in response ...

Interesting developments and postulations indeed. Tell me more about calabi yau. I haven't heard of this discipline.

Where are you situated at present? Where are these boxes being delivered to? (I would also ask where are they being delivered from, but assume that isn't yet known.) Are you on campus in UK or have you returned to the US? If a similar operation is being begun this side of the atlantic, this could be the beginnings of a second round of soft cells. Either a single replication of experiment 31, or else one of many second generation repeat projects. We must keep alert.
As for locating Dan, I suggest you look underground. In the cellar, or on the ground floor at least.

I await Epstein's opinions on using softness to access other dimensions.

Theory One

Rereading: “a simultaneous transmission; a meeting of waves in the mid atlantic”.

This makes me think of recent Atlantis discovery.

I wonder if they are sending waves from each shore to meet over the submerged ruins. The 90's computer game Ecco the Dolphin was awash with hidden symbolism and deep plot, and featured crystal information storage used by the Atlanteans, being re-accessed by wave transmission against the side of the crystals. I wonder if that may be involved here.

Theory one.
The underground are trying to build a safe haven for their own activities and for their own survival, in the face of pressures such as marketeer-led culture change.
[Case in point: recent undercover visit to a university campus revealed that the old goth society, cloaked as an RPG, fantasy, sci-fi and horror society, had ceased to exist, now having as its nearest apparent replacement a ‘rock society’ – a sure sign of that underground being sterilised and ‘rationalised’ by the media filter; velvet and striped tights being replaced by labelled black t-shirts and loose loose jeans.]
The military are meanwhile trying to depopulate the surface of the planet as per guidestone ambitions, by rehousing the masses underground or underwater without them being aware of it.
One may be caused by the other or not. ie. Both motives and ambitions may be independent of each other, or else the fringe element may be reacting to the military project, possibly having become aware of it through the cyberhippies’ experiences with military marketing boot camps.

I had previously supposed, however, that the military were reacting to the fringe, and had suspected that any fringe element dabbling in military marketing were to some extent scabs, sell-outs, richies (rich bill gates type ex-hippies)… Perhaps, on this new angle, the likes of Melissa Parrish in fatigues never abandoned their ideals and were reading from the establishment’s rulebook to learn how to operate within the system; armouring themselves in the weaponary of the opposition.

Alhough I suspect many of the military industrial weapons for media warfare and control were originally gleaned from the student population who in the words of Jack Bruce were ‘leaning leaning to the right’.


The fourth man

Why...?

Indeed, so far we have negelected the 'why?' angle of the investigation. What foolish amateurs we are; how can we possibly crack the case without understanding the motivations behind the activity so far discovered? Indeed, a stream of wild theories as to why both the military and a fringe group of unknown definition would both want to create a soft replica of a whole american state and/or sink the original one in a vast lake would be most welcome.

Time to go back to basics, shake our brains and see what falls loose. I think this is what has been holding the case back.


btw, I misquoted our GM - he actually said ""you can achieve anything as long as you don't know that it is impossible"

this zen phrase has now been printed out and adorns walls and doors around the building. It speaks to me of the power of the will - if there is nothing to impede your will, you can achieve the impossible. Such a motto may be useful in cracking the case at hand.

Timeline

Timeline has now been produced, ranging from formation of the earth through the pre-cambrian, the cambrian, the pleistocene, the age of atlantis, into the dawning of the age of aquarius, to current modern times, taking in the construction of the water-weathered sphinx and the great pyramids, calanais and stonehenge, the guidestones, and the assumed beginning of construction of soft Michigan. Also taking in Ronald Searly’s poetry competition and the often forgotten ‘bin-fire’ incident, of 1982, at which the probably teenage Searly claimed no involvement in said bin-fire. An incident in which I have great interest.

The main new lead I have from laying out known knowns upon an axis of time, is as follows:
In the mid nineties, a Canadian Religious Studies student went from North America to the UK, and there left a map of the great lakes seemingly questioning the location of ‘Keegan and Rosta’ (Regan and Costa). Previously we had surmised that this implied a disappearance of Regan and Costa at that time (in advance of the main soft core disappearance around 2005).

However, it was not until 2004 that material was released by Broken Social Scene, which we know to have been penned by Costa. Three theories could explain this. Either, Costa disappeared in the 90’s, but her material was in the hands of the Toronto music scene before then, later being released by BSS, or Costa disappeared in the 90’s but nonetheless disseminated material to BSS after her disappearance, OR Costa did not ‘disappear’ in the nineties at all. On this third theory, which I favour, the following scenario is possible:

The Canadian RS student, possibly already acquainted with Costa (and Regan) directly or indirectly, is seeking out Costa and Regan, in the UK. She travels there specifically to find them. Whether she succeeds or not is unclear. Costa, possibly with Regan, possibly also with the Canadian RS student, returns to Michigan, and is involved in ensuing road trip activity as part of the beginnings of the soft Michigan project. Costa is also involved with the Toronto music scene directly or indirectly, in years/months directly leading up to the 2004 release of her material by BSS. It is then not until 2005 that Costa becomes untraceable, either from retreating into Soft Michigan, or else from going ‘underground’ to evade various groups, eg. military Project 31 operatives.

I must however check dates suggested by recent Boston contacts including Zac Happy. Did anybody disappear in the 90’s? Melody? When did Zac say the travelling mix-tape couple stopped coming by? When did he say the road trip activity began?

Fabrics of the Future

Back From Boston. Arriveded home to discover a package from Kingsbury PI amongst my mail. It contains a document entitled Fabrics Of The Future, which is explained in her accompanying letter as relating to a current Phd proposal by a student called Dan Stairs.

Whilst I was away, Kingsbury PI attended a public viewing of a design competition featuring a selection of Phd research proposal posters. It was here, her letter explains, that she found the document I mention, given as a handout to accompany one of the posters on display. Allow me now to relay a few excerpts for your consideration...

Fabrics of the Future
Dan Stairs (Ohio University)

This practice-led project explores ways of using sustainable textile fibres. Through creative experiments with newly developed natural fibres and closed-loop synthetics, to produce solutions to sustainable textile 'products'.

Aims
To examine eco-design theory, exploring emerging ideas about the life-cycle of textile 'products'.
To design and develop innovative textile 'products', using ecologically and environmentally sustainable fibres.
To research closed-loop production methods.
To disseminate findings in academic and manufacturing environments.

Methodology
...Practical experiment to explore the results of findings and test theories in the area of study, which will lead to realising new paradigms in the field of textile design.

Now, let's examine this; note the opening gambit - 'a practice-led project'. This means actually carrying out what is being examined, not just reseraching it. Stairs is planning on acting out whatever it is he is 'studying'. Next sentence speaks of 'creative experiments'. More action for 'research' purposes of dubious nature. Look at the aims and other ambiguous terms jump out; 'eco-design' 'closed-loop production methods' - what are these? eco-design sounds like designing ecological systems to me and 'closed loop production' is a perfect descriptor for the private network of individuals, who seem to exist outside of normal social circles and communication channels, that we are dealing with.

Note the final aim - 'to disseminate findings in academic and manufacturing environments'. Is this not exactly what Project 31 could be described as doing? the talk of a 'new paradigm' sounds ominous. Why would one want ecologically sustainable fibres for any other reason than creating an environment which would be sustainable with the current natural one? One other thing of note is the use of inverted commas with every mention of 'products'. That is sheer ambiguity - a classic Obfuscationist trait.

Unless I am being paranoid and overcompensating for failing to sight Searly in Boston, this would seem to a good insight into the closed loop soft core network. It would seem that Dan Stairs is an Obfuscationist and a part of the Cargo Corps who has secured funding for the operation under the guise of academic research. The alternative view is that he is a government plant and is monitoring academic reserch in the textile field on behalf of the military. As of writing I am unsure but my gut is leaning toward to former. I was hoping for at least a days rest now I am home, but can't shake the imperative to research Stairs.

Melodic Development

Deep insights abound via the investigator's poise. I had never considered that Searly may have had the hands of a government man (either his own hands, or those of a government man placed upon him for 'steering'). I have been working under the assumption that he was involved as an outsider - one of the remnant folk, a pro-softness man. Your shedding of light via anglepoise now means I must question the whole case from a new perspective. Reassess.

Was Searly really a fully signed up government operative? Hard to believe. Maybe he was posing as one and got found out. Was he a soft-core member who got fingered by the law and 'agreed' to 'help' them in order to save his own skin, yet was really relaying his inside knowledge back to his fringe group of fabric-ators? Or was he really a military man posing as someone from a much more flowery subculture in order to infiltrate the soft Michigan core? Could a military man really pass himself off in such a manner? Do the authorities employ 'soft' guys?

If Searly is indeed tied to the Buick wreck as you describe, that would mean he very likely had dealings with 'Pinsk' or could even possibly be him. I could head there from Boston if any leads surface in the next 18 hrs.

Anyway, while you have been shining tungsten light on such matters, I have been bathing in glow of the halogen bulbs in the film dept of Boston Uni. Had to change my cover (no way could I pull off being a documentarian when surrounded by film/media lecturers and technicians. I am once again playing dentist, looking for my fiance, 'Melody', who has ran out on me with the kids - 'I must find her; for the kids' safety' I told the film guys - no-one questions a kid in danger. A couple of the technicians remember how a girl slightly older than typical students used to use the editing facilities occasionally, booking out the edit suite once a term under the name 'Melody Nelson'.

Told the film guys that she was my girl - tell me all you know, has she been here recently? Apparently not - she hasn't been seen on campus since summer 2005. The tie-in with the disappearances of other members of Project 31 is beyond co-incidence. I ask what kind of films she used to edit (to help me figure what she may be involved in and get an idea for 'what danger my children may be in') and am told that they were 'road movies of some description... super-8 footage of the Northeastern landscape receding from the rear windshield of an automobile... car full of young hip-kids... soft fabrics... home knits... Canadian border crossings... picnics... acoustic guitars... quilting'. On a hunch, I show the techies the CCTV still of the 50's girl at the library, telling them it is the most recent picture I have of her, and is the evidence which led me to Boston - was this 'Melody Nelson', I ask. 'Damn straight' comes the reply, 'those old clothes are a dead giveaway - she only ever wore natural fabrics'.

So, we have a positive ID, but no current whereabouts or idea of recent activity, though we can now connect her to Searly via the library card.

Questions from Boston

Okay, my last full day in Boston and I feel like a stranger in a strange land. I think I need to ask some questions to get my orientation again, so let's see...

It seems likely, based on Happy's recollections, that Cate and Grant were two of the main protagonists when it came to the expansion and recruitment drive for Project 31. They were running things across the campuses of North America - tapes, for sure, but most likely people and fabrics too. Costa's songs are known to have appeared on the tapes, so there would seem to be some link between Grant/Cate and Costa. As one of our investigators so perceptively asked - is Cate Costa?

Also, are the instructions presented on the tapes Coasta's own, or is she relaying messages from a more central figure? Kosyra, perhaps, or Regan, or Searly, even. Perhaps the instructions are coming from 'Mr. Crafts', whoever that maybe (likely one of the 3 suspects just mentioned). Or is Grant 'Mr. Crafts' - we know so little about him beyond a connection with Cate and witness statements aligning him with the tape distribution?

Other thoughts - did Kosyra fund/design the guidestone projects? We know he was 'disgustingly rich' and that he works in construction (or runs a front company marketed as being in the industry); was 'R.C. Christian' his public go-between? Could be Regan? Could be Searly?

I wonder now about the mid-nineties disappearance of Regan and Costa, as proposed by the map found by the candian religious studies student when studying in England - where did they go and what were they doing all this time? Is their disappearance in any way related to the later mass-disappearance of all recognised members of the Soft Michigan core group? Which, in turn, makes me wonder about the couple caught on CCTV using Searly's library card - according to Happy, they would seem to have some historical involvement with the Project 31 (having been spotted on campus with infrequent regularity until the disappearances), yet are not recognised as being Cate and Grant. Who are they?

Other questions - how does Sad Sack tie into all of this, and what is the significance of the missing mixtape 'At The Haberdasher's Request'?I shall try to make a breakthrough before leaving Boston. The heat goes on...

Dispatches

Latest dispatches from secret source below (just received)Items 4, 5 and 12 seem particularly of interest:

- i recommend rounding your troops for a similar conversation, and a brainstorm session for how to prepare for what lies ahead.
- just sayin.i love the color palette and obvious softness.
- i am blocking my two latest projects today and will show them tomorrow.

The reference to two projects – one presumably is project 31 / soft Michigan. Is the other project Black Cat?Also the reference to throwing dirty laundry in the laundry room and closing the door – I take this to refer to the fabric of soft Michigan being concealed. I wonder if the soft Michigan project actually involves some mechanism of contracting space in order to fit an area the size of a state in a small room? This would mean the soft core may have achieved what the military failed to contemplate – while they proposed hiding a city or a state either on or under a great lake, the soft core may have thought further out of the box, and squeezed a state into a cupboard.

Is this too hard to believe? Which side would Kozyra be on in this? He is the only supposed magician I know of in the case so far. But then going on recent thoughts from your contacts Kingsbury PI and Palindrome, perhaps the magician is definitely not the guy saying ‘I’m a magician’??But then on the other hand self-publicity / lack of disguise can be the best disguise of all. Shouting ‘I’m a magician’ is in that vein a good way of ensuring nobody believes you.

Georgia Guidestones

I recently discussed the case with a trustworthy contact, mentioning many of the key facts and figures, Searly, Kosyra, etc. They said to me it reminded him of events in Elberton, back in the late seventies. I questioned my source more – they just said to look up ‘Georgia Guidestones’. See below. Some similarities – large project, mysterious openly-pseudonymed guy with deep pockets (RC Christian) … Interesting parallels.

"During the hundreds of hours he spent etching the guides, Clamp said, he had been constantly distracted by "strange music and disjointed voices.""

Hmm. This sounds like a forerunner to a project the size of ‘31’. Interesting Yoko being up for dalliance with the new world order depopulation plans.

Zero Carb

The paradox of a marketeer, normally involved in promoting something into the limelight, being a seasoned pro at being elusive, makes sense to me. Know one thing and its opposite becomes natural too. It certainly ties in with project 31 – promotion of the false in order to hide the genuine. One story I feel to be apocryphal is that Costa herself infiltrated the soft core and struck up a personal friendship with Cate and Grant, the Michigan couple responsible for the ‘conception diet’ regime of low to zero carb. Costa took the strictness of this diet more seriously than the others (many of whom talked about it excitedly while also eating Hersheys on the side), and the story goes that this proved too much for her, leading to her abandoning the soft core and returning, one dress size thinner, to Earl Regan.

The adherence to strict diets could itself be a connection to Ronald Searly:

Recall the acquaintance between Searly and Captain Beefheart (a man who we should remember surrounded himself in aliases, and never called a man by his real name). Beefheart legendarily imposed a strictly controlled diet of plain pulses upon his musicians during recording sessions. Perhaps Searly taught this technique to Beefheart, or else learnt it from Beefheart. Either way, Searly may then have had a hand in the dietary impositions years later in Michigan State.

But what is the real purpose of such a regime?

The Stitcher

Note to 'The Stitcher':

It is believed that Jose de Leon was involved in the research wing of Project 31; his reason for attending the Michigan boating trade fair being investigations into principles of buoyancy and large-scale cargo transportation. A sales rep who was present at the fair spoke to one of our investigators under condition of anonymity. He recalled a man of short stature with an out of town accent inquiring about large-scale inflation methods who referred to something possibly called the 'Michigan Flotilla'. The short man apparently displayed a physical nervousness which betrayed his calm eyes and wanted to know how to 'float something the size of a city'.

Whether he was an active member of the project or the suspected inside man working for the feds is as yet undetermined but the theory has been raised that he may have been the link between Pinsk, James Long and/or Vermott. The current leading theory is that 'Vermott' may be a codename for de Leon, who was assigned the task of silencing Pinsk by executing a staged crash in Maine for which James Long was made to look responsible. However, it could be that this theory is flawed and de Leon and Vermott are separate entities, either of which could have been an insider or an outsider with regard to Project 31.

Note from 'The Stitcher':

On 15 June 05 (before the disappearance of the soft Michigan core group), a mysterious letter was sent to a part-time Maryland woodland ranger by the name of Phipps. This letter was passed to a friend of Phipps, who herself was acquainted with the sister of a Baltimore man. This Baltimore man heard of our investigations after researching the subject of the letter online, and obtained a transcript of the letter for our researchers. It contains anonymous allegations claiming to be from a military source, that pertain to an alleged conversation between a military man and an Englishman known only as ‘Ike’. The military man, in some excitation, suggested that a city on a lake could be bettered by putting a city under a lake. He outlined a plan of individual vats which he called suspension chambers. The other man (‘Ike’) declared: ‘It is happening again…’ The military man, it is claimed, had a map on his wall of the US, with rings around 4 of the Great Lakes. A photocopied photographic image of this map accompanied the letter.

Addendum

It has been postulated that it was through dealings with college campuses in the mid sixties that now-Michigan-based ex- art students became involved in project 31. However it is unclear whether the recent soft Michigan project is a govt sponsored inclusion in project 31 or rather a counter culture retaliation to oppose the govt led project. If the latter is true, then the disappearance of all the soft Michigan circle core members could have a more sinister explanation. One informer vehemently maintains that the core were silenced, or removed, after a particular individual became aware of their activities and gained their trust. ‘This guy didn’t quite ring true. He had the terminology, like ‘that fabric’s sooooo the thing; my lovely little life…’, but he misused phrases occasionally; got words out of context. I thought it was odd at the time, but now I think he’d learnt it by rote in a short space of time – he was no genuine handicrafter.’
A third theory is that the circle did not know of project 31, but came up with the soft Michigan concept at random. However once word got out, the real project 31 people assumed they were ‘in the know’, and working against them. Perhaps they were indeed working against a secret military project without even knowing it…

Warren

In Reply

Since the late fifties, this investigator understands that covert alliances were formed between national transport network strategists and the military. This alliance later sent feelers into the art and tech college scene, resulting in the development of op-art, as a means of improving visual cloaking technology. The result was the development of a ‘blindside’ area surrounding major towns and cities, whereby op-art techniques were incorporated into road networks, the close twists and spirals of fly-overs and switchbacks distorting time and space and distracting vision to the extent that entering a city seemingly at location 1 can actually take the driver many miles elsewhere to location 2 while still believing themselves to be in location 1. The Google search engine company have gained their global dominance by support given by the US govt in exchange for collusion in future ‘re-imaging’ of online photographic mapping images, to continue the illusion of town and city location. The one hole in this system has always been pedestrians, who, by crossing over roads while not being restricted within the road network, could more easily detect the visual illusions being perpetrated and see beyond the matrix of road systems to the ‘real’ space around them. As such, the crime of jaywalking has been heavily enforced, along with other measures such as out of town shopping precincts, lack of footpaths, and media car culture marketing, to ensure that non-car users were in effect outlawed from travelling in and out of major towns. Stories passed among the tramp subculture have trickled into the urban myth mainstream, suggesting the existence of a strange zone around certain locations, with roads cutting at strange angles veering suddenly into different counties; guard dogs patrolling fenced enclosures; wooden mock up facades hiding fake suburbs… Certain areas are as a result avoided by bums and hoboes. However some areas much like the west coast ‘Slabs’ eco city (itself formed on the concrete foundation remains of a ‘moved’ city) are developing as bum settlements in the locations marked on maps as major settlements and business centres. The supposed location of the headquarters of an IMF sub-division are actually a flat area the size of 20 baseball diamonds, currently occupied by the airstream caravans of hedgehog eaters.

Note to Warren Leno

ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE from a Coloradoan known only as 'Pinsk' outlines further possible details of Project 31. As a specialist in pressurized storage facilities and the go-to man in the mid-south-west for sub-zero fluid delivery systems, he was often called on as a consultant by the US military and associated intelligence corps to advise on a narrowly defined field of operational activity. 'Pinsk' became a vauable military asset, assisting them for several years, even eventually coming to have a permanently reserved parking space at a govt. base in the Rockies. In time he became so trusted that he could roam the base freely and was never asked to show an ID at internal checkpoints.

He was of course sworn to secrecy on all matters, but a traffic accident involving a Buick in Maine (which some theorists believe was a botched assasination attempt by the same black op agencies who had recruited him, their motive being the fear that he had somehow gained access to secret operational files and codestrings) left him horrifically injured and no longer able to work. He underwent intense reconstructive surgery and made a recovery beyond doctors' expectations. However, due to the severity of his injuries and subsequent surgery, he was physically unrecognisable from his former self, with vastly different facial topography and further disfigurements including distorted fingerprints. Pinsk basically became an Unknown Individual, unrecognisable, untraceable. In light of the accident and its suspected perpetrators, Pinsk decided it was in his best interests to remain an unkown, especially given that he had actually gained access to far more information than his former unofficial employees suspected.

One such clasified area of intelligence he was aware of was a Project 31. He believes that the basis of said project was to geographically relocate major US cities as a measure to avoid terrorist attacks. Methods proposed included making inflatable versions of landmarks which would discreetly replace statues, buildings, streets and eventually whole towns. the plan was to keep this secret from the general American populace as well as overseas threats. By doing it gradually and quietly in the night, the theory went, nobody would notice. Some parties, particularly a Harry Owl, voiced concerns that the idea was too far-fetched, but in the end an agreement was made to test the theory by trying to replace one state with an inflatable version of itself then, if successful, the operation would be rolled out nationally. 'Pinsk' belives that Michigan state was selected as the test area after a certain Mr de Leon had visited a boating supplies tradefair there and declared it the kind of state where you could get away with that kind of thing.

'Pinsk''s location and real identity are currently unknown, but in response to being quizzed on where the original towns were to be stored once replaced by inflatable effigies, he was heard to utter the words 'hollowed mountains' before silently slipping away into the shadows of the Pittsburg night.

Project 31

The mysterious project 31 is thought to have arisen in the Michigan area around a crafts club for thirty-somethings. However, despite its beginnings as presumably a crafts project it clearly developed into something far more secretive and unknown. One ex-member of the crafts circle, hobbyist knitter Gert Schrubb, was heard to confess to a stranger in a bar ‘the whole thing started as a joke, but then so many boxes of the stuff started arriving – we had to go through with it. That’s when I bailed out…’ It’s unclear what the boxes contained. However in Duluth in fall 06 agent Harry Delacroix tracked down high school appliqué starlet Stacey Williams, then 24, and formed the following theory from her dealings on the edge of the Michigan. Harry supposes that an advert was placed on an online forum requesting materials to form a giant soft play version of Michigan, in actual size. When the boxes started arriving, he theorises, the small circle set to work and began the project. He doesn’t offer a theory as to where this actual size soft Michigan, once begun, was stored. Stacey Williams reports to Delacroix that she spoke to close friend of Gert, and one-time member of the circle, speed sewer, Jason Kendrick. Jason, who she claims developed a pill habit to maintain his edge, told her ‘we just loaded stuff on the tables to make some room down on the floor.’ The mystery deepened when core members of the circle all ceased to frequent local bars and coffee shops around the same period in 2005. Delacroix suggests they were by then working on the project ‘from the inside’. The theory of soft Michigan is of course too extreme to be believed…

When asked why it was called project 31, Delacroix declares ‘Michigan is the 31st state’.

Who Is Ron Searly?

ALL THINGS EXIST in spacetime, including Mr. Searly. He's on someone's paper round, someone's Christmas Card List. A Ron Searly is registered at the Jonestown library. A car registered to a Ron Searly was photographed by a traffic safety camera as it ran a red light on some Main St. in Massachusetts (it is unknown as to whether Mr. Searly was present in the car at the time). A Ron Searly paid the cheque for a birthday lunch enjoyed by three unknown white females at a Steak-n-Cake in Reno. He never said a word - they only discovered his deed when they asked the mousey waitress for the cheque. A Ron Searley collected $18.71 winnings from a bookmakers in Brooklyn for a bet he placed on a dodgers game, April 27th 1998. A Ron Searley was there when Beefheart formed his first band. He is reported to have told the captain 'don't do it that way - there's no coming back'.

Note from an interested party:
Find the tokens for Saturday bowling sessions with the mysterious ‘jimmy’. Find the empty tins of dogfood in his long island beach pad, with no other signs of pet ownership. Recount the strange notes found scribbled in his phone directory on the page of a certain Xavier Rheiner, coworker in the Bentley Cane Refinery, Florida.I want the FULL STORY of this guy…

My sources tell me: A Ron Searly has $3.51 of outstanding fines on his account at the North Carolina State Library and two overdue books - one on alternate food sources and an almanac of sewing techniques. Archival clippings from an April edition of the 1982 Pennsylvania Herald confirm that a teenage Ron Searley won second prize in the town's annual poetry contest, coming second to an R. J. Beasley, with poems titled 'Octopiithagoas' and 'From the Sun' respectively. Clippings from an edition of the Milwaukee Tribune, dated September of the same year, indicate that a Ronald Searley was cautioned after being found in a parking lot standing next to a bin fire with ash-tipped fingers and ashen face. He claimed it was like that when he found it. Without witnesses, the prosecution could not proceed with the case and all charges were later dropped. There is a bungalow in a southwestern suburb of Boston, the deeds of which bear the name 'Ron Searly'. No-one has ever seen anyone enter or leave the building, but delivery trucks are observed arriving regularly, sawing and hammering are often heard punctuating the afternoon calm, and the silhouette of a man was seen pacing between the two largest trees in the back yard after dusk a couple of weeks back. Neighbours have been known to ask 'what's he building in there?'