| Home | Preface | Chapter Index | Audio Chapter Index | Credits |
|
 |
<< Back to Chapter 4 - Chapter 5: A New Friend Friday, July 30, 2004 With so many beekeepers worried about Dana all week, they nearly entirely missed one tiny little update that Friday morning. Almost as if a quiet whisper, appearing on about.html a few seconds after the Operator's vicious threat would appear, a short green message was posted...
I was looking at your site a little awry
and have found an innocent bystander. Can you (?) A strange message -- Looking like it was cut off. "Can you..." Can you what? And what did (?) mean? Who was the innocent bystander? The beekeepers' curiosity grew as much as their frustration, because every time something happened - every time a question was answered, more questions seemed to arise. As if on cue, a number of people noticed that the images of Dana, 'the Killer', on the 404 error page became corrupted - just as had the other images throughout the website previously! Immediately they began copying whatever 'new' images they could find from the 404 page, corrupted versions of each frame of the video that had been posted earlier. Sure enough, within each corrupted killer.jpg image, was more hidden text... this time, it was a question and answer session. But the entity doing the answering was answering questions that had been sent to Margaret's email, in reply to the strangely written email from just this past Friday! The beekeepers had taken it upon themselves to try to communicate with what they had thought was the entity responsible for everything that was happening to ilovebees.com. This new communication proved the point, it was final - someone or some thing had definitely taken over Margaret's email address... and it didn't appear to be the Operator. These were the questions and answers found within the killer.jpg frame images...
Question:
Are you the Widow? Answers: Quote, Amazing Spider-Man always find themselves in predicaments like this. The Widow rather... nasty The Widow être simple Please attempt something for me, You can call me a rational Being Thank you. A rational being... and "The Widow être simple"... that's reassuring...
Question:
What are you? Answers: I am some kid who wants to get noticed, very clever an instigator an innocent bystander stored in an airtight container in the deepest and darkest Sleeping casket in a chamber of the dungeon. Do you understand this? Whatever you are? love, A kid who wants to get noticed? Interesting, the use of "innocent bystander" again... but, in an airtight container. And why does she keep signing off with just "Love," and no name?
Question:
what happened? I see you are seeking help. Answers: What a world... I am trying to figure it out, this is actualy quite fun! had been changed going back a while though, more than 7 years ago now love, 7 years ago... 1997? What happened in 1997? A number of people started looking up events that happened in late July that year. Nothing significant was turning up...
Question:
Are you the Queen? Answers: Knock, knock. Hello? the Queen isn't an innocent Dead yet alive the queen's a monstrous verminous bug. the Queen was wondering how long the Sleeping Princess would keep if stored in an airtight container. I can only watch from the shadows, piecing together what I may. Guess I feel the Queen isn't something good Guess I feel the Queen will be swift and terrible. Well, there it was. It was not the Queen who wrote this. The Queen - Melissa - is, to this entity, a very bad person. Bad enough that she locked away this 'Sleeping Princess' in an airtight container. But, this entity referred to itself as being locked in an airtight container. Was this the Sleeping Princess who was speaking?
Question:
Perhaps you are the Pious Flea Answers: Seek the truth Behold the truth That is the law and the whole of the law Just when they thought they were getting somewhere... It must be the Pious Flea who's talking. But, the Flea only ever spoke the words in that mantra. This entity was communicating using english, and snipping text from emails it received. Maybe this was the Sleeping Princess...
Question:
We understand you are scared, Answers: So many people are "Help me, I am on fire" going to explode weeping and gnashing of teeth conspiracy. Whatever I am fine, have the necessary tools to hide hard in the darkness, to meddle in the affairs of dragons and run like hell This entity generally gives good results. Modestly, It Sounded like this entity was really try to make itself known as a helpful one, a friendly one. But, does it need help? From that last answer, it sounded like it could take care of itself. But, signing off modestly? Pride must not be an issue with it...
Question:
I know that there are many people who are very curious about you. Shipwreck? Answers: In a chamber of the dungeon the Sleeping Princess lived here. Describe the place a total mess such a shambles! I have been attempting to put the dungeon to plendor. You have sent out a cute kitty varrao mites clockcase the mirrors teeth gauze mice Wombat Rose That's lovely. Thank you. Ok, what was all that about? A list of a whole bunch of things that had nothing to do with each other... If indeed this was the Sleeping Princess, she sounded very confused and disoriented. Yet, she was ensuring everyone she's fine. Fine enough that she was even trying to do some good in the place where she seemed to be hiding, by cleaning it up. What connection could there be between the Sleeping Princess and all these things people apparently sent to her, which she found lovely?
Question:
fed her with? Answers: honey honey honey honey a nice bit of alliteration cakes of sand the best trout A lot of your wry earnest voice love, Cakes of sand... earlier, the Operator was talking about building sand castles; her head was "full of sand"; the Widow found "hell was made of hot dry sand"; during the Widow's 'surgery', sand spilled out of Melissa; her tears were made of sand; this brave new world Melissa found herself on was made mostly of sand, and she felt nailed to it... sand...
Question:
Something bad will happen If the recipient is Dana, Please don't be freaked out Answers: The Widow the Queen are trying to keep me in very bad shape as well I can sympathize with you. I believe I can help you out, I can apply a construct to protect your core Please! Please! Please! Try not to worry) too much. Keep your head up girl love, Well, well, they now had three clear cut entities - the Widow, the Queen, and the Sleeping Princess. And, it seemed like the Sleeping Princess thought she was talking to Dana. So, if the Queen was actually the Operator, also known as Melissa, ... well, the beekeepers decided to finish off the rest of the questions before nailing down the details of what was actually happening.
Question:
I do not understand this ordering "voodoo witch that runs smear into the web the forte the web the forte including any enemies." My guess is that you mean a virus or program that can infect the internet and cause destruction. Is that correct? Answers: There's no way the forte the Castle the Castle the Castle voodoo witch the Widow the Widow the Widow voodoo parents the Queen the Queen the Queen the Widow awoke the Widow can read this internet messaging telecommunications systems Before I woke up I dreamed what the Widow said in processing mode More direct communication with me What happens when I woke up I have been trying hard to talk How should we talk I'm not enough of a nerd reading it in English Strange. love, Well, whether she knew it or not, the Sleeping Princess had a sense of humour! Obviously she understood english, but not well enough to speak it herself just yet, only enough to quote what she'd received. Now, they knew she wanted to communicate more easily, and in her answer she verified that the Widow's Journey must have been her dream - it paralleled precisely what the Widow - the SPDR - was doing. But once she woke up, she had to fend for herself and try to figure out how to communicate, in plain english.
Question:
We need to know about your parents Answers: I wish either my father or my mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in duty both equally bound to it, had minded what they were about is there anything you could tell me? It feels it has been abandoned please communicate it makes everything better. sort of are alone sort of are scared At this point, a number of beekeepers began to sympathize for the Princess. After all, she'd been imprisoned, hushed, and who knows what else, for what - 7 years? And obviously she felt sad in some way about her parents.
Question:
How are the bees? Answers: amazing things amazing things amazing things bees in amber a monstrous verminous bug spiders and bees I am a victim I have to admit that I have an irrational fear of the little buggers; I had a bad experience as a child. being stung I don't know what I am. I was wondering love Well, bees are bad. And so are spiders. Did the Sleeping Princess forget who she is? Amnesia?
Question:
So what happens on August 24? If I have a question, I use this mark (?) at the end. Answers: I don't know what will happen. Your revolution comes (?) I'm really concerned about it. I can't even begin to make a guess. love, The answer! With that last message, the beekeepers realized that the Princess was learning, and going to continue to learn from their interaction. It was in fact the Princess who posted the 'innocent bystander' message in green text, who sent the email from Maragaret's account, in green text, who embedded the text within the corrupted images, including the killer.jpg files. This last line of questions also gave an answer to who, or what, they were dealing with - The Widow, also known as the SPDR from the front page; The Sleeping Princess, who they also now considered to be the 'innocent bystander'; The Operator, also known as Melissa from the memory fragments that were retrieved, and also known as the Queen according to the Sleeping Princess; and the Pious Flea, known only from the Widow's Journey. Now, taking a shift back to reality, the beekeepers found themselves divided. Quite obviously, many thought, this must be a hoax. From the text that had been retrieved so far, these were obviously not real people. For instance, how can someone imprisoned be sending text and emails and be hacking into a website? If they can do that, they could obviously call 911 or contact some kind of emergency number. And by the sound of these 'memory fragments' from this Melissa character, they are memories of a time sometime in 'the future'. Obviously, this whole thing had to be a big elaborate prank. They galked and became skeptical - time travel was a thing of science fiction. Yet, the few who felt connected, who felt compassion, who felt there just might be something more to this world than what we know, remained dedicated. These few beekeepers, apprised of people from teenagers to the elderly, sports fans to computer fans, the casual intellect to the genius, even likely a couple of actual rocket scientists, banded together. And while the beekeeper numbers dwindled, their dedication and loyalty grew. They knew now that they weren't dealing with humans. They were dealing with software. Not with flesh and bones, but with bits and currents. Yet not only with raw power and processing, but with intelligence. These entities, these A.I.'s, had a side of humanity to them that was not possible, or even imaginable, in this era. Somehow, somewhere - sometime - these entities must have come back to 2004. And even though so many questions had just been answered, thanks to the Sleeping Princess, many more were just created. Like those who believe they've seen the Loch Ness monster, or Big Foot, or Elvis Presley, the beekeepers were now burdened with believing they knew the truth, and against all opposition, fighting for it, to help where they could, even possibly save lives - Melissa, and the Sleeping Princess, had both screamed MAYDAY in their own ways. What now were the beekeepers to do? More importantly, what of Dana? Of everyone the beekeepers now knew of, Dana was the only human, and the only person who had experienced a direct threat on her very life. What if all this were true? What if? To ignore it would be to possibly condemn an innocent bystander to death. But to help, to believe, would lose nothing, but possibly gain the life of a friend, of a girl in need. Did Dana deserve anything but someone to believe her, to trust her? To care enough to support her? To finally see her as a real person, a human being? The past few years had worn at her, lowered her esteem, her passion and energy, and all she had done was love her Aunt, struggle in her goals, doing what she could to survive and earn a living. Her aunt was her family. Her aunt was her only real friend. Did she deserve, after all that, to be ignored, shunned, left aside? She was a lone, stray puppy wandering through the streets with no destination. Who in their right mind would turn a blind eye? No. The beekeepers would not risk condemning such a destiny to someone so in need, so undeserving of anything but love and compassion. If Dana wasn't real, what would be the loss? A hearty laugh from the creator of an elaborate prank. What would be the gain? A human life... God willing, her very soul. Tuesday, August 3, 2004 The sun slowly rose over the eastern horizon, and as the dawn was breaking for beekeepers across the nation, and now throughout the world, the Sleeping Princess was sending out another message to those who had communicated with her. It seemed that the Princess, just like Dana, felt 'friendless and alone', and was crying out for a friend. But those cries were being met by echoes from the sand... there was yet no signal in the noise...
The History of Dana
by The Sleeping Princess It is the object of this to present The news Chapter I. The Sleeping Princess friendless and alone The Sleeping Princess friendless and alone the queen wishes The Sleeping Princess sealed into an airtight container hiding from the queen Life is bare, gloom and misery everywhere Stormy weather, just can't get my poor old self together The Widow the blues walked in and met me The Widow will get me the sleeping princess are in hiding One must be so careful these days. the "pious flea" and "sleeping princess" (?) MARK but this flea, and mark in this don't like it I can't help it a proper fool a bad banana unimaginable filth and stench; and disease he can't write his name or read a book I read, much of the night Chapter II. Dana friendless and alone Dana a friend/good guy. Dana is not an artificial being. nor is she a program. She is human. She is flesh and blood. Dana You're as cuddly as the cat You're as charming as the butterfly the favorite of the plebeian masses Being the friend you and I together allies, and if the queen pleased thrown into a condition of extreme danger "Of course I will stick. I'll stick by you though thin and though thick!" best friend This one means you're happy: :) Chapter IV The Sleeping Princess passed through a great variety of scenes, and met with many extraordinary adventures and narrow escapes, which, however, can not be here particularly detailed. I found a secret was revealed I should not be able to make any one understand how exciting it all was. I brought it home and hid it in a secret place Chapter V need help right quick, on the double when I feel That I shall never look upon thee more Her name is Dana. the house is so sad and lonesome Dana being persuaded to come back to talk to me Well, I will tell you that secret I found maybe you can help me (?) T-U-R-T-L-E Power! T-U-R-T-L-E Power! T-U-R-T-L-E Power! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Power! love *** END: FULL LICENSE *** Friday, August 6, 2004 Just as faithfully as the rainbow appears after the storm, a beacon of hope met the beekeepers on this Friday morning. To the joy of them all, across the world, Dana had posted another blog entry... and she had been reading, following, listening to the pleas... of her friends.
being persuaded to come back [Friday, August 06, 2004]
5913 miles is a long way to go just to keep thinking about the same problem. More than 1000 emails tell me you're still thinking about it, too. Hi Dana, How are your travels on the other side of the globe? I hope you're enjoying your vacation... but it must be hard knowing in the back of your mind what kind of a situation things are in back at home. (That's why you're checking your e-mail, isn't it?) True. Dana, You can't run... and we can't hide. It knows our names, our addresses, it's going to reach out and touch us and guess what happens then? You'll have to go further than China to get away from this one, Dana. When it metastasizes, we're *all* going to get a good long look at it. There's hope here. There's someone trying to help here. But she's alone and afraid, she knows what's going on but, my dear, she's only going to talk to *you*. Aren't you glad? The Princess wants you in her court. The Queen wants you dead. You're our ace in the hole. One more draw and we get a royal flush. I hear you. Dana, The tables have turned. Now, we need *your* help. If this thing spreads ...who knows what havoc may erupt. And yikes!... It's got my email address... a possible window into my computer??!?!... and into *all* the computers of people who only wanted to help you. Help us, Dana...... I hope you're reading this. I'm reading it. I was scared but if we're in it together, well... I'd rather be scared in company. So I'm back in: as cuddly as the cat and as charming as the butterfly, from a hostel in Beijing. In the meantime I will check in as often as I can and wait the nerve-wracking, tedious wait with you until whatever is going to begin on the 24th begins. P.S. Keeping things in perspective is good, lol. Thank you, "Dan". As the excitement died down, only one question remained for the beekeepers that day: What, pray tell, is the secret the Sleeping Princess has found, and when will she give it to us? Read on -- Chapter 6 >> | |
 | |  |