk a great deal to reach even basic health care.

Could U.N. peacekeepers help end the war in Ukraine? Is this a surprise? Are healthcare facilities deliberately attacked? There are no safe places in a major war. The Donbas conflict is often described as "hybrid warfare," something akin to Russia's seizure of Crimea with "little green men." This is a serious mischaracterization.

Mapping our data illustrates that attacks on healthcare facilities are concentrated in the city of Donetsk and its environs; along the cease-fire line, where the front stabilized after February 2015; and around the city of Sloviansk, which was occupied by separatist forces but later retaken by Ukrainian troops. Along the coast of the Sea of Azov, advances by Russian troops and separatists resulted in a cluster of attacks near Mariupol. Northern Luhansk Oblast and western Donetsk Oblast saw little heavy fighting, and therefore little damage.

Were hospitals targeted? Many healthcare facilities in the Donbas were destroyed. Was this deliberate — or was it collateral damage? We looked at what types of weapons were used, for some clues.

In the Syrian civil war, heavy aerial bombardment destroyed a vast amount of infrastructure. By contrast, the Donbas fighting has used conventional artillery, heavy mortars and rockets such as the notorious Grad ("Hail") system. Such indirect fire weapons are not  accurate enough to target specific buildings. Those using them often can't see the target. So to destroy a particular target building, such weapons would succeed only when used in sufficient numbers, and would leave behind a great deal of collateral damage. Some medical locations might have been attacked by shorter-range, direct-fire weapons such as tanks, anti-tank missiles, or rocket-propelled grenades. Examining both witness accounts and the blast patterns in photos of derelict healthcare facilities, we find that the damage appears to be what we would expect from artillery rounds or rockets. It looks more like hospitals and clinics have been collateral damage than targets.

When military targets are attacked and are fighting back, it's hard to conclude which side damaged the surrounding civilian infrastructure. Reliable reports document that both sides have quartered troops in or fired from hospitals, blurring the line between combatant and noncombatant. In other conflicts, forensic examination of fragments or unexploded ordnance helps  identify the type of munitions used to attack hospitals; making it easier to conclude which side attacked which target. But in the Donbas war, both sides mostly use the same weaponry, making it difficult to deduce which side attacked the healthcare facilities.

Were attacks on healthcare facilities deliberate? Our preliminary examination suggests that they haven't been targeted. They appear to have suffered collateral damage, and have been hit by both sides. To draw conclusions about responsibility, one would need to employ the sophisticated open-source data and methods used to analyze the Syrian war damage.

No matter who is responsible, the fighting has damaged not just healthcare services, but other civilian infrastructure such as housing, schools and election facilities, while killing, terrifying and displacing civilians. If Ukraine can't deliver essential services, the war has undermined the legitimacy of the state and made it harder to reach a reconciliation if and when the conflict ends.

Trying to refer back to the headline of this article, the Ukrainian governing body is one which no one heeds. Yet, it issued a proclamation requiring a Ukrainian Jewish organization and their sponsoring synagogue to change their name, eliminating the "Russian" in its title, to more clearly indicate their rebel alliance. The Jews held protests two weeks ago, but odds are that they too are still riled.

'True Torah Jews'

"Good evening, faithful listeners. I'm Rabbi Yosef Krasilovsky of the Benet Rothstein Chabad Jewish Center, here in Shelton, Connecticut. You may have already known that you're listening to WMDI-LP New York Jewish Radio at 107.9 FM; also available on line at NYJewishRadio.com. I'm a member of an umbrella group called 'The True Torah Jews,' which is actually comprised of a few groups, the largest of which is the Neturei Karta. ...... I'm always proud of myself when I get all that shtopn out correctly. The rest of the show is easy in comparison.

We have only two issues here; the current state of Israel and that much misunderstood word; Zionism. But, shver zikh issues they are, as they've been around for one hundred years. While today the majority of observing Jews identify with the state of Israel, there is both a growing and visible minority of anti- and non-Zionist Jews, with a rich history of anti-Zionism within Judaism. Political movements like 'The Jewish Labour Bund' and thinkers such as Abraham Serfaty, Emma Goldman and Leon Trotsky are often ignored or dismissed as 'self-hating traitors.' In the US today groups like 'Jews for Justice for Palestinians,' 'Jewdas,' 'Young Jewish Left' and the 'International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network' are active voices against the occupation.

Jews who criticize or oppose Zionism are usually Orthodox and maintain that Israel can only be regained miraculously. They view the present state as a blasphemous human attempt to usurp God's role, and many actively work to dismantle the secular state of Israel. However, unlike many gentile anti¬-Zionists, Jewish anti-Zionists usually firmly believe in the Jewish right to the land of Israel, but only at the future time of redemption. The best ¬known group of the Jewish religious anti¬Zionists are the aforementioned  Neturei Karta.

Neturei Karta members being arrested at draft protest in Jerusalem 1-18-17; property of the author.

Jews burning the Israeli flag in Brooklyn 3-12-17; property of the author.

Jews at pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, DC 12-17-17; property of the author.

Two common religious grounds are typically given for anti-Zionism. One is that today's Zionism is a secular Zionism, packed with non¬Jewish influences, and lacking key features like Mashiach and the rebuilt Temple. Adherents to this position are more on the non--Zionist, rather than anti¬-Zionist side. The other reason is that the Talmud, the central text and the primary source of Jewish religious law (Halakah) and Jewish theology, as part of a discussion of certain Torah verses mentioning oaths, states that when the Israelites went into the second exile, there were three vows between Heaven and Earth;

1) Israel would not 'go up like a wall' (conquer Eretz Yisrael by massive force.)  
2) God made the Israelites swear that they would not rebel against the nations of the world, and would obey the host governments in the exile.  
3) God made the non-Jews swear not to oppress Israelites 'too much.'

Groups accepting these positions are more on the anti-Zionist side. Non-Zionist Jews are pleased that Israel exists from a practical standpoint as a haven for oppressed Jews and as a land imbued with holiness well-suited for Torah study. But they don't generally assign religious significance to the formation of the modern state, and often decry aspects of its secular culture.

Recently, the State of Israel enacted a law proclaiming itself the 'nation-state' of all Jews on planet earth, regardless of nationality. 'True Torah Jews' believe this declaration to be wrong and unlawful. Since the Jewish people are a religious entity; not a race or nationality; such a claim is completely bogus.

By irrevocably linking Jews everywhere with Israel and any Israeli military action, like that in the Ukraine now, they too must unfairly shoulder international reaction; becoming the innocent and unwitting target of increased anti-Semitism worldwide.

'True Torah Jews' are proud and loyal citizens of our own nation-states, completely unaffiliated with the state of Israel. We believe this law promotes Israeli ruling class interests while being diametrically opposed to true Jewish interests, and so we are compelled to voice our sincere and profound opposition.

I'd like to make a few simple observations. It seems absurd that these things have to be explained over and over. Just reverse the concept to Catholics. No one misunderstands that there are Catholics who are Italian, Catholics who are Polish, and Catholics who are of virtually every ethnicity. And they all do not want to go to Vatican City, nor do they all pay much attention to the Pope. I have to think this 'confusion' about the Jews is willful and continually perpetrated by those who think that they have something to gain by it.

It is truly amazing how difficult it is to get information about what 'True Torah Jews' have to say. The first problem is that you would have to know out precise name before you had a chance of finding it. Mysteriously, googling Jews, Israel, or Zionism will not bring up our name. And then, if you do somehow manage to find it, our own website provides much, but not all of what I'd have wished, as items regularly get deleted, and no one knows by whom. I don't suspect that this is accidental, as we get deleted from other sites too; even Wikipedia. I guess it upsets the norm to openly say that there are non-violent true Jews, and then there are the violent fake Jews, the leadership, often just called Khazars. They are hard line Zionists, who continually use the peaceful Jews for their own gain. When we live in a time of popular conspiracy theories, including nonsensical allegations that the Clintons killed fourteen people, it seems like a story which is worth much more attention than it has ever gotten.

Even Wikipedia deleted our article on 'True Torah Jews' against Zionism. I first learned about the manipulation of Wikipedia by Israeli Cyber Warriors on the Veterans Today site, and so far everything they have said has been right about Wikipedia, and this further confirms it. These two organizations have no connection or tie in, so this observation is from their personal experience. Veterans Today also did independent research confirming Israel's hand in manipulating Wikipedia to favor their view of Zionism. We have done numerous blogs on the real Torah Jews and how they are being vilified for things they have not done, and rather are used by the Zionist Khazars as cover for their dirty deeds. Religious Jews are considered by Zionists as pathetic, weak, and unable to do what it takes to make their mark. In other words, they are too loving, forgiving, God loving spirit beings. It's unlikely many of you have ever met a real religious Jew. I was lucky in school to have had an enlightened debate partner, and that was how I knew something was wrong and began this journey down the Khazar rabbit hole. Sure enough, I found out the Real Jews were a gentle people like their Palestinian brothers and that the picture put out by the Khazars was just another deception so they would not be held accountable for their actions; but rather the real Jews would pay the price as they did in WW II. They were blamed for the WW II boycott against Germany, while it was the Zionists were the ones that called for that boycott, not the real Jews.

Torah Judaism is an English term used by Orthodox Jewish groups to describe their Judaism as being based on an adherence to the laws of the Torah's mitzvot, as expounded in Orthodox Halakha. These laws include both the Biblical and rabbinic mitzvot.

Torah Judaism is also an ideological concept used by many Orthodox thinkers to describe their movement as the sole Jewish denomination faithful to traditional Jewish values. Followers of True Torah Judaism may also follow the Daat Torah, the guidelines of rabbis or hakhamim based on the Talmud. In recent times, these hakhamim may include the followers' rebbes; Hasidic rabbis, rosh yeshivas, deans of yeshivas, or a posek, often identified as an expert in the Shulkhan Arukh. The phrase Torah Judaism implies a belief and practice of Judaism that is based on the inclusion of the entire Tanakh and Talmud, as well as later rabbinic authorities, as sources of conducting oneself in life, and on the premise that the Torah emanates directly from God, as revealed at Biblical Mount Sinai. The term 'Torah Judaism' is a conscious intent to label non-Orthodox Jewish movements as being divorced from the Torah.

This is our mission. The relatively new concept of Zionism began only about one hundred years ago and since that time True Torah Jewry has steadfastly opposed the Zionist ideology. This struggle is rooted in two convictions;

1) Zionism, by advocating a political and military end to the Jewish exile, denies the very essence of our Diaspora existence. We are in exile by Divine Decree and may emerge from exile solely via Divine Redemption. All human efforts to alter a metaphysical reality are doomed to end in failure and bloodshed. History has clearly borne out this teaching.

2) Zionism has not only denied our fundamental belief in Heavenly Redemption; it has also created a pseudo-Judaism which views the essence of our identity to be a secular nationalism. Accordingly, Zionism and the Israeli state have consistently endeavored, via persuasion and coercion, to replace a Divine and Torah-centered understanding of our peoplehood with an armed materialism.

'True Torah Jews' is dedicated to informing the world and in particular the American public and politicians that not all Jews support the ideology of the Zionist state called 'Israel.' In fact, a great number of Orthodox Jews view the ideology of that state as diametrically opposed to the teachings of traditional Judaism. We are concerned that the widespread misconception that all Jews support the Zionist state and its actions endangers Jews worldwide. We are NOT politically motivated. We are motivated by our concern for the peace and safety of all people throughout the world including those living in the Zionist state. We support and pray for peace for the people of the Zionist state but have no interest in and do not support its Zionist government.

We seek to disassociate Jews and traditional Judaism from the Zionist ideology by:

1) Providing historical and supporting documentation that Zionism is totally contrary to the teachings of traditional Judaism through the words of our Rabbis, Sages, and Holy Scriptures which oppose the creation of this state called Israel.

2) Providing historical documentation on the ideology and creation of Zionism, the supporters of Zionism and the negative impact of their actions on the Jewish people in the past hundred years, including their involvement in the Holocaust and their activities up to the present day.

3) Publicizing the efforts of traditional Jews to demonstrate their opposition to Zionism; efforts which are ignored by the mainstream media.

4) Convincing the news media, politicians and the public to cease referring to the State of Israel as the 'Jewish State' but to call it what it is; the 'Zionist State,' that being controlled by the false Khazarian 'Jews' for their benefit alone.

We also aim to reach out to our Jewish brethren who have never studied the subject of Zionism from a Torah perspective, and have only been taught the Zionist side of the story. It is our hope that all of our fellow Jews will soon open their eyes, return to Torah and reject this ideology that replaces the Jew's age-old hope for God's redemption with a false redemption and a human initiated state. We are concerned that the widespread misconception that all Jews support the Zionist state and its actions endangers Jews worldwide."

"Okay, we're taking calls and have Ephraim on the line. Hi Ephraim, and what's on your mind today."

"Good evening, Rabbi Krasilovsky. Does not the Talmud say 'come and see what the people have to say.' Sometimes in the spiritial movement of the people there is great divine inspiration."

Rabbi Krasilovsky said; "Ephraim, I believe the correct translation is 'go out and see how the people act.' The Gemora uses this when there are two opinions about an halachic question, such as the correct blessing on water at the end of sixth chapter of Berachos, and we want to know which one to follow. There is another concept that you may be referring to; that the Arizal and other mekubalim find important reasons for Jewish customs that apparently started for unrelated reasons. For example, Jews today wear a small tallis under their garments and a large tallis over the garments. Originally there was only one big tallis which Jews wore all day. But then they stopped wearing four cornered cloaks, and in order to fulfill the mitzvah of tzitzis all day it became necessary to wear a special small four cornered garment. However, the Arizal explains that the small and large tallis each corresponds to certain kabbalistic concepts and it is important to wear both. This implies that God guided and inspired the Jewish people to begin customs that actually have deep reasons behind them, although they didn't understand it. There is another concept you may mean that we must be 'melamed zechus' on Jews and try to find ways to permit what they're already doing, such as the Bach permitting chodosh in Yoreh Deah 293. However, none of these concepts applies to Zionism. There is no dispute among authorities as to whether it's forbidden and that we should look to the people for a ruling. It is not a Jewish custom started by religious Jews, but a movement started by Jews who had broken away from the Torah. And we don't need to be melamed zechus on something if the people doing it were in any case wicked Jews who didn't keep any of the other laws of the Torah. There were gedolim who encouraged settlement and yishuv Eretz Yisroel, but no one permitted Jews to fight for political control of the land.

You are right that Zionism may be part of God's plan, but that does not make it right to do it at the whim of a false Jew. The Brisker Rav once said that even if prophets and the works of the Kabbalah predict that there will be a Jewish state before the coming of Moshiach, it is still forbidden to help it happen. It can be easily viewed as a prediction which came true. He pointed to the famous words of the Rambam, taken out by the censors in standard editions, that Christianity and Islam are part of God's plan to pave the way for Moshiach by making the ideas of God and the Torah known to the whole world. Does that mean, said the Brisker Rav, that we should go help spread those religions?"

Ephraim said; "Isn't the problem going up as a wall as opposed to nagging the Queen of England? In today's day and age you could argue if there was going up as a wall. From my understanding there is no prohibition in taking governorship of the land when its governor puts it 'up-for-grabs' in a democratic way. I do know it is prohibited to take the land by force but that wasn't what happened. The Palestinians were not in control of the land. The British were. We met the British conditions for controlling the land and so did the Palestinians. So, how is the 1947 war any different to bar Kochba's revolt except for the Samaritans not having an army and being a success? Since the automobile and the airplane transport is more of an individual/family style rather than a people who appear as a wall on the horizon. Obviously this will not cover the Yemenite exodus."

Rabbi Krasilovky said; "The UN can vote to recommend something, but it is not a ruling body. Sometimes it does take steps to enforce its decisions, but in the case of the 1947 partition vote it did nothing. It was nothing more than a recommendation. Later on, Israel itself flaunted the UN's recommendations many times. Ben Gurion was known to say 'Oom, shmoom.' The war of 1947-8 was not a defensive war, but a war to establish something new. Palestinians and Zionists were both living equally in Palestine before the war. Why should one call the Zionists the defenders and the Palestinians the attackers? One could just as easily say the opposite. The Torah prohibits a war to take over the land in our time. The fact that the United States and the UN were behind the Zionists means nothing more than if the United States and the UN would permit Jews to eat pork. Let me clarify what I said before. Bar Kochba made a claim that he was the Moshiach. Even Rav Kook and the most messianic Zionists, excepting Lubavitchers, didn't point to any particular person as Moshiach. Read the Parsha Pearls for Tazria and you will see that even claiming that someone is Moshiach is not enough; that messianic candidate has to actually do something to prove himself, either a miracle according to the Raavad or bringing the entire Jewish people to teshuva according to the Rambam. Now, Rav Kook, Mendel Kasher and others attempt to circumvent these problems by saying that the building of Jerusalem and the wars can come before Moshiach appears on the scene. But they fail to deal satisfactorily with the issue of the oaths. How can all these things be done unilaterally by the Jewish people before Moshiach comes, if the oaths are still in effect? We need nothing less than a clear sign from God, a miracle or teshuva of the entire people, to know that the oaths are no longer in effect."

Ephraim said; "What is your alternative to the state at this point in time?"

Rabbi Krasilovsky said; "The Satmar Rav, Al Hageulah V'al Hatemurah Chapter 44, says that if the Jews told the world they were ready to give up their statehood, the United Nations could certainly find a way to settle the situation without harm to any Jew. Some Jews could be absorbed by other countries, and others could stay and live under whatever new government is formed. We would put an end to a Jewish state not by taking away the state but by taking away its Jewishness. Right now, the State of Israel has the Law of Return. It has chief rabbis and a rabbinate. It does not recognize marriages between a Jew and a non-Jew. It has certain Shabbos laws. The army serves kosher food. I could go on. Additionally, there are large non-religious parties in the Knesset who force their agenda on the government through their voting and coalition power. There are religious settlers who are against giving back land. All these elements allow the Zionist state to claim to be Jewish and act in the name of the Jewish people. If all of religious Jewry were to separate from the state and leave it completely secular, it could be argued that it would no longer be a Jewish state at all and thus not violate Halacha. Even if you argue that that would still be Jewish enough to violate the Halacha, after a certain amount of Arab population increase and immigration from various countries, not to mention the return of millions of Palestinian refugees, the Jews would still be a vocal minority, but it would certainly not be considered a Jewish state. And most practically as opposed to after 72 years of conflict, there would be peace in Israel, and that would contribute to peace in the world."

Ephraim said; "Thank you Rabbi. Consider me on your side."

Rabbi Krasilovsky said; "Thank you, Ephraim. And there you have it folks. Our time is running out, but we have another believer in our cause. It's a slow process, but it has to start somewhere. Until next time I'm Rabbi Yosef Krasilovsky wishing peace, love, and prosperity to all my friends out there in Radioland."

### Genetics Revisited

Do Not Enter; the kind courtesy of Pexels.com under their CC0 license; modified.

This highly technical DNA-genetics section is put here for those who enjoy such things and the writer's desire not to be criticized for its omission. For those of you like me, who have no interest in wading through the jargon induced lack of clarity and lack of inclusion, suffice to say that the scientific conclusion/exclusion is that the "experts" all disagree with each other at tedious length, and more importantly, they agree that they are unable to confirm the Khazar = Jewish hypothesis or the ******=****** hypothesis, nor can they deny either, often jumbling one with the other. A cynic might attribute this to a purposeful deflection from a semi-competent nitwit, though this might be giving them too much credit. Having said that, if I were you, I'd skip to the next chapter.

A 2005 study by Nebel et al, based on Y chromosome polymorphic markers, showed that Ashkenazi Jews are more closely related to other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than to the populations among whom they lived in Europe. However, 11.5% of male Ashkenazim were found to belong to Haplogroup R1a, the dominant Y chromosome haplogroup in Eastern Europeans, suggesting possible gene flow. Referencing "The Thirteenth Tribe," the study's authors note that "Some authors argue that after the fall of their kingdom in the second half of the 10th century AD, the Khazar converts were absorbed by the emerging Ashkenazi Jewish community in Eastern Europe." They conclude: "However, if the R-M17 chromosomes in Ashkenazi Jews do indeed represent the vestiges of the mysterious Khazars then, according to our data, this contribution was limited to either a single founder or a few closely related men, and does not exceed 12% of the present-day Ashkenazim".

Writing in "Science," Michael Balter states Koestler's thesis "clashes with several recent studies suggesting that Jewishness, including the Ashkenazi version, has deep genetic roots." He refers to a 2010 study by geneticist Harry Ostrer which found that Ashkenazi Jews "clustered more closely with Middle Eastern and Sephardic Jews, a finding the researchers say is inconsistent with the Khazar hypothesis" and concludes "that all three Jewish groups; Middle Eastern, Sephardic, and Ashkenazi; share genome wide genetic markers that distinguish them from other worldwide populations". Geneticist Noah Rosenberg asserts that although recent DNA studies "do not appear to support" the Khazar hypothesis, they do not "entirely eliminate it either."

The wide range of variation between Jewish populations in their physical characteristics and the diversity of the gene frequencies of their blood groups render any unified racial classification for them a contradiction in terms. For although modern racial theory admits some degree of polymorphism or variation within a racial group, it does not permit distinctly different groups, measured by its own criteria of race, to be identified as one. To do so would make the biological purposes of racial classification futile and the whole procedure arbitrary and meaningless ... despite the evidence efforts continue to be made to somehow segregate the Jews as a distinct racial entity.

Thus, attempting to claim the existence of a "race" of Jews has been proven to be an anthropological impossibility. Though their God consistently warned them against intermingling themselves amongst non-Jewish races, their miscegenistic tendencies are well documented, and has resulted in their complete erasure as a distinct, genetic peoples.

When, inevitably, there was mixing of Western European and Khazarian Jews, there was a notable difference between the educational levels of the two Jewish sub-cultures. The Khazars greatly admired their vastly less numerous, but far more learned, Western, German speaking brethren and quickly adopted their language, education and cultural practices. This resulted, also, in an assimilation of their other talents in the area of economics, business and things politik.

Many argue that genetic studies on Jewish populations have refuted any claims of significant Khazar lineage, and have shown that most ethnic Jews draw their roots from the Middle East. A genetic study led by Dr. Gil Atzmon found that European Jews were most closely related to Middle-Eastern Jews, Palestinians, Druze, and non-Jewish Southern Europeans; evidence inconsistent with Khazar/Slavic hypotheses. Another genetic study led by Doron Behar found that, despite admixture from local populations, autosomal genetic samples from the Ashkenazi Jews, Caucasian Jews, Middle Eastern Jews, North African Jews, and Sephardi Jews form a relatively tight genetic cluster which overlaps with Samaritans and Israeli Druze which is strongly indicative of common Levantine ancestry.

This argument has been challenged by one recent genetic study by Johns Hopkins University geneticist Dr. Eran Elhaik. However, Elhaik's study does not fully address the findings of previous studies, particularly the overlap between Ashkenazi Jewish populations and native endogamous Levantine populations such as the Samaritans and Druze. Elhaik's use of Palestinian Arabs as representative of ancestral Israelite genetics is questionable in light of previous genetic studies which have uncovered evidence of significant African gene flow present in Arab, but not non-Arab Middle-Eastern populations. Blogger Razib Khan argues that Elhaik's conclusions rely on poorly reasoned assumptions and that "the Caucasian component that is being detected in this paper may simply be an indigenous Middle Eastern ancestral element which has now been somewhat displaced northward in its modal frequency due to the expansion of the Arabs."

None of these studies of Ashkenazi Jews have detected evidence of a significant Central or East Asian genetic component which is present in other Turkic populations. The actual Khazars would likely have been assimilated by the Krymchaks (Crimean Jews) following the fall of Khazaria. Even so, the Krymchaks had a long history of assimilating other Jews who came to the Crimea, so their ancestry is still largely Levantine.

Though Ashkenazi Jews are the largest ethnic group of Jews today, Sephardim (Jews of Spanish and North African descent) and Mizrahim (Jews of Middle Eastern descent) make up the majority of the Jewish population in Israel. Furthermore, Israel has become the home of many smaller Jewish ethnic groups, such as Ethiopian Jews, Yemenite Jews, and Kaifeng Jews. Since the Khazar myth doesn't address those Jews at all, any use of it to prove that "the Jews" aren't real Jews has significant holes.

Furthermore, Judaism has allowed for voluntary conversion through most of its history. Indeed, the great-grandmother of King David, Ruth, was a Moabite convert. Therefore, even if the Ashkenazi were descendants of Khazar converts, they would still be entirely, legitimately Jewish in the eyes of Jewish law.

Additionally there is the question of gene mixing which would inevitably occur when two populations lived close together. No matter how stringent social or religious constraints might be against either, mixed marriages and extramarital sex are still going to happen. An excellent example of this are African Americans that have a much lighter skin tone than is common in the West African home of their ancestors. This is of course due to widespread marital and extramarital mixture with non-black populations in the US, and slaves often didn't have a say in the matter. Thomas Jefferson and his children are just one well-known example of this. Obama's mother is another good example. It turns out that one of her ancestors happened to be among the first Africans in the colonies and arguably the first slave. And this a result of; at best; four centuries of living side-by-side, not twelve centuries as would be the case with the Khazars.

It's nice to see that some of them agree with the "True Torah Jews," insofar as they disagree with each other, even if for the wrong reasons. You see, the "True Torah Jews" position is simply that the vast majority of Jews are not Khazar; only the bulk of the ruling elite.

**32**

### Very Serious Stuff

Ring, ring, ring.

"Uh oh, I was afraid this was coming. Can't somebody get something melodious to play on this damn thing. Alice Cooper's 'School is Out' would be good. Gotta take it."

"Hi Ras;, buddy, buddy of mine. I was expecting and dreading this call. No offense intended."

" .............. "

"Yeah, I should have called first. It was difficult for me. I felt so badly. It's like telling your kid that Santa didn't bring him his bicycle, and on top of that stole the cookies and milk. You understand. You have kids? ......... I hope I'm not detecting considerable anger."

" ......... "

"Well, I'll forget that. No reason to speak like a rude, linguistically challenged Demolib."

" ........ "

"You must understand. To put it in your terms, I figured there was a good chance that you wouldn't notice. I mean it's not as if it was a bomb, or even anything explosive. Could have come down in someone's back yard, and they'd have thought it was a communication from god. They'd start worshipping it, and you wouldn't hear about it until it reached David Koresh cult status."

" ............ "

"Jim Jones?"

" ..... "

"Tubby Jones?"

" .............. "

"Yeah, yeah, that loud, fat Texan."

" .............. "

"Well, I think that narrows it down somewhat."

" ...................... "

"One tracked mind. Well, I'm truly sorry that it landed in Yekaterinburg. In a way, you have to admit that we got a break in that though, as there are no rich people there anyway. We were aiming at the moon. You know how that goes. Speaking of which, any news about that Rumpole tower in Moscow?"

" ........... "

"Okay, okay. After you're capitalist a little longer you'll understand. No offense intended, just business."

" ............... "

"Stuff splatted all over Dobrolyubov Street? It wasn't supposed to splat. Damn. Please don't tell me it was in the old Zyryanovsky part."

" ........ "

"S***. I liked it there. Well, maybe it's better to be spread out. That stuff can kill you in concentrated form."

" ............... "

"Okay, relax. I was just trying to look at the bright side of it."

" .............. "

"Well, I don't know what the hay happened. I mean, I know what the hay happened bottom line. Our s*** flopped all over some field in your neck of the woods. But I thought that it was kind of banal to go into that, as even the Demolibs can figure that one out."

" ........... "

"Not to bore you with the, as of now, plethora of uncertain details, let me just say 'drone malfunction.' That's for certain."

" .................... "

"MHO>KECTBO, I think. The greater than and less than signs are less overt here, and take some getting used to."

" ........... "

"I'm detecting that anger again, Ras. Look, I'm being more upfront with you than I should be. Yes, drone malfunction. The s*** is not new. Obomber's f****** drones have been hitting hospitals and apartment complexes in the Middle East since the uncooperative bastards were invented. It's cultural. You might do well to understand that over here we get some holy hell over the gas attacks, but since that, let me not say that word, Obomber was quite okay with drones up the tuchis, and nobody dares complain."

" ................. "

"Fine, fine. If you insist. Just try to calm down a little bit. Jeez. We were trying to be responsible world citizens, and shoot the nuclear waste into space, at great personal cost I might add, and for some reason the disposable s*** fell in your backyard. I can never convey how sorry I, indeed we am or are."

" ............... "

"All right, if you want to sit through all this stuff. As best I can understand it, we wanted to get rid of the toxic crap, due to reports of contaminated and aggressive zombies in Jersey, that likely the result of that 'after, therefore because of' fallacy in logic ....... "

" ............. "

"It's that densely packed little state, where everybody was dumping their s***, until those environmentalist weirdos started to pretend they were worried about some f****** dodo habitat; the commies trying to wreck free commerce. Believe me pal; you are fortunate to not yet have to deal with this kind of ............ "

" ...................... "

"My apologies. I thought they'd all be dead by now. I'm not trying to divert. It's all related. So, like we're trying to avoid the zombie apocalypse as cheap as possible. Right? I mean, that's how it always goes with those Dems, unless you want to bend over for Mexicans and Muslims. And, it's not like we can dump the s*** on Poland. So, the sciency guys ............. "

" ................. "

"Okay, okay. I wasn't disparaging. No value judgement there, pal. Frankly, I wish we had access to a Poland. We tried Cuba and everyone knows how that turned into embarrassing aepbmo, in Russkie lingo. That stupid f****** rube Kruschev couldn't even keep his shoes on at the UN, please pardon any incorrectly taken innuendos I did not intend, and that Castro jerk who succeeded in sending every useful Cuban to the US; thank you, you, thank you. .......... "

" ............ "

"Anyway, the sciency guys told us that they could cost-efficiently shoot the undesirable stuff into space."

" ......................... "

"Yeah, you and I know that. But, what you may not fully appreciate is that over here those pencil necks are aligned with the Commie Resistance, and when they say something with their supposed Ivy League honors credentials, it's a losing fight to argue. All of a sudden you're a stupid layperson who doesn't know their ass from a korochka, and then the Dems get a month's play on CCCP calling you stupid ......... "

" ................ "

"Yeah, okay; my problem. But, it's not so simple to make them disappear over here. I wish, but we got all these goddam reporters, and everyone has a f****** camera, and ....... "

" ............. "

"Figured if it fell, it would do that long after we're both dead; so who cares? Sure, f*** the scientists; you and I both don't need them to know that what goes up must come down. ..... Spinning wheel got to go round. You got no money and you got no ........ something or other. Always liked that catchy tune. It make the CCCP top 40 charts?"

" ............. "

"Still hearing some of that anger. Watch out. At our ages you can get an aneurism. Anyway, if you insist on all the detail, ......... What was I up to?"

" ................ "

"I didn't mean it that way, pal."

" ................. "

"Chance word choice. Really. Come on, Ras. You're beginning to sound like one of those po-mo, pop psychology guys."

" .............. "

"Yeah sure, McElroy was the best and those effeminate critics either ignore or chastise him, just because he was friends with Mailer, as if ........ "

" ............ "

"Sorry. Okay. Off topic. More or less. But, you know that it was you who made the call, set the agenda, and I'm like just supposed to be sitting here babbling about some thing you momentarily deem important, while it's not the largest of unstable turds to moi. You know what I mean? I really think it might do you some good to take your teddy bear and go to a New Age meeting."

" ............... "

"Ah s***, Ras. You guys backward or what? They're old farts who missed the hippie thing the first time through, so they do yoga, listen to flute music, and 'radiate' beautiful feelings into the world."

" ...... "

"No s***. Scout's honor."

" ......... "

"Hehe. Yeah, Monica Blewitzky is undoubtedly one of them."

" ..................... "

"It wasn't my fault. You asked. It would be beneficial to all concerned if you got some kind of anger management."

" ............. "

"Fine with me. If you want to risk that aneurism, it's up to you. .......... Where was I?"

" ........... "

"Yeah, yeah. So the sciency guys told us that they could shoot the waste into space cheap. So, you know, okay, what can you do up against the Dems, the Ivy Leaguers, and the zombies? Then, when, and take me at my layman's word for this, the second stage of the rocket didn't disengage as it was supposed to do, as the sciency guys, supposedly under pressure, cheaped up on the goddam disengaging devise, and the whole s*** stayed stuck together, and kept up an inordinate amount of weight, which burned out the rocket fuel before it could leave the atmosphere, and the goddam needle hit empty, the thing went sput, sput, sput, sput, sput and came plunging down in Yankeeburg , Roos. ............ "

" .............. "

"Okay, Yekaterinburg, whatever. Damn Ras, you're more of a detail man than I ever thought. ...... "

" ............ "

"Right, right. Again, no value judgement overt or implied. Please get over your penchant to take things personally for your own good ........... "

" .................. "

"No, that wasn't a threat. It was just stated out of legitimate concern for a capitalistic pal's flirtation with an aneurism."

" ........... "

"You might have noticed that I'm graciously trying to relate the story you demanded or requested, and your persistent anger display delays that, and then you get further angry over the delay, your risk, and then the whole personal and friendly relationship thing turns into a long-winded disjoint, replete with a perennially branching set of side issues ....... "

" .......... "

"Fine. Just fine. You can kiss mine too, Ras. I'm starting to understand that anger, and now I'm getting pissed. So, to end this bulls***, the sciency guys f***** up again, and, as always, they blamed the cost constraints imposed upon them for their deficiency, which, had they any sense, which apparently they might have, was an impediment to their calculations, conveniently so ........ "

" ............ "

"Look! If we wanted to pull off an 'accidental' intentional, and had any real control over it, don't you think we'd have dropped it on that funny looking ass-pain in Seoul? Nobody would even give a s***. Or, even Obama's pal in Tehran. They wouldn't even be able to tell the difference using a Geiger counter with all the radioactive s*** they got over there. Or, I'd have dropped it on Moscow. I'm not saying that I'm the smartest guy in the world; maybe richest; but just give me a little credit. Jeez."

" ............. "

"Thank you, brother man. A trusted ancestor looked unto thine eyes and judged you a good man. So, the s*** fell down, the 'reasons' fodder for a few decades of inconclusive intellectual study, all no doubt government subsidized. For my small part I can only offer my sincerest of apologies, with a wish that you can make use of the waste by dosing those nutzoid, trouble-making, small market, 'investigative' reporters."

" ............. "

"You're a step ahead of me, bro. Put yourself in my place for a moment. We and I know that whatever the sciency guys audaciously suspect will be later amended, their explanation for that when infrequently called upon to explain, consistently done in a manner decipherable only others sciency guy-afflicted-or-syndromed, some testimony concerning the inadequacy of measuring devices is proffered, 'now upgraded and state-of-the-art,' that a perennial stance, perennially accepted in blind faith, the imperfect god answer tendered by a group of increasingly heard, thanks to the internet, and pencil-necked rejects in a false remission of their envious false-neckededness, ........ "

" ........... "

"Am I overusing sciency?"

" .............. "

"Thank you, and yeah, right. But besides that, if we instructed the pencil necks to hit Yankeeburg and make it look accidental, I have little doubt that the s*** would have come down on f****** Des Moines or Baltimore. I was getting sick of the s*** myself. F*** it, that not a commentary on yours, but rather a possible incorrect inducement, personally perceived, unaware of the redundancy which might be reasonably inferred through the easily differentiations personally biased as 'minor,' if not elsewhere, most often commonly characterized as meta .... "

" ............................ "

"Yeah. Yeah. The s*** and radioactive waste is real. Bad analogy. More directly on topic, insofar as that can be defined with inevitable deferences to the significance of those who pull the strings; like forgotten, and some would say rightly so, King Crimson 1968. I'm kind of lost for the ensuing 51 years, Ras, old pal, old pal. There's been a mind-shift 'successfully' popularized in the lumpen proletariat. Nyet? On a more personal level, what exactly is it that makes you so angry and adamant about what is an inevitable issue of borders or their lack, multi-nationals making the latter irrelevant, the opposing viewpoint, insofar as that manifests itself falsely as having been determined, conducive to your demonstrated interest. Are you kidding me? You gotta be jerkin' my chain."

" ................. "

"Excellent point, my hopefully not irradiated friend. No matter the result, intent is always at the core. I suppose that it's easy for me to say, but consider my position. You may come to appreciate the obviousness of it, at least in this case. Look. Had I desired to use the subterfuge of a sciency mistake to contaminate the land of an 'enemy,' long before my now capitalistic northern friend, I'd have logically chosen to dose North Korea, Iran, or any of a number of minor ass-pains in those s***hole countries. Being in a most similar position, you surely appreciate that. What can I say further? S*** and radioactive waste happen."

" .................................. "

"Fair enough. You have my word. No US interference if you want to annex the Ukraine. If you have to kill a bunch of Jews to do so, fine with me. F****** have a habit of shoving their Zioniist asses everywhere, anyway. In fact, if you'd like to annex Poland, no sweat."

" ............. "

"Don't blame you, bro. Just an option."

" .............. "

"Well, if it comes out, we can do the usual 'fake news' thing and deny it. If it goes further, we can admit to some small, insignificant extent of Jew-extinguishment, and how we mourn that yadda yadda, and bog them down with details the 'experts' will still be studying and disagreeing about a half century from now."

" ............. "

"You too, man. The anger has subsided, I guess."

" ........... "

"Once again, so sorry for the accident. Hope it's not too much a problem."

" ............... "

"Bye, Ras, brother of mine. Hey, whenever you're in town, feel free to stop over for a few brewskies. Maybe we can get Monica Blewitzky over too."

Click.

Click.

"Hehe. I think he bought it. Frozen piroshky."

.........................

On a plane, hovering over the continental US like a dragonfly upon a tomb.

"Whoops. Ooooh boy. I should have told you not to touch that button."

"Yeah, you really should have."

"Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind lately. The wife's been bringin' up that ....... Whooo, would you look at that thing go?" Let me get some more altitude here."

"Can't you do something?"

"I'm getting' it up."

"No. I mean about the bomb, idiot."

"Well, first of all, I think we would do well to remain civil. You know, those techies haven't been able to make any that work exactly like a yo-yo yet. So, you got whatcha got first shot; sort of like no-draw poker. Anyway, yeah, my wife, you know, she's been .............. "

"We're gonna get in a whole lot of trouble for this."

"Well, it's not my fingerprints that are on the button."

"Oh, really. So it's like that, huh?"

"That was a little joke. Let me just double check something. ........... Got a break. We're somewhere over Jersey now, and the boss can say it was part of some urban renewal project or something. ............... Whooo, boy. Look at that mushroom spread out. Awesome."

"Amazing how it doesn't make that much noise."

"Damn. Excuse me. I've gotta take this one."

Click.

"Hiya from polluted space."

" ............................ "

"Yeah, yeah. I see it. It would be hard to miss the f*****. I don't know."

" ............................ "

"Well, that strikes me as being just a tad judgmental. That's not necessarily the case."

" ............................... "

"Well, no I don't have one in my possession right at this very moment. But, I'm getting there and the guys at packing may have forgotten to load it again."

" .................................. "

"Yeah, helluva sight. You oughta be right here to see it. Can't possibly be as good on film."

" ................................. "

"Yeah, right. No problemo, chief."

" ............... "

"Yes, yes, all right. I said okay. Jeez."

Click.

"Chief's all right, but sometimes he can get so old school. Damn. Gotta make another call."

Click.

"Yeah listen, Beverly. I need to call in a report. We sighted a Russian plane about ten minutes ago."

" ...................................... "

"Well, I was talking to the boss, and he started chronicling the entire litany of his troubles and the whole enchilada again. You know how that goes. I didn't want to be rude."

" ....................................... "

"That's easy for you to say from down there."

" .................... "

"Yeah, luv ya too babe. Been way too long." Eye roll.

" ........................ "

"Thanks. Great how you can change the time on those things."

" ......................... "

"No, no. The Russkie is totally out of sight now. Those suckers can really move when they feel like it."

" ........................ "

"Okay, bringin' it right in."

Click.

"What?"

"Paperwork. We gotta fill out some forms. Let's just get our story straight first. We saw this Russian plane and then soon after we saw the mushroom. Beyond that we don't know nuthin' else. Nuthin'. It'll be OK."

"Cool. ................ hey, got any idea what town got hit?"

"Ummn. Let me take a look. Thing says Atlantic City."

"Super cool. My know-it-all-brother-in-law used to live there. Hahahaha."

"Hahahahahahaha."

"Think we oughta get ourselves a mouthpiece?"

"Yeah, good idea. Cost is covered under the standard contract. Rather than one, maybe we should get two; one for each of us. You never know what future stuff might pop up."

*HIGH FIVES *

blitz screen

### Lose Yourself

Crowd and "Lose Yourself" by Jeffrey Irwin Bass, Marshall B. Mathers, and Luis Edgardo Resto; property of the author, the latter under both the "fair use" and "transformative" doctrines.

### News – 5-28-22

### Your Memorex Politico

May 20, 2022.

### An Official War?

### Whatever Will the Combatants Think?

### Will It Matter?

by Seraphina Grumman-Popkin, PhD

A Coming or Existent Russia-Ukraine War?

A new draft law adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament and awaiting Petro Poroshenko's signature threatens to escalate the Ukrainian conflict, which many have already termed a war into a full blown official war, pitting nuclear armed Russia and one Ukraine faction against the nuclear armed United States, nuclear armed Israel, and the other Ukrainian faction, that list likely incomplete according to Gilbert Doctorow, CCCP Eastern European Specialist for US-Israel bashing. It is further noted that the Ukrainian factions have a habit of changing sides.

While much of America's, and the world's attention focused this weekend in a further reflection upon Bailey Post Rumpole's first five months of his second term stint in the Oval Office, holding one year anniversary events for the historic Women's March and drawing up balance sheets of his promises and achievements, Russia has had a rather different issue on the front burner; making a real war with the Ukraine seem like a possible war with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, soon to be replaced by a comedian with more popular appeal. This does not look like a happy camper; public domain.

The situation in the Donbass region of southeastern Ukraine has been a feature of Russia's political talk shows for the past couple of years, along with the military campaign in Syria and more recently the stages in the preparation for presidential elections.

Focus on the Donbass conflict increased in the closing weeks of the 2019 elections, as military action on the front lines separating the forces of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk which enjoy Russian support from Ukrainian militias and armed forces reached an intensity not seen for more than a year. This is despite the heralded exchange of military prisoners by both sides before new year under talks supervised by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill.

Then, this past Thursday came a wholly new development; a draft law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament that could effectively end Kiev's participation in the conflict resolution process known as the Minsk Accords. Although observers in the United States and Western Europe may have missed it, many Russians believe this development amounts to a declaration of war.

Dmitri Kiselyov, head of all Russian television and radio news services, offered a sober analysis of the emotionally charged development on his Sunday evening news wrap-up today.

According to Kiselyov, the new law, which awaits Poroshenko's signature, makes preparations for war and includes language indicating a bellicose new approach to the conflict. The mission in Donbass is no longer described as an "anti-terrorist operation." Rather, the mission now is to send armed forces, including Israeli conscipts, against "military formations of the Russian Federation" in Donbass.

Military headquarters are established to coordinate the operation to be waged in Donbass. While up until now the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were considered under the Minsk Accords as negotiating parties, now there are only "occupation administrations" of the Russian Federation on these territories, with Russia identified as an "aggressor."

"This makes it all the more convenient for Ukraine to start a war," Kiselyov says, noting that it could have the added benefit of enabling Ukraine not to pay its foreign debts and to ensure Poroshenko's continued grip on power. A Memorex Politico reporter on the ground in Donetsk confirmed with local residents their view that the law means war. They see the current moment on the front line as "the calm before the storm." Donetsk soldiers at their trenches say they are fully ready to engage with the enemy.

While Kiselyov acknowledges that the draft law might not ultimately be implemented, it nevertheless reveals a growing mood in the Ukrainian capital in favor of escalation. The facts speak for themselves, Kiselyov says, with Poroshenko failing to adhere to the Minsk Accords; for example by organizing local elections in Donbass, or to observe ceasefires along the lines of contact. There are attacks and deaths every day and only counter forces have pushed back recent Ukrainian attempts to gain territory.

Kiev has seemingly written off the population of the two self-proclaimed republics; cutting off all transport and telecom links and failing to pay pensions and assistance to the needy. It closed the banking system and there are no commercial ties. For Kiev the two provinces are merely territory to take back from the occupiers, with the well-being of the local populations at best a secondary concern.

On the economic front, the European Union has refused to extend 600 million euros of credit to Ukraine, citing "persistent high level political corruption" as the reason for the decline, while refusing to address Ukraine's obvious inability to service existing obligations. The International Monetary Fund recently refused a tranche of $800 million over failure to introduce reforms. Meanwhile, later in 2022 Ukraine is due to start repaying earlier loans. This will come to $14 billion a year, which amounts to half the state budget of Ukraine.

Due to dire economic conditions, Poroshenko and other government officials in Kiev have become deeply unpopular, and with diminished chances for electoral success may see war as politically advantageous. And although there are indications that some Western leaders are fed up with Kiev, the United States has doubled down in its support for a military solution to the conflict. With military trainers now on the ground and the US  budgeting $350 million for security assistance to Ukraine, Washington has also recently started delivering lethal weapons including the Javelin anti-tank missile system free of charge to Kiev. Former US Vice President Biden's investments in Ukraine ports have been officially denied, thereby eliminating that as a motive for the US presence and gifts.

In contrast to the image of Rumpole administration policies being dictated by Moscow, as has been portrayed and fruitlessly Mueller investigated for the past four years, by proponents of Russia-gate conspiracy theories, the United States is instead moving towards deeper confrontation with the Kremlin in the geopolitical hotspot of Ukraine. For its part, the Kremlin has very little to gain and a great deal to lose economically and diplomatically from a campaign against Kiev. If successful, as likely would be the case given the vast disparity in military potential of the two sides, it could easily become a Pyrrhic victory.

But notwithstanding Kiselyov's reassuring words on his Sunday evening news wrap-up, it may well be the case that Moscow feels it has no choice. Moves by Kiev to exacerbate the conflict must be quickly countered to prevent deeper intervention by the United States, Israel, and US NATO allies in order to prevent the conditions conducive to WWIII from taking hold.

### The Islamic Jihadist Daily (more or less)

May 20, 2022.

### ISIS Takes Credit for New Blast

by Aabnan Noori

### Blast Claimed by Islamic State Kills US Troops in Syria

Bomb site; property of the author.

A bomb attack claimed by ISIS killed six US troops and twnty-two civilians working for the US military in the northern Syrian city of ar-Raqqah yesterday. This comes just a few weeks after US President Bailey Post Rumpole said the group had been defeated there and that he would pull out all American forces.

The immediate response to this action has been threefold;

1) Rumpole said that he has received no such report from his deep state intelligence operatives, and would put no credence in it until reported by a reputable organization not in the business of fake news.

2) The possibility of it having been a fake flag operation is still being investigated as it seems counter-productive from the ISIS point of view, as it poses a reason why US troops should remain.

3) Confirming previous evaluations given by Al-Qaeda officials, at all levels ISIS is comprised of brain damaged thugs.

Ar-Raqqah officials could not be reached for comment, as they have either been in hiding been in hiding or their heads have been utilized to line ISIS coffers.

**33**

### Maddie

### Chapter 1

As they walked hand in hand, they heard another explosion behind them. Neither bothered to look back in the direction of the blast. It had become so commonplace an event. Very predictably one became immune to the sound. He thought; "Another trekker bit it." But, this time he instantly heard the less jarring, dull thud of a smashing cantaloupe echo. This time he stopped and turned around to get a view. In the distance he saw something writhing on the ground. It appeared to be a legless human; of the heavy on the garish ketchup sort. He said; "Poor voyager didn't die from the blast. He's gonna suffer. With no medical help available, a wounded predator is a slowly dead predator." As usual, Maddie was silent and seemed dispassionate. Her eyes showed nothing but a glaze. A small sigh may have been heard by one with acute hearing. Maybe it was just one small part of her normal breathing process.

They again carefully walked. He heard a gunshot. He pushed Maddie behind him, crouched and pulled out his handgun. The man on the ground was not moving and had a revolver where his head once was. "Brave man," he said. "Dumb as can be. But, brave in the end. You've got to know what you're doing before you get into these bad parts." His life experience had led him to believe that it was impossible to know something without experiencing it. But now life depended on having some sort of prior knowledge; as many first "experiences" had become deadly ones.

Michael "Conk" DeAngelo and Maddie held hands as they walked down the last of the remaining clear road. His huge football meat-hook of a left hand engulfed Maddie's elevated, little girl soft right one. He could see that just ahead the risk level was going to increase. The dirt roads would soon become overgrown dirt roads. The traps were shortly to become harder to detect.

He thought; "Likely, the faction who had mined all the roads was the same faction which had detonated the nuclear bombs. A number of competing terrorist groups had been threatening a devastating attack for some time. This one knew how to simultaneously take out the internet and make all communication devices inoperative. Its technical abilities were outstanding, but its genius was the precision co-ordination."

On the paved sections of road, the patches over the explosives were obvious to anyone paying attention. The problem was that the main roads were menaced by armed and dangerous lunatics; some with "official" appearing uniforms. It had been a few days since Conk last got reckless. He had been in a rush to leave the mushroom clouds behind and find out if the rumors were true. His car got blasted near Phoenix. His limping foot and anxious curiosity had been paying for it since then. But, if not for that he would never have seen Maddie.

The going was tough, hot and slow. Every day since was a mirror of the last. Flat, scorched land ahead. Flat, scorched land behind. Flat, scorched land to the left. Flat, scorched land to the right. The Superstitions and the Camelbacks appeared to be stoic in their distant, lofty perches. Periodic, toxic, black clouds spit from the earth. Browning of the century old Giant Saguaro. Blackening of the closer-to-the ground Prickly Pear and Peyote.

The sameness of the barren, blackened flatlands brought a mental despair. Oddly this also relaxed him. Some kind of fate had taken the upper hand in his life. There was nothing he could do about that; other than to take care of little Maddie as best he could. It was just a matter of how the cards had been dealt. This time it helped to make things clear. In good moments he settled into an "I don't give a damn" relaxation. He well knew the periodically helpful mindset from the football field. In bad moments he wanted to kill those responsible. He also knew that from the football fields. But, this time he didn't even know who they were.

Breezes were a visual delight. In them, what remained rooted of the lifeless brush would rush around. Like burnt out tumbleweed they hurried to their place of final impalement. But, there had been no breeze for days.

This had become mere normality in 2052 USA after "it" happened. Maybe the entire world. Conk risked losing concentration when he glanced to his left. A piece of charred brush broke the ugly dullness. It showed a hint of green at the base. Or maybe that was his wishful thinking. Or maybe it had gorged on the formerly human carcasses rotting next to it. Maddie seemed to take no notice.

Conk heard the clip-clop sound of horses' hooves. From a mile behind Conk saw two riders approaching. Their horses foolishly galloped and the riders yipped like coyotes near prey. He took the automatic handgun out of his pants pocket. He checked it for ammo and cocked it. He said to Maddie; "Stay behind me. Ready for a clash today? No sweat. It's only two." Maddie closed her eyes. She seemed wary.

As the two neared, Conk fired his gun into a dirt patch ten feet ahead of the horses. The explosion caused the mounts to rear up high. When they settled Conk said; "Dangerous place, huh."

The two looked at each other. The talkative one in the dusty black, felt cowboy hat with brims pointed at the sky responded in an overly false demure way. The man with the circling, silver plated amulets and a week's growth said; "Hey, we're the good guys."

Conk said; "Yeah, right. Me too. Want something here?"

"You look familiar."

Conk scowled and shrugged.

"You're that middle linebacker who was always in the wrong place."

Conk inwardly smirked. Five years ago he had been a top ten draftee out of Old Miss', an NFL rookie with "huge potential." He had been another saddled with the curse of expectations. Two years later he was a disappointment as everybody knew that he overplayed the run. At six foot three, two fifty he had little man's syndrome. He liked to hit. He liked to knock 350 pound, offensive linemen on their fat butts. He said; "Still am, I guess."

The talkative one snickered and derisively said; "Messed up that Super Bowl. Third and seven ain't a run situation."

"Least I was in one. You been on prime time?"

"Giants, right?"

"Yeah. Anybody know what happened yet?"

"Still dead screen. Not even blue."

"See many people heading this way?"

"Some. A few think someone's got it started over in LA." He shrugged, as if to say; "Suckers. There's some mean hombres between here and there. Ain't too many makin' it."

Conk said; "I'll take my chances. I don't really care." Conk thought; "This is a slow death trap. ......... I just want to do my best for Maddie. She so young and can't understand."

"Who does?" The horseman leered at Maddie and said; "She your property?" Maddie kept her eyes shut and winced.

"She's my god-daughter. I'm her protector."

"You can put that gun away. We're legitimate businessmen. You got any oil? We got some whiskey to trade."

"Do I look like an Indian to you? I could use a horse, though."

The talkative man looked to his partner and forced a laugh. The back-up-man with a gray beard down to his belly button responded in kind. Talkative said; "Badass dude, outnumbered, bum leg and all. ............. Draw!" They reached for their guns. Conk fired first and hit both their hands. He picked up both of their dropped weapons and pocketed them. He took her hand, and said; "Come on, Maddie. These guys are a waste of time."

As they walked away the spokesman said; "You haven't seen the last of us. Next time we'll introduce you to our friends." They galloped away.

Conk was unhappy with himself. Again, he should have played the pass and not the run. He thought; "Idiot. I'm too much of a nice guy. I should have killed them and taken their horses." Maddie held his hand and skipped alongside him. She almost smiled. For the moment she was happy, but she knew that would change. She knew that next time there would be more. She knew that there was now only one path left. It would soon be more difficult on the overgrown dirt road. But, she was still unaware of the difficulties added by that situation. She just knew that something bad always happens. But, she knew that this big guy was there for her. She knew that he might not succeed. But, she was happy because she knew that he'd try. Maddie trailed Conk, making a game of stepping into his footsteps. She also thought it best to take the precisely identical route.

The sun was setting in front of them. Conk was thankful. He felt as if his left leg was no longer there. It was time to rest for the night. He led Maddie off the road. They sat behind a cluster of dead somethings. At one time they might have had a defining form, but everything in the world had changed. He took blankets from his backpack and spread them over the scorched earth.

He said; "I never knew that the earth itself could burn. Stupid, I guess. Here's another stupid one. Are you hungry?"

Maddie sighed and shook her head no.

Conk rubbed her cheek and said; "Brave girl. But, you have to have at least one." He handed her a strip of beef jerky and took one for himself. They washed it down with small sips from the half empty canteen.

He said; "It's going to be more dangerous than usual to be on the road. The traps will be less clear. Those guys can find us too easy. If there are a bunch of them we'll be in big trouble."

Maddie's brown eyes expressed a question.

"As long as we follow the late day sun we'll be going the right way. ................ We'll just have to watch out for all the rattlers."

Conk had known that it was safer to avoid the major highways like I-40, I-10 and Route 66 as through a bit of experimentation he had learned that the main roads had become magnets for the dangerous lunatics. His problem was that he wanted to leave the east coast and make it to California as quickly as possible and didn't want to risk getting stuck behind a tree carcass on the back roads.

From a distance she appeared to be a tiny person, which was confirmed as when Conk got up close Maddie appeared to be about 9 or 10. He had found her sitting under a Mesquite Tree somewhere near where Phoenix and his 2052 silver Benz SL-Class means of transportation had known better days. She sat just off Interstate 10 and moved only her head when she heard Conk's vehicle shatter from the blast. She appeared totally disinterested and resigned, as if she had given up all hope and was just waiting for death to pay its inevitable visit. She was calm and aloof. He gathered what things he could from the car and walked to her. He kept saying; "Hey." This calling just prompted her to look away from him; perhaps in her last hope. That being that the unwanted intruder might take the hint and just go away.

Conk kept approaching. He was not subject to subtle innuendo when there was a little girl in possible distress. When he got near her he squatted and said; "Where are your folks?" If he had heard a reasonable answer he'd have respected her wishes and moved on.

" ....................... "

"Come on now. You can't be all alone out here."

" ........................ "

"Can you hear me?"

She nodded, seeming very put upon to be required to make any sort of reply.

"Mute?"

" ....................... "

"Well, listen. All hell has broken loose. I just can't leave you here."

" ....................... "

"Look. If you don't tell me who you have to protect you, I'm making it my job."

" ....................... "

"Okay, you made your answer, whether you know it or not." Conk reached for the chain which hung to her breastplate from around her neck. He wanted to see if there was any information about her; like that contained in a locket. Perhaps thinking that this movement was some sort of attack, in fear, she rolled onto her side and stood up. She tried to run, but Conk got his arms around her belly.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay. I'm just trying to find where you belong."

She relaxed as she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. She then used both of her hands to pull back the shoulder length brown hair which had fallen into her face.

Conk was dumbfounded. He let go of her and said; "See; I'm a natural born comedian." He was simultaneously thinking; "This girl has the strangest sense of humor." He asked; "Okay, can I take a look at your chain?"

She again laughed. He took the triangular, silver medallion in his hand and read it out loud. "Madeline Moitiesaurian?"

She shrugged.

"Well, that didn't tell me much. I know one thing though. Madeline Moitiesaurian is just too big a name for a little girl like you. So, I'm going to call you Maddie. Any objections?"

" ................ "

"I didn't think so. Come on. You're coming with me."

She offered no resistance when he took her hand and led her to the road. He talked to her because he liked the company. "We've got about 370 miles to go. Do you know how far that it is?"

" .................. "

"It's pretty far, but we can make it in about two weeks. Bum leg and all."

" .................. "

"When the big bomb went off in New York I hightailed it out of Old Canaan as quickly as I could. Took the stuff I needed and drove west."

" ............ "

"Well, what other choice did I have? ....... Didn't stop all that much. Didn't have to. There weren't many cars on the road. ............. Well, there were cars on the road; but most of them weren't moving anymore."

" ............... "

"Not too funny, huh? Guess it ain't. Anyway, I stopped once for this biker guy who was working on his Harley Electra Glide. Turned out he had things under control. To fix the wobble he just had to make an adjustment on the slop in the bearings. He was finishing up. But, he thanked me for stopping and told me some things. He didn't know exactly how extensive the bomb damage was, but figured it was the worst ever by a longshot."

Maddie Chuckyled once more and this time Conk thought he knew why.

"Yeah, I know. Gigantic revelation. Right? But, this guy was in Iraq when all that tonnage got dropped by what were said to have been hacked drones. I had a feeling something big was going to happen after that. You remember the news about that?"

" .................. "

"To get back to the story, he told me that he knew about a group called the "LA Wild Living Edibles Survival Syndicate;" LAWLESS; who had been predicting that this would happen for a while now."

Conk thought that he might have detected tenseness in Maddie's hand. He looked toward her and saw that she was staring at the Superstitions. He went on; "Like most survivalist groups they didn't do a lot of advertising as they didn't want everybody to descend on them when the big event came."

" ............. "

"So, when he got the bike going again, we parted and continued to head west. In my rear view mirror I saw that he hit a trap and he and the bike became one in little pieces spread all over Route 78."

" ................ "

"Too bad. Seemed like a good guy. ...... At least it gave me some kind of a destination. LAWLESS."

Maddie looked up at him. It seemed as if she might have a question or comment. If she did, she decided to keep it to herself.

"Almost, eh? ........ Maybe someday. But for right now, you're going to need some more clothing and a backpack. There are probably the remnants of some stores in Phoenix where we can find you some stuff. 'Sides, I could use some more supplies."

Maddie frowned.

"I might know what you're thinking. The place is rampant with gun toting looters." He pulled out his gun and held it in the air. He said; "So are we. We joined the club."

Maddie laughed.

"And there won't be any buried mines on the way."

### Chapter 2

They covered no more than a quarter of a mile which was littered with dead and dying cactus remains before they came upon the signs of former civilization. The adobe and brick houses on the outskirts of town looked as if they had been sand blasted by a machine working in the gear of overdrive squared. What remained of the wooden trims was stripped and ready for a new paint job. Wooden frame houses fared less well. As in the aftermath of a tornado; some retained some semblance of their structure. For others the only evidence of them having been there was the concrete foundation and debris. In any of the cases, they all had one thing in common. The yards were strewn with the dead remains of that which once lived. Conk thought that the eeriest aspect was the absolute stillness and the lack of blaring emergency vehicles. Maddie showed no surprise; suggesting that she had seen it before.

Conk said; "It'ss one thing to imagine it and quite another to actually see it."

Maddie was stoic, unimpressed, and quiet.

Conk could not help but wonder what this little girl had seen. When the mental images appeared he shut them out. He started talking as a diversion. He said; "You know; I used to play for the Giants. Football, that is. Paid pretty good and I only had to work three days a week. And that's in season. Off season, all I had to do was deposit the bi-weekly checks and fend off the aggressive teller with services to sell."

" ............ "

"That's a bit of a joke. I liked playing the games on Sunday. There's always someone out there talkin' trash. Most of the guys in my area were bigger than me. They'd say some stuff. It would motivate me to want to show them a few things they might not have previously considered."

" ............ "

"Admittedly; it's hard to move somebody who weighs three fifty when you're two fifty. But, if you spear 'em low you can take their legs out right from under 'em. Yeah, that's a penalty; but the refs rarely call that one." Conk laughed briefly.

" .............. "

"No interest I guess? ......... Just as well. Those days are gone forever. Even LAWLESS at their best ain't going to get that goin' again. Not in my prime years anyway."

Maddie's hand tensed again and even seemed to quiver.

Conk said; "That's the third time you tensed up when I said the word 'LAWLESS.' Come on. Tell me. What does this word mean to you?"

Maddie shook her head; "No," in a quick, efficient manner. She then proceeded to trip over a broken four by four with bent nails extended. Conk suspected a diversionary ploy as Maddie had successfully navigated countless others. He pulled her back up before she encountered the nails.

"Clumsy. Gotta watch it better. This dead wood can be hazardous."

They kept walking.

Conk said; "I thought that we'd see a few people. It looks like they're all gone. This is absolutely strange. ........ I mean like is everyone dead? Did they go somewhere else? What? There used to be millions here."

" ................ "

"You were around here. You must have seen it.

" ................ "

The silence was broken by a roar from the heavens. They looked up to see seven planes flying west in a V pattern.

"That's an excellent way to avoid the traps. ...... They're so fat they have to be cargo. Military? I don't know."

" ........... "

Conk pointed to their left and said; "Look at that. The whole mall collapsed. No sense goin' there. We'd never find anything in all that rubble."

" ............ "

"That's what I'm thinkin' too. ............ Well, we've come this far with no problem. Might as well keep goin' some. Maybe the stores in town were built sturdier a long time ago."

" .................. "

"This is getting perversely funny. I've never been this chatty in my entire life. ........ Weird too. I mean because the old part of town is centered on Route 66. Whoooo. Believe that symbolism stuff?"

Maddie shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows. Conk interpreted that as; "Depends."

"Seriously, we've got to be careful there. The main roads are getting all the nut jobs. And we'll be back in mine territory."

" ............ "

They walked over the edges of the yards in front of the damaged, quiet houses. Some were just a bit disheveled. Some were substantially absent. And some were haphazardly lying on the ground, waiting for the renewal brought by a construction crew. An audacious, acutely triangular metal sign stood on its post as it always had. It announced that the next left was Route 66. The third six was added by a sloppy free-lance painter. The road ahead became entirely concrete.

Conk said; "Remember to stay off the patches."

" .............. "

Conk held his semi-automatic in his left and Maddie in his right hand left as they made their turn. It was not what he expected. The condition of the storefronts was much like that of the houses. The four lane highway was host to the occasional moving car and some dead ones. That was expected. But, rather than a street teeming with marauding refugees out of "Mad Max," there were no people visible. Conk stopped in his tracks, looked at Maddie, and said; " ............ "

Maddie fully agreed with his sentiments.

He thought; "Can't let down my guard. They might be waiting for just that." He kept his gun ready; up high, the barrel and nozzle pointed at the sky.

They walked past the shoe store, leather shop, One Dollar, and a men's clothing store named Archie Gottlieb's. They also walked past a few carcasses, which sat within their bombed out cars. Feeling more secure, Conk dropped his gun position to thigh level. He pointed it toward the remnants of a street explosion, and said; "Maddie; look at that."

She complied.

"Don't the guts look just like spaghetti? Aren't you the least bit hungry yet?"

The only sound Maddie made was actually one done through partnership. Her fist hit his shoulder.

"Ouch. I was only joking. Darn it, girl. Have you taken any martial arts training?"

Maddie didn't speak, but Conk was certain that he detected a badly hidden smile.

"Hey, here we go. Canned goods and accessories. 'Por Sienpre Bodega,' and it still has a roof on it. Let me lead."

" ........... "

Inside, he said; "This is definitely not what I expected."

" ................... "

"I mean, come on. Doesn't it strike you as strange that with food a priority, nobody seems to have taken any?"

Maddie raised her eyebrows and eyes virtually in tandem.

"Glad I'm with someone so smart. ....... Okay, I'm gonna load up. Look at this! Chicken, corn, beans, beef ........ All right, all right. I know. You take this stuff for granted in normal times. But, maybe you've noticed that these are not normal times."

Maddie curled her lips into a one sided demonstration of hemispheric differentiation, incorrectly construed as partial facial paralysis. It was not pleasant.

"Artichokes!"

Maddie waved both her hands as if she was doing a frantic doggie paddle and shook her head from side to side quicker than the waves of florid air dictated.

"It's healthy. ....... They say. ....... Okay, no artichokes. What do you have against these little buds anyway?"

Maddie's pupils engaged the natural, stained, low pine ceiling.

"All set. Hey, look. They got some clothes in the back."

" ......... "

Conk removed a ruffled, white, peasant blouse from the rack and handed it to Maddie.

Maddie recoiled and refused to take it.

Sounding something like one of John Cleese' comedy routines; Conk said; "Ew. Ew. Is my princess too exalted for such fare? .......... Or would you rather stink?"

Maddie snatched the blouse from him. She then took a few more from the rack, added some blue jeans and stuffed them in her backpack.

"All set?"

Maddie nodded.

"We should now have enough stuff to get us all the way to LA."

Relaxed, with his gun back in his pocket, Conk and Maddie walked side to side out the front door they had come in. The contented, playful luxury of being "off point" ended abruptly and all too soon. Conk fumbled as he reached for his gun when he caught unexpected movement in the corner of his eye. Fortunately his momentary lapse didn't matter as the movement was innocuous, slow, unarmed, and randomly anchored.

It appeared to be what they had called "Homeless" almost a half century prior. In the year of 2052 the phenomenon had been politicized from all directions. The net result was that there were three times as many, but they were referred to with the dignity of the "Hygiene Defiant" moniker.

In either case Conk thought that this one looked both homeless and deranged. So, he got in front of Maddie and pointed his gun at the weaving man.

The uneasy silence was broken by Conk who said; "Do you know what happened here?"

The guy spit in apparent disgust, then laughed at something the other two didn't notice. When he managed to become almost stationary he said; "Yeah, I know. Getting' tired of sayin' it. It's harvest time. You know; like the Grim Reaper and all of that. People been talkin' about it thinkin' it was a fantasy. The cattle think that they're at the top of the food chain until the sledgehammer meets the skull. They've taken them all away now. Serves 'em right. I told them and nobody listened." He whirled and fell to the ground.

Conk paused a few seconds before saying; "Well, I guess he's no threat. ......... Not any use as an ally either. Let's head out."

Maddie saw something of interest and stooped to the ground near the passed out man. She lifted the triangular, silver necklace he wore and stared at it. Conk crouched near her and took the necklace in his hand.

He said; "Just like yours. And it's got his name too. Bob Pleinsaurian."

Maddie took back the medallion, ripped the chain from the man's neck and threw it into the street.

"I'd say 'tell me what,' but I know that you won't."

Maddie briskly walked back toward the main road and Conk followed, deep in thought, and loaded down with clanking cans. He called out; "Maddie! Slow down and watch for the patches.

After just a few steps on the overgrown path, Conk got a better idea than he had ever had on the football field. Since they were on flat land which was only vegetated by short, shrubby, dead things; it was not much more difficult to walk alongside it. For the present this approach eliminated the possibility of stepping on a mine, as they had all been placed on roads. So far.

"I keep thinking about how you reacted to that Hygiene Defiant guy. Just because he has the same taste in jewelry?"

Maddie seemed to almost laugh, but caught herself and remained stoical.

"Almost got ya. You know, if you don't hold up your end of the conversation I'm going to have to drink all the water."

" ............ "

"All right. You're going to get a football story. ...... I'm a rookie and we're playin' the Rams at home in New Jersey, last game of the season. Oh yeah, we were called the New York Giants, but the team had been playing in New Jersey since before I was born. Always thought that was insulting to the Garden State, but it wasn't my problem. My problem was that I was an unproven rookie. Fans don't hear the stuff that goes on on the field, but there's a lot of trash talkin'. If they can take you out of the game through intimidation, they'll do it every time. No big thing. It's just like anything else. Know what I mean?"

" .......... "

"Anyway we're up 20-17 with three minutes left. Rams need the win to get to the playoffs and we're already out of it. They got it, fourth and eight on our forty. They got to go for it 'cause if they don't they might not get the ball back again and they're a good seven yards out of field goal range. They gotta pass. So, I figure they'll bring somebody out of the back field on a delay for a short one, and hope that he can pick it up. It's really a chicken s*** call from the coach as its not gonna be a criticizable zero. Follow?"

" ........ "

"I guess it's a guy thing. Anyway we're not puttin' on much of a rush, just three guys, as everybody's back playin' the pass. The quarterback is takin' his time as he's under no pressure whatsoever, hopin' his running back will find an open spot and get there. In the meantime this all-pro guard who's been ridin' me all game long and gave me a couple of cheap shots doesn't have anything to do. So, he starts lookin' around. 320 pounds of ripplin' fat with eyes that look like a deer in the high beams. I decide that the game ain't no big thing for the Giants, but that cleanin' fat boy's clock was a big thing for me. So I left the middle wide open and got a runnin' start at him. Oooooh, baby; that blind side hit was so good that he went spinnin' off and finally lost his balance and fell right on the quarterback. We got one first down; then ran out the clock. Mr. Big Deal All-Pro took the Rams out of the playoffs and little by little people were learnin' not to mess with me. That was the highlight of my career and when I got the name 'Conk'"

" ........ "

"Guess it's a guy thing. ....... Yeah, it was great bein' out there every week. People screamin' like the game was more important to them than their jobs. Wide eyed little kids seein' the wonders of the stadium for the first time. Reporters hangin' around tryin' to get a quote. Made you feel important, you know. ....... And the best part was those green fields. Perfection. The crew would be workin' on 'em all week to get them ready. They were greener than green. Beautiful. ........... Never again."

Conk looked at Maddie and saw her forehead wrinkle and then she turned away and scratched it. Conk got quiet and they kept their feet moving.

After having navigating the manageable impediment imposed by 40,000 small, dead shrubs, Conk was re-invigorated and said; "Don't you want to know my real name?"

" ........... "

"Well, all right then. I'm not going to tell ya. But, I know yours."

Maddie shot him a look which might have said; "Oh yeah?"

Conk said; "Once and for all I'm going to find out if you have the ability to speak." He crouched and tickled her belly. Her giggling shriek indicated that the problem was not one with her vocal chords.

A bit further down the non-road Maddie sensed something she must not have liked. She pulled at Conk's arm and motioned her head toward something off in the distance to their right.

Conk remembered the horsemen' warning and readied his automatic, pulling back the bolt. He said; "Lay flat on the ground while I check this out."

Maddie grimaced and did a half squat.

"Come on Maddie. This is serious. Bullets may start flying!"

She rolled her eyes like a ghetto mama required to attend a birth control class in order to keep her government "benefits," and then complied.

Just like he was trained in Marine boot camp, Conk took off his backpack, got on his belly and slithered like an equipped lizard. He moved in the direction that Maddie's motion had indicated and saw nothing other than the same old parched terrain they had been on for some time. He briefly considered turning back, but the possibility of getting a bullet up his lesser occipital mandible was not appealing.

Arms which appeared to be human popped up from what had to be a hole in the ground. Conk was cautious, as he didn't know if there were more on the way. Since whatever was there had seen him coming, there was no risk in calling out; "Just driftin' through. Don't want no trouble," while he held onto his gun.

A head appeared. A human head. Fifty feet away. It said; "Neither do I."

"Any more with ya?"

"No."

"Get out there and stand up."

Conk heard a laugh, and the face said; "I'll do my very best."

"Keep your hands in the air."

"Your gracious request may well be much more than with which I am able to currently comply. You might well recognize that this is not a matter of being willfully surly. But, it is rather the consequence of a self-induced, fleeting disability. Might you be one of the horsemen, sir?"

"Come on. Just get on your feet and out here in the open."

"You refrained from mentioning whether or not you are a horseman."

"Do you see any horses, idiot?"

The head extended further from the hole with arms raised above it and the partnership appeared to be jumping up and down.

Conk said; "Jesus Christ," stood up and walked to the hole. He saw only this bearded, brown faced man and about thirty empty Smirnoff bottles. He put the gun back in its holster, and used both hands to pull the man to the surface. Conk noticed that his brown appearance was the result of dirt accumulation, as that of someone without a home, before the situation became universal. The man proceeded to dispense with his wobbling and fell on his face.

Conk scoured the area, and seeing no other signs of life yelled to Maddie; "You can get up now." Directing his attention back to the man with his face in the dirt, he said; "What are you doing here?"

"I'm conducting a Harvard funded study regarding the number of sand grains required to effectively and instantaneously drain thirty bottles of vodka or its derivative. ....... What does it look like I'm doing here? Idiot!

The studious one pushed himself up by his hands and rolled into a sitting position, and said; "I'm just trying to stay away from the horsemen. With the land so flat, they can't see me when I'm down in the hole."

Conk yelled; "Hey Maddie. Come on over." Conk offered his right hand to the seated man and said; "Conk DeAngelo."

The man took it, but not as an elevation device, and said; "Jonathan Paycore."

"Jon okay?"

"Comedian? ......... Never mind, yeah."

"Football player. Never heard of me?"

"Don't watch much football. Quarterback?"

"No. Comedian?"

"No. CIA Intelligence. And that's not an oxymoron."

"Not a what?"

" .............. "

"Hey, Jon. Meet Madeline Moitiesaurian; Maddie."

Jon nodded and said; "Pleased to meet you Maddie."

Maddie said; " ........... "

Conk said; "Great little girl; but not much of a talker. Jon, you were saying something about the horsemen. I might have run into two of them a while back."

"And you're still here. Means you must know how to handle yourself."

"You know. Played some football and learned about guns when I was a kid."

"Born down South?"

"Yeah. South side of Chicago. Hey, why don't we all get down in the hole before the horsemen show up?"

"Not a lot of space."

"Ah, if we throw all those bottles out we'll be all right."

The three climbed right down and Maddie made a joyous game of throwing the bottles; so the guys relaxed and let her enjoy herself. After they were all seated with their backs to the earthen wall, Conk said to Jon; "You mentioned the horsemen. What do you know about them?"

"Not a lot, really. The four of them have killed a few people who have passed this way and took the bodies somewhere. They seem to be the only ones who are getting a kick out of this disaster. They kind of lull you into a false sense of security, and then pounce. How did you handle them?"

Maddie, who was sitting on the outside next to Conk, turned her head toward Jon seemingly interested.

"Well, there were only two there and I was on point the whole time. When they went for their guns I went for mine and beat 'em to it. Said that next time they were going to introduce us to their 'friends.'"

"I don't get it. Isn't somebody supposed to be dead or something?"

"Told ya I'm good with a gun, but I ain't no killer. I shot the guns out of their hands. Got 'em in the bag."

"You should have killed them when you had the chance. They'll be more prepared next time."

"Thought that as soon as it was over. At least Maddie and me would've had horses. .......... We're headed for LA. What're you doin' out here?"

"I didn't want to live in this mess but didn't have the nerve to end it abruptly. My family, girlfriend and other friends are all gone. So, I took every bottle of vodka I could carry from town. I figured I'd either die from that or be too numb to feel it when somebody shot me. Haven't eaten a thing in a week and I've been feeling it for a couple of days. Shouldn't be too long."

Maddie meant well, but also had an ulterior motive when she took a can from Conk's pouch, opened it and handed the artichokes to Jon.

Conk said; "You've got to accept that Jon."

Jon took it, said "Thank you," and started gagging when he held it on his lap.

Maddie laughed.

Jon said; "That's not funny."

Maddie said; " ........ "

Jon said; "She never talks?"

"Not in the time I've known her. I just picked her up at the side of the road when my car got blasted outside of Phoenix. All by herself. Jus t had to help. ............ Come on Jon. This little girl needs your help. We heard that there is a survivalist group called LAWLESS in LA, who's tryin' to get things goin' again. If those four guys catch up with me and Maddie, we could use some help."

Jon said; " ...... "

"You said that you were in CIA Intelligence. Do you have any idea of what caused all this?"

"I was with a branch office in Phoenix. The main stuff goes on at headquarters in Langley, Fairfax County. There's a series of inside jokes as the building they operate out of is named the George Bush Center for Intelligence. You can imagine all the Dubya stuff and there's more. Anyway, I was techie. One of the guys writing the software to monitor communications. Key words, certain web sites, certain locations, patterns indicating possible codes, kind of easy stuff. It's technically illegal, but it paid pretty well and what isn't? And hey, there was an identifiable enemy. What they did with the information was none of my business. So, I was a minor cog on the wheel and couldn't help but hear bits and pieces of some things. Around each other these CIA guys gossip like two old washer women over the back yard fence. They try to make outsiders think they are silently privy to high level stuff. Then they quit and write a book about it. Like, duh!!! Most all of the time it turns out to be completely wrong and I think that's why it gets tolerated."

"Er, um. You said that you were in CIA Intelligence. Do you have any idea of what caused all this?"

"Oh, yeah; of course not. That was just intended to be a qualifier to avoid saying a flat; 'I don't know.' People think you're stupid when you do that."

"Once more ............. "

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. ............... But, let me first say that I bear no responsibility for the accuracy of this information; nor am I responsible for any losses, charges or otherwise deleterious financial results emanating from its use, whether that be from an overt or implied statement. This is a work of fiction; and the characters contained therein in no way resemble any person, whether alive or dead ..........."

"Do you wanna get punched?"

"All right. All right. But, you have to understand that in this litigious world, a person has to protect themselves from spurious ................."

"There are no more courts!!!"

" ........ Good point. About a month ago the whole place was in a tizzy. People were charging up and down the halls. Smart phones were glued to ears. I heard that Rabinowitz, the head of Mossad, the Israeli CIA plus, sent an ultimatum to our head honcho, Olio Menpeko. Rabinowitz said that Mossad had determined that the US had a citizen who had the means, wherewithal and the connections to acquire a dirty nuclear device which he intended to be detonated in Israel. Unlike the standard protocol, Mossad was seeking US CIA co-operation in the elimination of this person.

I guess in and of itself that was something which could have been worked out. Problem was that Mossad wasn't 100% sure who this person was. They said that they had the possibilities narrowed down to eight; some of them big or up-and-coming players in the religion Industry. They also said that their information indicated that D-Day would take place within thirty days. So, since we're friends with Israel, Rabinowitz first cleared it with Premier Goldsack and they wanted all eight killed to ensure Israel's safety.

Now, Menpeko has always had this independent, don't-tell-me-what-to-do attitude and figured rather than limit his options by kicking it upstairs, he'd handle things himself. He reported to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI); Mitt Bushbaby; someone he always considered a know-nothing politico put in that spot to be the fall guy when needed. And he was kind of pissed about getting what he saw as a demand from Rabinowitz and Goldsack; when they still hadn't paid for the planes delivered in 1968. His first approach was to question the validity of Mossad's information and its interpretation. That's where I came in.

There was nothing in CIA databases which indicated any nefarious activity on the part of these eight people. I'm sure that the chief considered the possibility that our work was not the industry state-of-the-art, and that we would pragmatically seek to hide that. But, since there was no one capable of refuting we techies, it had to be concluded, at least in polite conversation, that for the very least, step one would have to entail the disclosure and methodology of the Mossad conclusions.

Menpeko became politely livid when Rabinowitz refused to provide anything more than inconclusive 'proof' of cursory portions of their claims. In addition, the 'admission' that Mossad was monitoring data and conversations of 'innocent' US citizens was unpalatable, even though the US was doing the same thing in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and other lesser Israeli locations. After all, we're the good guys. Menpeko concluded that either there was something underhanded and unstated going on; or if they did have more, they likely did not want to share their technological advancement with the US as required or were pulling a bluff to gauge US support. None of the possibilities were satisfactory to Menpeko. Our subsequent research indicated that two of the Israeli targets were Jewish-American members of a small minority group called 'True Torah Jews' (TTJ). TTJ's reason for existence was their belief that the establishment of the primarily Jewish State of Israel was a violation of both the rules of The Bible and the rules of international morality. They called for a Jewish abandonment of Israel; but encouraged non-violent, voluntary withdrawal.

They seemed a much too convenient a target; though as well as one with motivation and no meaningful known resources. Without being presented with conclusive proof, Menpeko refused to have the CIA a partner in the operation. Rabinowitz then inquired whether or not the CIA would look the other way if Mossad carried out the operation by itself; ensuring that they could make it look like a series of unrelated accidents.

Menpeko saw himself as being boxed into a losing position. Seven or eight innocent American lives were not of any concern to him. It would not likely be noticed. But thinking this way, in effect, took Mossad at their much sullied word. More than that, Menpeko took it personally and didn't like the pushy little subsidiary country's insistence and challenge to his position as the head of the world's most important secret society.

Menpeko told Rabinowitz; "Go ahead and do it at your own risk. What kind of crap are you trying to pull getting me involved anyway? You have my assurances that the CIA will not take any notice. Good enough? Do it cleanly and quietly, or all bets are off; Rabbi.

Here's where I am forced to start some guessing. Out of good options and in a desire to ruin Rabinowitz' career, Menpeko leaked this to the media. Somebody certainly did. At first it's on like page 82 of the New York Times and disregarded as another undocumented piece of conspiracy garbage filler. But, someone looked into it and found that the specified eight people all died within two days of each other under curious circumstances.

It hit the front pages. You must have seen that. The non-Jewish US citizenry got pissed as all hell and demanded some answers like pronto. Some radical conservative groups started to openly speak of retaliatory 'hits' in Israel. The general population proved to have zero tolerance for foreign intervention on US soil, even if that intervention was done by a 'friend.' Under pressure, President Abdul Jawaad called a nationally publicized press conference. But, the Prez really didn't know anything and neither Menpeko nor Rabinowitz told him anything. Understandably. Bushbaby couldn't even if he wanted to as he doesn't know anything more than what Menpeko tells him and Goldsack is not going to help out a Muslim. So Jawaad got on TV and registered his concern over the matter. He did the customary dance and said that he is establishing a 'Blue Ribbon Panel' to get to the bottom of this. He did a whole lot of the Obama patented pained expressions. Then he refused to take questions as he is so busy investigating the matter. SOS. Protests broke out all over the place as everybody now knows that this is the standard cover up formula. Then somebody, and I don't know who, used the opportunity to set off a nuclear device in Tel Aviv; and another, less powerful dirty one in Jerusalem. My guess is that it was a well-to-do follower of the 'True Torah Jews,' but the possibilities are endless; and I wouldn't bet a nickel on it. The Israeli controlling Lehi Party, sometimes called the 'Stern Gang,' under Premier Goldsack, went ape s*** and started launching and dropping nuclear missiles all over the place, including the US. Missiles the US had given them. Since then all forms of communication have become non-existent and I think some things were set off underground."

Conk said; "Never would have thought that something this big could start with something so small in the overall scheme of things. I could well imagine Israelis getting upset over an impending bomb. But, for the US to carry on like that over eight American lives is kind of ridiculous when compared to how many innocent lives have been lost in the Middle East. I've seen congressional testimony from the US military which estimates that 70% of the drone killings are innocent victims. 70%. One part of that story especially throws me. Can bombs shut off the internet and all means of communication?"

"No, I don't think so. That's throws me too. There had to have been somebody or something involved I don't know about and can't even guess at."

"An Israeli super hacker?"

"The Lehis are pretty smart cookies and they keep to themselves. Or one from Hamas. Or one from Black Ops. Call of Duty. ISIS. Fatah. PFLP-GC. Homeland Security. An independent. We'll probably never know. What throws me even more is why didn't Mossad just quietly come in and create eight 'accidents.' The people were from different areas and nobody would have been suspicious. ......... The communications knockout must have been done by someone with free access to the most powerful secret stuff. Points back at Mossad or Lehi. Doesn't matter anymore anyway. This is it for us. If they're underground, they're not sending out any invitations to the party."

"We got LAWLESS in LA."

"Maybe. I've heard you. Sounds too good to be true."

"Beats hangin' here in the cemetery."

" .......... Not so sure. .......... To say 'guess so' would be polite."

The sun dropped behind the Superstitions. Six eyes closed as three brains felt safe for the night.

### Chapter 3

Just before daybreak Conk saw that like him, Jon was awake and staring up at the sky. He said; "Now that I've had some time to think about it, the whole thing was caused by Mossad's having had Menpeko as their plan number two."

"I don't get that at all. I mean, part of their intelligence must have studied his traits and likely responses beforehand."

"In football, it's not unusual on a big play for someone to fall down and fake an injury; just to later get up and make the play. So, try this. Mossad, Rabinowitz and Goldsack are playing injured party. They're going to be bombed and it's one of eight people who will be doing it. Like you said, if that was the case, they would have been better off just coming in and taking care of business themselves. On top of that they refused to share their data with us. Yes, that might have been a techie thing, but it's just as likely that they had no data."

"Okay, I'll play along."

"So, Mossad plays the nice guy and asks for US co-operation, which they don't need because they're not going to do anything. So, only two things can happen. Menpeko can kick it up to Jawaad or handle it himself. If he kicks it up to Jawaad; Jawaad can either give permission or forbid the murders. Jawaad's a politician. He won't risk his career by getting into something like this; so he has to say no or kick it back to Manpeko. He's an American born Arab Muslim who hasn't been overly friendly to Israel. So under plan one he says no. Mossad acts like good boys as there are no mad bombers in the US anyway. But, they leak the information to the press. Israel gets bombed, giving them the 'moral' authority to lash out at both the West and the East. Under plan two where the matter is kicked back to Manpeko; Manpeko does exactly what they expected him to; they kill eight innocent victims; Manpeko leaks it and Israel gets bombed; and has the 'moral' authority .............. "

"Kind of spy novel worthy; except one thing. Who bombs Israel in case one and case two?"

"Easy. You guys need some footballers in intelligence. Lehi and Mossad are under the direction of Goldsack in either case. What do they have to gain? They're the victims everyone sympathizes with and Israel becomes the whole world. ........ The greatest land grab of all time."

Maddie's eyes stared intently. Undetected, she opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

"That does ignore one very large point. If Israel wanted to do that they could make it simpler. They could just bomb themselves and use that as an excuse to lash out at the world."

"No. No. No. That would give them no right to bomb the East or get others to do it for them in the confusion as it would be presumed that the Arabs did it. It's a difficult game to play both ends against the middle; but if you can pull it off you win bigtime."

"So what are the Lehis and Mossad doing now?"

"They're probably in some underground bunker waiting for the air to clear. After that, it'll probably be some kind of military round up operation. ............. Everybody ready for breakfast? We got some ground to cover today. Give the man some of the beans. They're easier on the stomach." He smirked when he looked at Jon.

Conk and Maddie dug into their cold cans, while Jon held back.

Conk said; "Ah, don't worry about it. If you throw it all up there's more."

Jon said; "Yeah, I know that. I've been taking some courses on that subject. I was just thinking about how much more appetizing these beans would be heated."

"Well, yeah. I was wondering about how much better the food would be at La Grenouille myself; but necessities made me get over it."

"No. No. You don't get it. Can's fine; but much better when heated. Cold beans. Come on. With all the smoke coming from the ground none of the horsemen are going to take special notice of the smoke from a little fire."

" ........ All right. If they attack at least we've got a bunker here."

Jon stood and pulled some dead brush down into the hole and put his Bic to the pile. The flames produced a black smoke which rose like a reluctant, European honey bee before it dispersed in the stagnant air above their hole. The three took turns using the can opener to heat their breakfast. They ate and shared the water.

The flames quickly subsided and Jon got on his feet. He put his head over the edge and reported; "None of the four horsemen out there."

Conk said; "It strikes me as kind of strange how we keep referring to these marauders as 'The Four Horsemen.' It kind of gives the bums a stature they don't deserve. I mean a little football player like me can take out two of them without much trouble."

"Just circumstances. Don't know their names. There are four of them. And they ride horses. Actually, never thought of the Biblical story. Always was more of a scientist."

Conk snorted out a short laugh. He said; "Ball players are as superstitious as you can get. How else can you explain hot streaks and slumps. The approach doesn't really matter. We both know to stay away from the bad guys."

"It's just so weird how that smoke comes out of the ground. Something has to be burning down there. Probably shale. But, we'll never know. If you get caught in one of them it's like inhaling your car's exhaust fumes."

"Somebody's launched missile must have hit an underground nuclear storage facility. Bombs from above meet bombs from below. And pop goes the weasel."

After breakfast and conversation Conk thought it was time to end the chit chat and get moving. He said; "Jon, we're heading out. Like to have you with us. But, if you feel like dying here it's your business." He got up and lifted Maddie from their overnight confines.

Jon sighed. He said; "Don't really feel up to it right now. But that's the way I felt every day going to work. You going to give me one of you extra guns? One easy to use. I never before handled one."

"Yeah. I think I got somethin' for ya. Easy to use. Little tough on the trigger pull but worth it. One of the horsemen had a Browning 9, which I picked up. Been illegally modified. 13 mag. Pull the trigger once and you got one round. Keep the trigger down and you got a spray. Here."

Jon took it, and while he looked at it all over, he said; "Like the spray part."

"Thought you might. It's got it uses, but it gets overused. Most of the spray does exactly that. Goes all over the place and don't hit nothin'."

"So what's the big deal about automatic or semi-automatic?"

"Politics mostly. See, the spray is good if your target is right next to ya. But, it's a waste if they're at a distance."

Jon made a Maddie type of response.

Conk felt the need to elaborate. He said; "It's the rookies who get carried away with the automatic aspect. Figure they'll just hold their finger down on the trigger and one of the rounds will hit their target. WRONG."

" ........... "

"Take my word on this one Jon. Hold it with two hands and fire one at a time. Your enemy might know that after 13 shots you have to re-load and charge."

"Okay; you convinced me."

The trio walked through the dead brush and were soon back to the overgrown road. Conk said; "Walk on the side of it. No bombs planted there."

Conversation was virtually no-existent. The guys knew what they were doing and Maddie continued to reserve commentary. Conk's leg seemed to get a bit more problematic after each time he rested it. But like any decent football player he made no complaints as injuries are a part of the game. He figured that he'd soon be somewhere where medical attention might be available. He also suspected that prior to that, he'd be seeing the horsemen again.

Jon's state of mind was more complicated. He too expected to be seeing the horsemen, but he had already accepted the fact that he was going to die; so they weren't as ominous as they would be to most. He had his doubts about this survivalist nirvana LAWLESS outfit; but it seemed to him that whether or not they existed didn't make much difference to him. Maddie played things close to the vest.

They trekked quietly. With no vegetation above knee level they kept their eyes and ears open, as they felt as if they were exposed to any on comer. During their lives they had become accustomed to being under constant surveillance. Miniscule cameras and computer spyware was standard. But, rather than "Big Brother" having access to the sites one had visited and their purchasing proclivities, now their existence was accessible to armed marauders.

Jon's five foot nine inch, thin frame tumbled over a particularly sturdy dried out bush and he fell face forward. He caught himself on his hands and came away with nothing but minor scrapes. He laughed at his "mistake" and righted himself.

Conk said the obligatory; "Are you all right?"

"From the fall or mentally?"

Conk snickered at the response he didn't expect and said; "Both."

"From the fall okay. Mentally trying."

Maddie spit out either a stifled giggle or the undigested portion of her morning bean breakfast.

Jon looked at her as she looked away. He said; "Doesn't she ever speak?"

"Don't know. But, I'm finding it preferable to the common harangues."

The sound of slow moving cloven hooves wafted over in the still air. Conk pushed Maddie behind him and the three crouched toward the sound. Two had weapons ready for business.

"No need for that," called out one of the burro riders. "Enough death. You can smell it."

Seeing no weapons held by any of the three; Conk pointed his gun at the ground and Jon did the same.

Conk, Jon and Maddie stood as the other trio pulled up ten feet away from them. They appeared to be Spanish and wore wide rimmed, multi-colored sombreros. Conk said; "Passin' through?"

The darkest one slightly in front said; "You can say that. Do you know what happened?"

Before Jon could speak, Conk said; "Bombs been goin' off. Didn't you notice?"

"Seen one or two. Right, boys?"

Maddie's wordiness was catchy.

Dark Sombrero said; "We was wonderin' if you needed any help."

"Nope, thanks. You?"

"Nah, we're all right.

"Okay. Don't let us keep you from goin' about your business."

"Friendly people, huh?"

"Friendly enough. See ya around, pal."

The Sombrero gang moved past the trio. At a distance of ten feet Dark Sombrero nodded to his compadres and they all retrieved rifles from their side bags.

Conk wasted no time and fired himself, hitting Dark Sombrero who fell from his burro. The other two hightailed it out of there taking Dark Sombrero's burro and gear. They left the motionless body.

Conk said; "Stay here and get down." He slowly limped over to the body and kicked it. Dark Sombrero's eyes opened.

Conk said; "I'm going to do you a favor. I'm going to end your misery and waste a bullet." He fired into the prostrate man's head. It went through the forehead making a small hole and the blood flowed from the back and soon made a red puddle around the dead man's head. Conk waved "Come on" to his troops and they obeyed.

When they caught up, Jon questioned Conk's action saying; "You didn't have to do that."

Conk replied; "What was I supposed to do? Call 9-1-1?"

Maddie shrugged and evinced the slightest degree of a smile.

Conk said; "This guy wanted to kill us. The first bullet was in his chest. There ain't no doctors available and I really did do him a favor. Besides, it could be a game. They get us feelin' sorry for a bum, and then come back and plug us. The hell with that."

Jon said; " .......... "

Maddie said; " ......... "

They walked on.

After a few hours they saw something great. In the distance was the Hayfield Mountains and Conk knew that its base would be edged with the remnants of the Joshua Trees. The un-leaved branches with their tendency to cluster could provide more cover than the dead Saguaros. Not a great deal, but better than what was behind. In the circumstances any small favor was appreciated.

The trio unconsciously picked up some steam, anxious to get there.

Jon said; "I've been thinking about what you said before breakfast. There's one major problem with it though. Okay, Israel becomes the whole world. But, it's a world which has been destroyed. It's kind of like winning the booby prize."

"Hmnnnn. Actually I did consider that. But if there was only one wrecked car around, wouldn't you want to have it?"

"No. I'm not a mechanic and it would be useless to me."

"But what if the car could fix itself? Given time, Mother Earth always regenerates. As long as no do goody idiot tries to manage things, she always has handled it."

"Past tense. She's never seen anything like this before."

"Maybe not, but we really don't know for sure. Underground, the archeologists keep finding buried remnants of prior civilizations. Chances are that they destroyed their world. But, that didn't stop others from inheriting it and establishing a new one on its grave."

"So, if it happened before it will happen again. I don't think that there are any guaranties. The horse as the primary means of transportation isn't about to replace planes, train and automobiles."

"I can't believe that you said that in seriousness. Look around you. The horse would now be an improvement."

Jon said; " ...... "

Maddie said; " ....... "

Conk sighed in recognition that his theory had been less than persuasive. He said; "Look at it from the Lehi-Mossad point of view. They're constantly under siege. This is not only true of the country they inhabit; it is true of the people they are incorrectly identified with. So, successfully using both aspects to their advantage, what have they got to lose? A homeland which is constantly bombed? A few people who are mistakenly seen as their own killed? Forget that. What they gain is the annihilation of their enemies and a world which will probably regenerate over time. I can't imagine a bigger prize. There aren't that many of them and they got the whole shootin' match."

"Well what about this LAWLESS survivalist group? And other survivalist groups we don't know about? They're Lehi-Mossad enemies, aren't they?"

"Maybe; maybe not. We haven't seen them. They might not even be there for all we know. And if they are there they could be a sham."

Maddie shot Conk a look capable of perplexing Hawking."

Aware of the look and in anticipation of its possible meaning, Conk said; "We have to go there. There's no other good option."

A bit later Conk said; "Do you have any idea what might have killed the vegetation? They weren't hit by a bomb. Neutron?"

"I'd rather not think about it. It was probably the same air we're breathing right now. Neutron bombs do more physical damage than is popularly thought. The military stopped making them ages ago. It was likely VX or sarin, probably VX as it is ten times more effective. The gas kills quickly and disappears in six hours. But, it does get stuck on many things including plants and if you breathe the air around it or touch it, you're dead; though not quickly from a residual dosage. We may be walking corpses."

"Sorry I asked." In an attempt to "cheer" things up a bit, he added; "We all are. It's just a matter of when."

"And how has its place too. Some deaths are much less painful than others and this one's pretty bad. VX has been quietly used in the Middle East for decades. The US largely quit using it when soldiers found out about the residual effects and didn't want to come anywhere near it. The problem was that Special Ops had a ten year contract with Dow and the stuff became stockpiled. As often happens it started to 'disappear' and probably got in the hands of some crazies."

Three thankfully uneventful days later the slope of the ground turned up and they had the company of many Joshua Trees. It made the going slower and put additional stress on Conk's injured leg. Near the pass they heard the approach of other company and braced themselves. The four horsemen had spotted the trio and like soldiers with paratroop training hit the ground firing first and talking much later. Fortunately, they were too far away to hit their targets.

Conk directed everyone to a cluster of Joshua Trees and everyone crouched behind them.

Jon said; "Smell that fabulous VX additive."

"I don't smell anything."

"You're not supposed to. That's kind of the idea."

Conk retrieved his gun and Jon mimicked him. Conk said; "Don't shoot 'til they get close. There's a limit to our ammo. 'Sides maybe they'll think we're out and get more stupid than usual."

Shots sprayed all around them. The results splashed into the dead ground around them as if it was the edge-of-the-storm rain profanely ravaging the river in muzzled increments. The horsemen dismounted, slouched, and approached slowly, creeping with the bent knees position some learn in Sunday School. The multi-colored horses stayed in place; out of range to all but those with a weapon of bazooka class or above. The riders' down-to-the-ankle black coats resembled the style of the "Goth" fad which had substantially died when Brandon Lee did. But, here it was again in a multiple of four, topped with black bogus cowboy hats popular in gender alternative sections of large cities.

As the bullet spray ineffectually proceeded; Conk, Jon and Maddie got the feeling that they were in a very unchallenging video game. It was reminiscent of one of the ones designed for the overly advantaged electro-geeks who get a large charge out of beating an algorithmically constrained and thereby doomed opponent.

Conk's irrational amusement resulted in a "refined" plan. He said; "These guys are so stupid, we'll play the game at the retard level. Let's 'play dead'. They'll use up all their ammo during their slow approach. When they get near we'll just blow their heads off."

Jon said; "That easy, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Four firing guns versus a non-firing two and the two will prevail?"

"Exactimundo, Mr. CIA Intelligence. Ours will be loaded."

The four horsemen kept firing as they approached, each stopping to reload at various intervals. They seemed enthused and encouraged by the lack of return fire. When the stupidly confident gang of four had gotten ten feet away, Conk fanned his semi and deposited a bullet in each stupid head. He Chuckled when he stood, proud of his marksmanship. He walked to each still body and fired another round into each chest. The bodies jerked as if they were still alive. But, it was just the impact that made them move one last time.

Jon tentatively stood up and said; "Damn."

Maddie got to her feet and without any noticeable facial expression walked into the land of the nearby dead. Oblivious to the blood and gore, she checked their necks. Each had a triangular, silver medallion. Maddie read the names stamped into them; showing an increasing hint of a smile as she progressed in carcass count. Nope; Satch Pleinsaurian; Warren Pleinsaurian; Huntly Pleinsaurian; and Victor Pleinsaurian. She thought; "If this is the victor I don't want to see the one who lost."

Conk said; "Hey, Maddie. Get out of there. They're probably carrying some kind of disease."

Maddie smirked, rejoined the other two, and the journey resumed.

Jon was impressed with both the strategic planning and the executive action displays. He thought that it wouldn't hurt to offer Gridiron courses at the Master's level; or at least make it part of the in-house training catalogue.

Conk kept his thoughts to himself. He was never 100% certain of his plan, but knew that it didn't hurt to instill confidence, even if false. He knew that he had gotten lucky this time.

### Chapter 4

They entered the heart of the pass, still with the company of the clustering Joshua Trees. They may have crossed into their final destination, California, but couldn't be sure. They believed what they wanted to in mindless moments. It didn't matter anyway, as whether or not they had entered a territory someone else had named and defined was of no particular consequence to anyone except dead Google. They were where they were. And they were close.

The walk became less tiring, as with the mountains on both sides, they only had to endure the direct rays of the sun around mid-day. Jon observed; "Maybe all along it would have been better to sleep all day and walk all night."

Conk replied; "I thought of that too. I actually did. But, I decided against it."

Maddie said; " ......... ." But, she also looked at him curiously.

Conk continued; "It's difficult to walk in the dark unless you know the terrain well. Even then you have to go slow. 'Sides, we wouldn't be able to see our enemies."

"Five of the seven are dead, and the other two got scared off. Maybe it'll be okay now."

"Who says that there's only seven? We're not home yet."

"Ah, just talkin'. What can you expect from a guy who has been sitting by a computer all day and part of the night with a degree in physics."

The pass was passed with no further aggravations. It was so tranquil that the three trekkers often felt as if they were on a spring, Sunday morning walk at the local "nature preserve." The following flatlands contained skeletons. Though not those of dead Saguaros and Joshua Trees, the view became that of the official death of suburbia. The abandoned tract houses finally stood in the silence which the California dreamers envisioned when they weren't envisioning profits from resale. They no longer required an economic scheme of any sort and were available for free. Walk right in.

None of the trekkers walked right in for a myriad of reasons and non-reasons. The largest consideration was that the whole thing looked too sad to want to get involved with. For them, it was "LAWLESS or bust."

They each had overcome personally based obstacles to have gotten this far. It was impossible to tell whether their periodic whiffs of the Pacific were truly something near, or whether it was a teasing prayer with the finality of an abrupt "Amen" at the end. They just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

They got to Palm Springs and were glad that it was not summer. Dry heat or not, one hundred eight degrees is one hundred eight degrees. They were surrounded by mountains. The San Jacintos were to the west; the San Bernardinos were to the north; the Santa Rosas were to the south and the Little San Bernardinos were to their east. No climbing was required as there were paths right between all; making them something to look at rather than a hazard.

Conk said; "Just a couple of days."

Jon said; "First thing I'm going to do is get in that ocean and stay there about five years."

Maddie said; " ........ "

Conk said; "Yes sir. Nothing like a long hike in the desert to make you appreciate the water."

The somber, low stepping trio trod on, reaching the flatlands on the outskirts of Los Angeles. This was a psychological improvement as their countenance would have been absolutely suicidal had they not handled the enemies they had encountered.

Jon said; "Almost LA. You can tell by the almost houses."

Conk and Maddie said; " .......... "

Out of the off balance remains of one of the low end tract subdivisions some red bandana devotees appeared. The trio saw the slow moving contingent of ten and Conk grimaced in disgust. A few were tall enough to be third graders. He said; "Prepare yourselves for the lowest of low ends. Got nuthin' but the hope to scare ya into doing sumthin' stupid. ....... Let 'em see the nines and they'll go after easier targets. Just let me do the talkin'."

The trio stopped moving and awaited the slow approach of the bandana banditos. From twenty feet, the scraggly goateed, five and a half footer in front said; "Watcha got bro?"

Conk displayed his firearm across his chest at a ninety degree angle and answered; "Just what we need, bro."

"Hey man, what's up with the guns? We come in peace."

"Makin' sure you leave in it. We're all friends here, but you know I got this thing with paranoia. Since I was a kid. Too much Kafka or some s***. Unowhumsayin?"

Head red bandana looked to his compares out of the corner of his eyes. He slowly nodded and did a fake smile which was returned ten times over. He said; "Hey, you know I can dig that. ........... See, I just got one little problem. This road is our territory. And while I got no problem with good people like you usin' it; when the bad guys see that I just let you, they're gonna think we're real soft here and try to take over. Unowhumsayin?"

"Yeah. Tell you what. You get out of here and we'll keep movin'. That'll give the bad guys less chance to spot us." He took Maddie's arm and said; "Come on now."

Head Red Bandana's pitch approached falsetto when he said; "Hey, man. You can't just come walkin' through here like that and pay no tribute."

Conk turned and pointed his gun at the group. He said; "This conversation is over. My automatic pal here can spray every one of you in about one second. So, do yourself a favor and go back where you came from." He prodded Maddie and Jon to get moving. He got behind them, pedaling backward like any decent football player can, wearing a big fat grin.

When they had gotten about two hundred feet away from the dissipating gang of befuddled ten, he said; "See. That was a bluff. If they really wanted to do something they probably could have. Of course, a number of them would have bullet holes. The thing is they first advertised that they were bluffing. They don't want any game which fights back."

Jon said; "This is so eerily quiet. Suburbs without the blare of power equipment. And roads without the blare of autos. People might start moving back here. So, tell us Conk. Now that we are here how are we going to find these LAWLESS people?"

Conk winced and made a small shrug. He said; "I don't know. I never asked. Maybe they're in the phone book. ......... All right, all right. I never said I was perfect. We're close. You figure it out."

Jon said; "Well, if this is some sort of compound, they must have a few acres of land. So, let's not walk toward any of the skyscrapers."

Conk said; "That does leave a few options."

Maddie giggled.

Conk said; "What's so funny?"

Maddie said; " .......... "

Conk said; "Let's try a little northwestern, toward the trees."

The trio made their way through housing developments and strip malls. They primarily stayed on the sidewalks which showed no evidence of patching. As the areas through which they travelled were not main roads, it was not a likely spot for buried mines.

Jon had an unusual thought. He said; "These now empty houses were once astronomical in price. Now, anyone who wanted to can have any one he wants. Or two, or three ......."

Conk did not initially understand how the current situation could be of benefit to anyone and replied; "That's true, but it's also warped in a way. I mean like it would be weird without any neighbors, surrounded by a bunch of empty houses. The lawns wouldn't be maintained and it would start to look like an abandoned graveyard .............."

Jon said; "You have to get over your bourgeois attitudes."

Maddie laughed, and this time everyone thought that they knew why, though Conk said; "What's so funny?" not anticipating a reply for a few reasons. He turned to Jon and continued; "Anti-social?"

Jon shrugged and said; " .......... "

Conk said; "Now, if you got a large group together and they all took one it would be fine, except for the air. You mentioned that you suspected that VX was used. Continued breathing of this air might be a problem."

Jon said; "No and a miniscule yes. The good news is that if there was any VX still in the air we'd be dead already. The bad news is that it has a nasty habit of sticking to plants. I guess that if you aren't a plant sniffer you'll be okay."

They walked for a day through similar terrain. On the following day they entered the forest. The defoliated branches provided little relief from the sun, but no one complained of the small benefit. The two men were thinking of their new home in LAWLESS and nobody knew what Maddie was thinking. Then they saw it; two pine posts twenty feet apart with a cross stretcher from which dangled a sign saying; "Los Angeles Wild Living Edibles Survival Syndicate." Their temporary uplift was tempered when they looked down, seeing the two watchmen, one on each side.

"We'll take the knives and guns, friend," grinned the bearded one by the left post.

Conk hesitated just a split second before surrendering his arms. He thought that if necessary he could get more at one of the abandoned stores in town. Jon followed his procedure.

A welcoming arm was extended by an elderly gentleman who appeared to be attired in something akin to a toga. His perennial, baked on smile was as convincing as that of a used car salesman. However, under the limited options dictated by circumstances even a faulty, overpriced used car was an improvement for the trio; at least insofar as that determination was effectively delegated to Conk. Conk took that hand and introductions were made.

Lohamei inquired of the trio's reasons for being there.

Conk attempted to appeal to Lohamei's funny bone and said; "Do you see another choice around?"

It might have been taken as dismissive by an elder statesman seeking praise and congratulations. It might also have involved a myriad of other considerations; ostensibly none of them favorable. In the absence of a polite Chucklel; Conk modified his stated "reason." He was still somewhat amused at the overly obvious question, which led him to make a somewhat silly enjoinder. He said; "We have come from far and wide seeking an oasis in the midst of this devastation; as was spoken of by an angel who has given kind direction. In other words, I was told about it by some broken down biker right outside of Jersey."

Lohamei momentarily blinked, but was quickly restored to his baked on countenance. He said; "Welcome brothers ....... and little sister."

Maddie effectively mimicked his baked on and added a curtsey.

Conk said; "Please pardon her as she doesn't speak." He was thinking; "Isn't our behavior strange for people who have just reached a potential promised land?" To his verbal repertoire he added; "Do you have any idea of what happened?"

Lohamei said; "Specifically no; generally yes."

Jon said; "Sounds strangely familiar. Could you elaborate on the 'Yes' part?"

Lohamei said; "Somebody set off a number of nuclear devices and used tons of poison gas."

Jon said; "Thanks."

Lohamei continued; "We here at LAWLESS have been expecting this. But, we were far too early in our expectations. A generation has already grown in this camp. Come, allow me to show you our facilities."

Lohamei led them through the camp, pointing out the dormitories, cooking facilities, military arsenals, and communal farming areas. He said; "A shortage of food has become a problem here. We are humanitarians and have not turned any away. So, we have to insist that able bodied newcomers spend time in the fields."

Conk asked; "Who has access to the guns?"

"Only the ones who were members prior to the disaster. I think you'll appreciate that we are no longer able to do background checks."

Conk said; "I guess you originally had the guns here as protection from the authorities and the crazies."

"Yes. Though we are humanitarians we wanted to have some chance against any Mount Carmel-like attack. Often the government crazies can be more dangerous than the independents."

"Is there some religious belief here?"

"Many of us share one called Caribai, basically a Christian splinter approach, but it is not a requirement to stay here. You may be interested in taking one of the classes offered."

Jon nodded.

Maddie said nothing and paid more attention to the armed people who were milling about.

Conk politely said; "That's a thought," though he had zero interest in religion.

Lohamei said; "It's much larger, but the rest is basically a repetition of what you've already seen. May I show you to your quarters? I'm sure you'll be more interested in touring after you get settled and get your things squared away."

Conk said; "Yes, thanks," and the group followed Lohamei to a four level structure which appeared as if it had been recently constructed with an eye for economy. The exterior walls were made of unfinished plywood and a sign over the entrance said; "Provisions #06095724" in dribbling bloodshot paint. Maddie took special note of it and blinked her eyes as if she was doing some sort of numerical association. Conk saw her and thought she was trying to remember the number as other structures in the area were identical.

Lohamei took them to a room at the back of the first floor, opened the door and said; "It's a bit Spartan, but under the circumstances ........"

An armed man appeared at the door. Lohamei said; "Meet Yezernitsky. He's the manager of the apartment complex and he looks much more fearsome than he really is. We sometimes get trouble makers here."

The two turned to leave and Conk said; "You forgot to give us the keys."

Yezernitsky said; "There are no keys."

Somewhat surprised and uncomfortable Conk shut the door and started to unpack.

Maddie spoke clearly, saying; "We've got to get out of this place."

In a silly tone Jon said; "We just got here."

Maddie went on, saying; "We have to move. There is no doubt that these walls are bugged. I saw their medallions. They are the same as mine. My father is one of them and my mother was human. I know who they are. Caribai is a little known 'religion' which is as Christian as Voodoo. The difference is that in Caribai it is not chickens being slaughtered. It is humans who are and then they are eaten. Cannibalism or something like that. Since these monsters are not human there may be a technically different irrelevant definition."

Leaning in her direction, Conk asked; "Who are they?"

Maddie replied; "You can believe them to be demons. You can believe them to be gods. You can believe them to be anything you can imagine. It doesn't matter. They have been secretly controlling the world since day one, causing and solely benefitting from the strife. I believe that they are the descendants of the Khazars, filtered through the Lehi Group, then phony Sabras, and most recently Mossad and their supporters. It gets gray through inter-species marriage, new recruits and defectors. No matter if there is a further shade; the further fact is that you are their food and harvest time has come. They have already rounded up all the easy ones and put them in freezers. Now they just wait for the final delicacies to come to them. Did you really think that you were on the top of the food chain? So do the cattle. So does an ant. So does a frog. So does a turtle. So does an eagle. Now, you know your 'reason' for existence."

Conk said; "Why didn't you speak up before?"

Maddie seemed a bit reticent to, but looked at the lifeless ground at her feet and responded; "Two reasons. I didn't have the whole story pieced together until now. And nobody ever listens to what I say anyway. I have no doubt that this room is bugged and we have to get out of here right now!"

Maybe To Be Continued. Maybe Not.

Also by Nat De Plume:

1) International Banksters – Shows how the global banking elite's subterranean pacts with the richest .1% of the world are used to further enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else; the clearly illegal US Federal Reserve, their best tool.

2) Anti-Gravity Propulsion- This free source of energy, how it works, and how the energy industry has made huge political contributions to suppress it.

3) Underground Bases- Top secret military bases and cities miles under the earth's surface, to which the elite will escape when their next war kills off everyone else. 156 high resolution color photos included.

4) Reconciliation- reconciles how it is not inconsistent that the elite want to impoverish us, make us pay through the nose for energy, and demolish the earth when to escape us, all they have to do is move into their secret underground bases. The logic is insidious!

### Small Change

Small change and "Small Change" written by Tom Waits; property of the author, the latter under both the "fair use" and "transformative" doctrines.

# End of Book 9 of 13
