Come with me, down the long and dusty road. It leads to the city of Lawndale, a town as boring as it´s name. Still I want you to pay heed to my words as I draw your attention to the one and only thing that makes it - at least in my eyes - remarkable.
The house we are approaching is situated in the south west. From the outside it doesn´t look special. The roof probably needs some tiles replaced, but apart from that - it´s just an ordinary house. If you went inside the first question raised by you would probably be: "What´s that?" Which is an interesting and serious question. The inhabitants would tell you that it is a slice of rotten Pizza stuck on the ceiling, but that isn´t the whole truth. Because unsuspected by anybody except for us, who are expected to expect the unex...Don´t look at me that way. I agree that basic training slogans are an insult to our intelligence. But didn´t you ever wonder why they even bother to use them? Because it sticks with you anyway, that´s why. Where was I? Oh yes...
The pizza.
This isn´t just a normal pizza, as you have already guessed from our involvement. Do you know Paul Ewalds germ theory? No? OK, I´ll fill you in.
According to Ewald any behaviour that is a)not encouraged by society and b)preventing reproduction is probably caused by an infection. Sounds unreasonable? Well if it prevents reproduction it can´t be genetic, and if society doesn´t encourage it it can´t be learned either. Leaves us with mind control germs. Sounds eerie? Well, it gets even better. Have you heard about Miles Cooper? John Wesner? Adam Cougney? Alice Rollo? Angelica Wildfeld? Brittany Taylor? You have? Good.
What do these 6 persons have in common?
Right. They are reclusive artists in their fields, who despite early succes have disappeared from the public eye. I will give you some details you might not have known, which interconnect them further. a) They have either abandoned the style they became famous for and changed to some very radical notion of what constitutes art, or - in one case - died. b) They have been in this house.
Surprised? I´ve looked up the relevant data in their files. Do you want a short summary? No use trying to get out of this. I´m going to give it to you anyway.
Miles Cooper was an UPS delivery man. On Spetember the 4th 1996 he delivered fifteen pounds of red clay to Amanda Lane, who back then sold pots from her basement business in the cellar. Her current location and occupation are unknown, but it is assumed she is still active as an artist. On September the 9th 1996 Miles quit his job at UPS. On October the 8th he sold his first picture to a widely known art dealer in New York. He moved to Kanada in 99 and doesn´t keep all that much contact with the rest of the world. Well, to be more precise: Apart from the occassional revolutionary treaty, he has cut himself off completely.
John Wesner was an art student, so nobody was suprised when he presented his brilliant final work in 1997. What common biographies usually don´t mention is the fact, that he worked at a Pizza service in Lawndale during the summer holidays in 95. We have contacted the Pizza service and have affirmed that the Lanes were regularly ordering meals there. John Wesner quickly became an institution. Then, last year he was institutionalized after he injured several people during a performance art piece called "Violence - Corrosion - Evolution".
Adam Cougney was a high school acquaintance of Vincent Lane, Amandas husband, who lived here before he moved out of country. We lost track of him in South Timor. Adam worked as a business accountant in Cleveland up until the 6th of May 98, when he quit his Job. This was 4 days after a highschool reunion, where, accoding to a number of other classmates, Adam had a long and intense conversation with Mr. Lane. They also confirmed that Mr. Cougney wanted to visit the Lanes. After he quit his Job he moved to the desert and put out ambience records, which regularly feature abrassive noise. He is highly in debt, but refuses to pay any of his bills. He is regarded as a hazard to bill collectors health and the banks just let it slide.
Alice Rollo faced a brilliant carreer in advertising. She contributed a lot to a very successful Pepsi campaign and had done some visuals for Nike. When she got her first job as creative director she spend 3 million dollars on an add campaign that featured aborted feti, leftovers from liposuctions, and foreskins from several Jerusalem Hospitals spelling out the company name. Microsoft decided that this didn´t go well with the immage they wanted to aquire. Alice Rollo has since been a "misplaced" person. Not even a class A sec clearance would grant you access to her current data. During our research we found out she had been dating Trent Lane, a rock musician who is still living here for a while while staying with her aunt for the summer holidays in 95. She went to see local bands play at the Zon, a grunge club and met Trent there. We are almost certain she visited him here, but couldn´t confirm our suspicions. Still her behaviour fits our theory very nicely.
Angelica Wildfeld worked in an art supply store 50 miles from here. They offered a kind of Tupperware party, but instead of plastic boxes, they sold art supplies. We have checked back with the store and found out, that Angelica ahowcased her products in this house in 94. She abandoned the art business and started to hitchhike through the US and perform slam poetry. She became famous for her appearance on an obscure Eminem single, which at least got her name into rotation among collectors. Her name is being dropped by a whole bunch of contemporary rappers, but no one knows where she is at the moment.
Brittany Taylor was the one that got us interested in this city in the first place. While still in High School she published her first novel "Carnival", which was lauded as a radical turn away from traditional modes of narration and despite the lack of classical meritts made the Times bestseller list. She comitted suicide one week after her book had entered the list, leaving a most interesting farewell letter. I have a copy of it here and will quote it in its entirety, because I think it is absolutely vital to our task to understand what happened here:
"Hi There!
to whoever it may concern.
Since that assignment I did with Jane I felt kinda wierd.
I wanted to say something but I just couldn´t find the words to say it.
Then I wrote that book and now everyxbody thinks I´m some sorta freak and not the same person I was before I did it.
My friends don´t understand me they just laugh at my stuff and so I quit cheerleading.
Then Kevin stop going out with me because he sayz he is the captain and has to date cheerleaders.
My dad thinks I don´t want to be a real woman like my mom.
No one really knows what I think. Cuz I know I CAN think.
So this is like goodbye, I can´t go on like this. It´s really like in that Adam song.
Brittany"
As you can see, she painted flowers on the letter and dotted her i's with little hearts. It doesn´t take a rocket scientist to figure that this is no ordinary suicidal note. Especially if you consider the way Brittany Taylor chose to leave this world. She aquired a number of chemicals from assorted drug stores and used them to create a very uneffective poison that was invented by military researchers during the 1920ies. The information ragarding it remained and remains classified and we have no idea how she might have accessed the instructions on how to make it. In addition to that, her science grades don´t give us any indication that she could have been able to actually use any instructions in a reasonable way. You see, we deal with a very peculiar case.
If you look at the letter you will find two names: Jane and Kevin. The later was Brittanys boyfriend, who chose to distance himself from her before she died. The former however is Jane Lane. From what we know the two completed an economy assignment together during the course of which Brittany entered the Lane household.
What conclusion can we draw from the data we have gathered?
Now, there seems to be something in this house that breeds unreproductive artists. It has affected all long term inhabitants and at least 6 short term visitors. Amanda and Vincent Lane had 4 children when they moved in and Amanda was pregnant with her youngest daughter at the time. They haven´t reproduced since. The only grandchildren they have are the kids of their eldest, Summer who left her parents just at that time. If Ewald is right there is a mind control germ that creates anit-social avant garde artists and it is to be found at that place.
I´m sure you can see the value of such a germ for our organisation, can´t you? We could invent a vaccine against anti-establishment art and we might be able to recode the germs to carry different sets of information, making people obey whatever order we might give them.
We´re there. Stop the car.
I said: Stop.
What?!
What do you mean "No breaks?"
Fuck...
The house we are approaching is situated in the south west. From the outside it doesn´t look special. The roof probably needs some tiles replaced, but apart from that - it´s just an ordinary house. If you went inside the first question raised by you would probably be: "What´s that?" Which is an interesting and serious question. The inhabitants would tell you that it is a slice of rotten Pizza stuck on the ceiling, but that isn´t the whole truth. Because unsuspected by anybody except for us, who are expected to expect the unex...Don´t look at me that way. I agree that basic training slogans are an insult to our intelligence. But didn´t you ever wonder why they even bother to use them? Because it sticks with you anyway, that´s why. Where was I? Oh yes...
The pizza.
This isn´t just a normal pizza, as you have already guessed from our involvement. Do you know Paul Ewalds germ theory? No? OK, I´ll fill you in.
According to Ewald any behaviour that is a)not encouraged by society and b)preventing reproduction is probably caused by an infection. Sounds unreasonable? Well if it prevents reproduction it can´t be genetic, and if society doesn´t encourage it it can´t be learned either. Leaves us with mind control germs. Sounds eerie? Well, it gets even better. Have you heard about Miles Cooper? John Wesner? Adam Cougney? Alice Rollo? Angelica Wildfeld? Brittany Taylor? You have? Good.
What do these 6 persons have in common?
Right. They are reclusive artists in their fields, who despite early succes have disappeared from the public eye. I will give you some details you might not have known, which interconnect them further. a) They have either abandoned the style they became famous for and changed to some very radical notion of what constitutes art, or - in one case - died. b) They have been in this house.
Surprised? I´ve looked up the relevant data in their files. Do you want a short summary? No use trying to get out of this. I´m going to give it to you anyway.
Miles Cooper was an UPS delivery man. On Spetember the 4th 1996 he delivered fifteen pounds of red clay to Amanda Lane, who back then sold pots from her basement business in the cellar. Her current location and occupation are unknown, but it is assumed she is still active as an artist. On September the 9th 1996 Miles quit his job at UPS. On October the 8th he sold his first picture to a widely known art dealer in New York. He moved to Kanada in 99 and doesn´t keep all that much contact with the rest of the world. Well, to be more precise: Apart from the occassional revolutionary treaty, he has cut himself off completely.
John Wesner was an art student, so nobody was suprised when he presented his brilliant final work in 1997. What common biographies usually don´t mention is the fact, that he worked at a Pizza service in Lawndale during the summer holidays in 95. We have contacted the Pizza service and have affirmed that the Lanes were regularly ordering meals there. John Wesner quickly became an institution. Then, last year he was institutionalized after he injured several people during a performance art piece called "Violence - Corrosion - Evolution".
Adam Cougney was a high school acquaintance of Vincent Lane, Amandas husband, who lived here before he moved out of country. We lost track of him in South Timor. Adam worked as a business accountant in Cleveland up until the 6th of May 98, when he quit his Job. This was 4 days after a highschool reunion, where, accoding to a number of other classmates, Adam had a long and intense conversation with Mr. Lane. They also confirmed that Mr. Cougney wanted to visit the Lanes. After he quit his Job he moved to the desert and put out ambience records, which regularly feature abrassive noise. He is highly in debt, but refuses to pay any of his bills. He is regarded as a hazard to bill collectors health and the banks just let it slide.
Alice Rollo faced a brilliant carreer in advertising. She contributed a lot to a very successful Pepsi campaign and had done some visuals for Nike. When she got her first job as creative director she spend 3 million dollars on an add campaign that featured aborted feti, leftovers from liposuctions, and foreskins from several Jerusalem Hospitals spelling out the company name. Microsoft decided that this didn´t go well with the immage they wanted to aquire. Alice Rollo has since been a "misplaced" person. Not even a class A sec clearance would grant you access to her current data. During our research we found out she had been dating Trent Lane, a rock musician who is still living here for a while while staying with her aunt for the summer holidays in 95. She went to see local bands play at the Zon, a grunge club and met Trent there. We are almost certain she visited him here, but couldn´t confirm our suspicions. Still her behaviour fits our theory very nicely.
Angelica Wildfeld worked in an art supply store 50 miles from here. They offered a kind of Tupperware party, but instead of plastic boxes, they sold art supplies. We have checked back with the store and found out, that Angelica ahowcased her products in this house in 94. She abandoned the art business and started to hitchhike through the US and perform slam poetry. She became famous for her appearance on an obscure Eminem single, which at least got her name into rotation among collectors. Her name is being dropped by a whole bunch of contemporary rappers, but no one knows where she is at the moment.
Brittany Taylor was the one that got us interested in this city in the first place. While still in High School she published her first novel "Carnival", which was lauded as a radical turn away from traditional modes of narration and despite the lack of classical meritts made the Times bestseller list. She comitted suicide one week after her book had entered the list, leaving a most interesting farewell letter. I have a copy of it here and will quote it in its entirety, because I think it is absolutely vital to our task to understand what happened here:
"Hi There!
to whoever it may concern.
Since that assignment I did with Jane I felt kinda wierd.
I wanted to say something but I just couldn´t find the words to say it.
Then I wrote that book and now everyxbody thinks I´m some sorta freak and not the same person I was before I did it.
My friends don´t understand me they just laugh at my stuff and so I quit cheerleading.
Then Kevin stop going out with me because he sayz he is the captain and has to date cheerleaders.
My dad thinks I don´t want to be a real woman like my mom.
No one really knows what I think. Cuz I know I CAN think.
So this is like goodbye, I can´t go on like this. It´s really like in that Adam song.
Brittany"
As you can see, she painted flowers on the letter and dotted her i's with little hearts. It doesn´t take a rocket scientist to figure that this is no ordinary suicidal note. Especially if you consider the way Brittany Taylor chose to leave this world. She aquired a number of chemicals from assorted drug stores and used them to create a very uneffective poison that was invented by military researchers during the 1920ies. The information ragarding it remained and remains classified and we have no idea how she might have accessed the instructions on how to make it. In addition to that, her science grades don´t give us any indication that she could have been able to actually use any instructions in a reasonable way. You see, we deal with a very peculiar case.
If you look at the letter you will find two names: Jane and Kevin. The later was Brittanys boyfriend, who chose to distance himself from her before she died. The former however is Jane Lane. From what we know the two completed an economy assignment together during the course of which Brittany entered the Lane household.
What conclusion can we draw from the data we have gathered?
Now, there seems to be something in this house that breeds unreproductive artists. It has affected all long term inhabitants and at least 6 short term visitors. Amanda and Vincent Lane had 4 children when they moved in and Amanda was pregnant with her youngest daughter at the time. They haven´t reproduced since. The only grandchildren they have are the kids of their eldest, Summer who left her parents just at that time. If Ewald is right there is a mind control germ that creates anit-social avant garde artists and it is to be found at that place.
I´m sure you can see the value of such a germ for our organisation, can´t you? We could invent a vaccine against anti-establishment art and we might be able to recode the germs to carry different sets of information, making people obey whatever order we might give them.
We´re there. Stop the car.
I said: Stop.
What?!
What do you mean "No breaks?"
Fuck...