full image - Repost: An Otherworldly Scholar [LitRPG, Isekai] - Chapter 289 (
from Reddit.com, An Otherworldly Scholar [LitRPG, Isekai] - Chapter 289)
All roads led to Farcrest, for better or worse.I tried to focus my eyes on the harvest report, but the funny Ebrosian glyphs blurred and merged into each other. On the table, dozens of signet-sealed letters from all around the kingdom needed urgent reading. Farcrest’s relative remoteness gave me a small time buffer, but I couldn't leave the nobles waiting forever.I grabbed the letter opener Firana had given me for my birthday and broke the green seal of the Vedras tree. The neat handwriting led me to believe that Halessia, not Lord Vedras himself, had written the letter. The letter was long, with as many branches as the seal itself, but the deeper meaning was evident. Lord Vedras had lent me a small mountain of gold, and in return he wanted guns. Radio systems, railways, magically powered lathes, enchanted armor, steam engines, or any other appliances wouldn’t do. Vedras wanted guns.One reason to not give Vedras guns was my reluctance to have people shooting each other because of ducal quarrels. The other reason was that Herrans had also lent me another small mountain of gold. I couldn’t have my weapons be used to attack an ally.I opened a letter from Lady Herran. Vigdis had penned this letter herself, and it had a striking resemblance to the contents of Lord Vedras' letter. Vigdis Herran wanted guns. She did not want power drills, magically powered hammers, high-pressure ventilation systems, or smelters. She wanted guns.Of course, both letters assured me the guns were exclusively for defending themselves from the monster coming from the ruins of Cadria. Maybe, years ago, I would’ve agreed to their request, but now I was skeptical enough not to believe mere words. To keep my people safe, lying was the least I would do.In the past two years, at least a dozen rifles had been ‘misplaced’. By now, every self-respecting noble with a capable spy network knew the weapons’ design. They also knew every single rifle was user-locked.I scratched my chin. Vedras, in his letter, cited the Mariposa incident. Early that year, everyone below level ten had lost access to the System for fifteen minutes in an area of five kilometers on the outskirts of Mariposa. The event hadn't happened again anywhere in the kingdom since then. “I’ll send more marksmen.” I scribbled two identical letters.My support wasn’t completely altruistic either. Reducing my army size was a strategic decision. I feared that if I amassed enough force in Whiteleaf Valley, Byrne would target us for the summoning of the second Corrupted Ancient instead.I put the letters down and sealed them with my ring. The delicate design of the flower and the quill was imprinted on the wax. That would buy me at least three more months until the petitions resumed.Milly slammed the door of my office open, and I jumped in my seat.“Lady Firana is waiting on line four, and she says it’s urgent.”Dozens of terrifying scenarios flashed before my eyes as I followed the gnome through Whiteleaf’s city hall. The radio room looked like a file archive, but instead of documents on the shelves, there were dozens of thin metal plates engraved with runes. Of course, the equipment wasn’t a real radio but magically entangled plates. I had a vague idea how everything worked, but the entire facility was the brainchild of Lyra Jorn, Ginz, and a dozen Scholars from Farcrest and the Imperial Library.I snatched the headset from the table, hoping it was nothing serious.“Firana?” I asked.“I killed a dragon!”Milly and the other operators, most of them gnomes from Cadria, gave me curious looks. Usually, people talked to me through the radio when something terrible had happened somewhere. “Can you repeat that? "I think there is interference," I said into the mouthpiece.“I killed a dragon! A big one! Red!” Firana giggled on the other side of the line, her voice scratchy through the device.I raised my eyebrows, trying to picture the girl fighting a dragon in the skies.“Are you sure it wasn’t a wyrm?“No! It had four legs! I counted them!”I took a deep breath. Good news: dragon materials were extremely valuable. Bad news: a dragon had been lurking less than fifty kilometers from Farcrest. Good news: Firana had survived an encounter with a dragon. I shrugged. Two against one was good enough.I covered the mouthpiece with my hand and looked at the gnomes.“Firana killed a dragon,” I announced.The gnomes lost interest in my conversation and continued working.I imagined Firana fighting a dragon. It wasn’t a pleasant image, even after everything we have been through. Still, she sounded as if she wanted to be praised. I wondered if a parent should even praise their child for fighting a dragon—even if she won. Skipping the first fifteen years of parenting wasn’t doing me any favors.I couldn’t help but smile.“That’s my girl! Just… remind me not to argue with you in the future.”On the other side of the line, Firana giggled. Even if I said it as a joke, I wasn’t completely sure if I could defeat Firana without using my authority. The girl gained levels like married men gained weight. “How are things looking over there?” I asked.“Apart from the dragon, everything looks normal. There are more high-level monsters than there were last year. We found the hunting grounds of a pack of Fake Manticores… well, they technically found us,” Firana said, like she was talking about her weekend getaway with the girlies.“What about the secret mission?”Firana lowered her voice.“The mountain range is impossible to traverse. I don’t see how we could cut through the Farlands into Jorn territory.”I sighed. From the start I knew it was a pipedream, but I had to try. Having a direct connection to Stormvale and the Jorn Dukedom would be a tremendous relief to our economic standing. In the game of politics, good will wasn’t completely selfless, and Lord Vedras had helped us a lot. On top of lending me money, Vedras allowed Jorn and Kigrian merchant caravans to move freely through his territory to Farcrest. Without the royal family paying the bill, it was getting harder and harder to deny him a platoon worthy of rifles.But that wasn’t a problem for Firana.“Good job, kid. Will I be seeing you soon?” I asked.“Yes, we're on our way back. A dragon’s head is heavy, though.”“Say you are kidding, please.” I could almost see Firana grinning from ear to ear across the Deep Farlands.“We’ll see. Love you. Bye!”Before I could add anything else, she cut the connection. Static crackled through the headset. I put it back onto the nail on the wall, sat down in silence, and closed my eyes. Last night I’d only had a couple of hours of sleep, and my body had developed resistance to the Red Moss tea.The gnomes continued connecting calls across the marquisate like I wasn’t there. The advantage of being considered ‘one of the tribe’ was that they treated me like a regular human being, whereas the rest of the kingdom would panic to see the Runeweaver running on fumes.“Should I schedule a fifteen-minute power nap, sir?” Milly asked.I shook my head and psyched myself up. It was noon, the System hadn’t crashed down, no dukedom had decided to invade Farcrest, and there was no sign of Corrupted Ancients. Keeping a city protected and well fed wasn’t an easy task, but I was up to the damn challenge.I jumped to my feet and walked to the door.“Don’t work too hard! Leave something for tomorrow!” I said my usual farewell and left the radio room. All the gnomes in the room rolled their eyes. On my way out, I stumbled upon a couple of young Scholars chatting in the corridor while holding stacks of papers. I hoped those wouldn’t end up on my desk. I greeted them, and they bowed so hard their noses almost touched the floor. I wasn’t going to get used to that treatment any time soon. Still, no one took me seriously when I asked them to tone down their deference. Maybe I should have made it a decree.Avoiding the clerks the best I could, I grabbed a short-legged mountain horse from the stables and made my getaway for a peaceful, work-free lunch. The inhabitants of Whiteleaf Valley moved aside as I crossed the square. I greeted a couple of orcs I recognized from the first settlers. At least orcs treated me as an honorary warchief, nothing less, nothing more.Not so long ago, the cobbled riverwalk had been a dirt road. Old orcs, way past their fighting years, sat by the riverbank, looking at the young ones splashing in the water. It felt strange to realize that for some kids, the valley was the only home they knew.The city hall was located in Lower Whiteleaf, just a few meters past the old well where the first orc settlers had arrived five years ago. There were no tents in sight whatsoever. Lower Whiteleaf had grown in every direction, and no matter how hard Lyra and I had been trying to push the urban area into the southern outskirts, more and more houses seemingly spawned out of nowhere by the river.Lyra wasn’t happy that the best farmland was being used as a residential area, but managing people was as hard as sorting grains of sand. Still, we had a hospital and a House of Healing, two daycare centers, two big taverns, a basic school, a tall wooden tower to watch for fires, and an open-roof theater. Most of the civilian life happened in Lower Whiteleaf.Across the river, in High Whiteleaf, were all the water-powered industries and the railroad. There was not enough steel in Cadria to make a proper railway, so most of it was made of carved roots of the Forest Warden and enchanted regular logs. The railroad reached Farcrest to the south and the stone quarry in the northwest and forked towards the farmland past the town. We have plans to expand it into Vedras and Tagabirian territory in due time.I crossed the old bridge and climbed the slope. There was not a lot happening on High Whiteleaf apart from the sawmills, lathe workshops, and the manors up the slope, somewhat retired from the town. Lowell’s Manor served as my primary residence, while Whiteleaf Manor functioned as both an orphanage and a school for children aged twelve and older.After the destruction of Cadria and the subsequent scourge of the Corrupted Spawns, the kingdom was filled with wandering orphans, and many of them drifted into Farcrest and Whiteleaf.I reached Whiteleaf Manor. The twelve white oaks had grown tall and strong. The path was covered in dry white leaves. It looked like clean snow.Elincia was in the front yard playing with the little ones. I waved from afar. Even five-year-olds seemed to intuit I was an important person, and their play typically stopped as soon as I approached. They must’ve noticed the social cues from the non-gnome domestic workers. Kids were quick to pick up those details.Elincia left the kids behind with the orc nanny, a woman who was clearly a Teal Moon warrior given the tattoos covering her arm. I read the tattoos. She had defeated a Stone Golem territory and survived the fight with a Wendigo.I stopped the horse and jumped down.Elincia gave me a worried look.“Two envoys from Tagabiria arrived an hour ago. "Were we expecting their arrival?" she asked.“No. I'm not aware of anything like that. The elven king doesn’t want anything to do with me,” I replied, worried.Even with their king’s reluctance, Tagabirian elves loved sticking their noses in Whiteleaf.“Where are they?” I asked.“They sat in for Ginz’s class and should be waiting in your office now.”I closed my eyes, trying to remember the class schedule hanging in the manor’s kitchen. Ginz was giving a class in industrial machinery for future artisans to kids who wanted to get crafting classes. Why would the elves be interested in machinery now, of all times? It wasn’t like I had been hoarding them for myself.“Go.”Elincia grabbed the reins from my hand and took the horse to the stables while I entered Whiteleaf Manor. The place had been overrun by orphans. Everyone suddenly remembered the no-running-inside rule as soon as I entered. [Foresight] pinged my brain.I looked up. Nokti was sitting on the ledge of the rose window, her legs hanging four meters above the floor while she looked outside.“Hey! We have talked about this! You can’t be up there! It’s dangerous!”“I’m fineee! I won’t fall,” the girl said, rolling her eyes.I didn’t even know how she had gotten up there. The gap between the second-floor corridor and the window was considerable. The twins had no Classes yet, and they were a year away from their fifteenth birthday, so it wasn’t magic. Could snakefolk stick to the wall like geckos?“If you don’t come down this very moment, I will revoke your potato privileges!”“Do it! I don’t care!” the girl said.“I’ll feed you only barley and spinach, I swear!”Nokti frowned and looked through the window.I heard heavy boots behind me. Izabeka put her heavy wooden prosthetic hand on my shoulder.“I’ll deal with the insurgent. You go see the elves.”Nokti gave me a panicked look. She knew perfectly well that messing around with Izabeka Kiln would result in certain agony. I shrugged, like saying, ‘you caused this’. “Do we have a problem, Nokti?” Izabeka asked, and the other orphans laughed at the snakefolk kid’s troubles.I patted Izabeka’s shoulder as a silent thanks and continued my way into the orphanage. “Damned fourteen-year-olds, man, I swear,” I muttered with a smile.Part of me enjoyed the snake twins' shenanigans.Whiteleaf was rather lavish compared to Lowell’s manor. The walls had been recently painted, and clumps of soft multicolor lightstones hung from the ceiling every few meters. Holst and Lyra both had advised me to have a suitable place to receive ambassadors and envoys, even if it was an orphanage. I trusted my advisors, but I did it mostly for the kids to have a nice place to stay.The elves were in the waiting room of my study. There were two of them, dressed in the same beige and green traveling garb. One was old, with graying brown hair. The other was young, barely an adult, and his gold was undistinguishable from strands of gold. Messengers, not nobles. Probably System users. In the corner of the room was Willow dressed as a servant, holding an empty silver tray. The tea set was on the small table, still steaming. Good. They hadn’t been prowling around alone.“I wasn’t expecting you, gentlemen,” I greeted them.“Our king ordered us to relay you a message,” the older elf replied, directly to the point.I opened the door to my study and let the emissaries enter. For the past two years, I had been trying to form an alliance with Tagabiria. The Elven King disregarded my warnings about the second Corrupted Ancient every time I brought up the matter and refused my marksmen as an extra layer of defense. I had told him about the imminent failure of the System, that we needed an alternative path. I had tempted him with enchanted items and machines, but nothing had broken the ice or even earned me any goodwill.The path between Ebros and Tagabiria remained largely unused.At this point, I was considering stealing the secret behind the Holone Grapes and letting them fend off Byrne on their own terms.The older elf put a map on the desk, displaying the area north of Farcrest and south of Tagabiria. There was a fine red line parting the map from west to east, a couple of kilometers north of Whiteleaf. The path through the Farlands to Tagabiria was on the opposite side of the line.I raised an eyebrow.“By order of the King, you are to cease all exploration of the Farlands and make no attempt to cross this line. Any attempt to cross the frontier will have consequences.”____________First | Prev | Next (Patreon)____________Discord | Royal Road | Patreon
full image - Repost: I built a tool that cross-references every public Epstein document, flight log, email, and deposition. It found 25,700 person-to-person overlaps the media never reported. (
from Reddit.com, I built a tool that cross-references every public Epstein document, flight log, email, and deposition. It found 25,700 person-to-person overlaps the media never reported.)
Some of you saw my post a couple of weeks ago about https://ift.tt/SrPgwJA. It hit nearly 5 million views and brought in thousands of users who immediately started finding things I missed. Since then, I've been building nonstop. I was blown away by the level of support!The Database by the Numbers1.1m documents in the search index (was 1.5m but currently data scrubbing -soon to be 2M+)1,589 persons cross-referenced.1,708 flights mapped with aircraft, origin, destination, and passenger lists.Nearly 10,000 emails cataloged.25,700 person co-occurrence pairs showing who appears in the same documents together.638,000 redaction scores tracking how heavily each page was blacked out.107,000 extracted entities.39,000 pages of recovered text from under government black bars.Every document comes from official public sources: DOJ disclosures, FBI vault releases, House Oversight documents, FAA flight records, federal court filings. Nothing scraped from conspiracy sites. Nothing fabricated. The government released these files; I made them searchable.AI Research Assistant: Ask a question in plain English like "what financial transactions involved Deutsche Bank" and it searches the actual documents, finds relevant evidence, and gives you an answer with citations. Investigation mode does deeper multi-step analysis where it follows leads across multiple documents before reporting back. It uses the same AI that powers Claude but pointed at 308,000 document chunks instead of the open internet.Person Co-occurrence Analysis: Every person page shows who they appear in documents with most often, ranked by shared document count. Maxwell and Epstein share 857 documents. Wexner and Epstein share 312. You can explore these overlap patterns to find connections that haven't been reported on. Some of the mid-tier overlaps are more interesting than the obvious ones.Mention Context: When you look at a person's page you can see the exact sentence where they're mentioned in each document. Not just "this person is linked to this document" but the actual text surrounding the mention. 31,700 context snippets across the database. This is how you find the stuff buried on page 47 of a 500-page deposition.Deep Search Across Document Content: The search doesn't just match titles. It searches inside the actual text of every document. Full-text search with semantic matching so you can search for concepts, not just keywords. Type "shell companies in the Virgin Islands" and it finds relevant passages even if those exact words don't appear.PDF Viewer with Text Search: Open any document and Ctrl+F search within the PDF itself. Highlights matches and jumps between pages. When you're going through depositions this saves hours.Contradiction Tracker: This one is my favorite. It compares public statements from people named in the files against what the documents actually show. Prince Andrew said he never met Virginia Giuffre; flight logs, photographs, and witness testimony say otherwise. Les Wexner said he severed ties with Epstein in 2007; financial records show transactions continuing years later. Every contradiction is sourced and documented so you can verify it yourself.Flight Log Explorer: Full interactive table of every logged flight with filters by passenger, aircraft, date range, origin, and destination. Cross-referenced to persons in the database. You can trace travel patterns.Email Browser: Gmail-style three-panel view for browsing nearly 10,000 emails with search, filters, and person linking. Some of the most damning evidence is buried in casual email exchanges that nobody reads because they're hard to find.Blog with Analysis: Started publishing deep dives breaking down specific threads. The plea deal and what it actually protected. The academia pipeline and how university connections were used. The European network. Maxwell's clemency play. Each one sourced directly from the database.Changelog: Site Updates - Epstein Exposed | Epstein ExposedComing soonEmail threading so you can follow full conversation chains. More OCR coverage because 109,000 documents still need text extraction from scanned PDFs. Automated DOJ release monitoring so new document drops get indexed within hours. And I'm seriously looking at building a browser extension where any name on any webpage lights up if they appear in the Epstein documents.A database like this doesn't exist anywhere else. The documents are scattered across dozens of government websites in formats designed to be hard to search. FOIA releases buried in zip files. Court filings spread across multiple jurisdictions. The whole point of this project is putting it all in one place so anyone can search it.Everything is at EpsteinExposed.com. Free. No ads. No paywall. Never.Community Forums: https://board.EpsteinExposed.comOne person built this. But thousands of you have made it better by finding errors, submitting names, and flagging connections I missed. That's how it should work. Public records, open-source code, community accountability. Over a hundred new people were added in just a few days to the DB!If you want to help keep it running, the support page has full cost transparency showing where every dollar goes. If you can't donate, sharing the site or reporting bad data helps just as much.TL;DR: EpsteinExposed.com now has 1.1m searchable documents, 1,589 cross-referenced persons, an AI research assistant, co-occurrence analysis showing 25,700 person overlaps, a contradiction tracker, email browser, flight explorer, and more. New persons added this week from community submissions including names tied to Mandelson, Deutsche Bank, and the Rothschild network. Everything free and open source. EpsteinExposed.com
full image - Repost: Inoculation (
from Reddit.com, Inoculation)
2116, Epping Forest, United KingdomI woke up suddenly. My face had felt a wet impact, and I realised water was dripping through a crack in the metal sheets that passed for our roof. By now it was light, and I knew I couldn't rest any longer. Alex had clearly been up already; their cot was stowed and their bag was gone from its usual place by the door. The pan of porridge over the extinguished stove was, I found, lukewarm. The kid must have snuck out at first light, trusting in the storm to keep the visitors hunkered down in their compounds. I fervently wished that today, the rain wouldn’t be carrying the poison down with it. The thought took my mind back to the drip that had awoken me, and I quickly took a strip of duct tape to seal up the crack. Thankfully, a quick survey failed to reveal any other leaks. I made a special check of Alex’s new pet electronics project which sat hunched on the workbench, but all seemed undisturbed. I sighed and sat down in front of the radio. When Alex had built it a few months ago, there had still been fighting going on across Asia, and the longwave set had picked up broadcasts from UN Command in Darjeeling. Now there was silence, and I didn’t think that was just because people had cottoned onto the visitors’ use of direction finding. Still, I flipped the switch, and for a few calm minutes I sat and listened as the wheeling static harmonised with the rain outside, before I cut the power. No point draining the batteries, not when there were so many more things still to fix.When Alex returned, hours later, they were soaking wet and almost manic, clutching a cricket ball-shaped lump of machinery that had the unmistakable sheen of visitor tech. They grinned at me as they came in, holding up their prize like a winning catch. “Hey Kate, I’ve got it!” they yelled.“The hell is that?” I asked.“Chronomemetic amplifier,” they said, as if that meant anything. They put the ball down on their workbench and started casting around for tools. I decided to step in.“Where did you even get it? And why do you have it?”“Took it from that downed saucer near the railway viaduct.” they said, sheepishly.“Alex, that’s ten miles away! What’s worth going all that way for?”They stopped for a second, and looked at me almost plaintively. “Kate, this thing is how they beat us.” “What?” I asked, not understanding. “They beat us by coming out of bloody nowhere.”They nodded. “Yes! I’ve been studying the initial invasion - and beforehand.” they said. “Will you humour me for a minute?”“Sure” I asked, not really feeling like I could decline.“Have you ever seen a film or read a book about visitors attacking us? One made before the invasion, I mean?”“No, of course not - who even thought about visitors back then? I remember one pretty odd webcomic, but in that one they were all really friendly.”“Isn’t that odd? Given humans, I mean. We love telling stories about fighting back against overwhelming enemies. Our rival country, evil dragons, et cetera. And we did imagine visitors could be somewhere out there in the universe, but nobody ever imagined them coming here and attacking us. It’s a blind spot in our memetic ecosystem.” They gestured to their console and a schematic projected itself onto the wall in blue light. I’d seen them tinkering with it before but hadn’t thought it more significant than any of their many other projects. It was a fractal network pattern of some sort, an immensely complex web that seemed to lazily cycle through a loop of growing and shrinking. “This is… well, this the simplified human meme-complex,” they said. I must have looked baffled. “It’s a model of all the ideas people have and how they interconnect”.“You made this?” I asked.“Oh no,” they said. “I downloaded this before the invasion. It was for a module I was taking at uni.” I had the sudden image of Alex as a student, taking notes in a lecture theatre, and shoved it out of my brain just as quickly. No value in thinking of before. From the way Alex winced, I guessed they were doing the same. They turned back to the wall, hunting for something.“There!” they gestured at the schematic, “It’s a gap!”“Alex, what are you on about?” The point did seem slightly emptier than others, but I had no idea what any of it meant.“This is where the concept of visitor invasions used to be! The chronomemetic amplifier is an idea eraser. When activated, it enters the noosphere and destroys whatever it’s targeted towards, not just now, but back through time too. It releases a targeted ideovirus, overwriting anything that could have mentally prepared us to face the visitors. For months I’ve been staring at this black hole in the memeplex, and I know they had to have caused it!”I stared at them, utterly confused. “The visitors deleted our ideas?”“Yes! And the hole is massive. Before they came, humanity had the idea of visitor invasions. It was a big part of the culture! We had films about it, and books, and conspiracy theories and… and everything! And when they got here, the first thing they did was to use these devices to wipe out all of it, back to the first time anyone ever thought about visitors conquering Earth. That’s why it took so long for anyone to start fighting back once they arrived. We had to recreate the entire memetic concept.”“I… that doesn’t sound possible.” I said. “How could anyone do that?”“The idea’s been theoretically proven for decades, back to the 2010s. But no-one had any idea how to actually do it. Well, no-one human.” They grinned again as they pulled out wires from the device on their workbench, connecting leads to the metal ball with a strange confidence. “Okay, the visitors used that thing as their secret weapon. What are you doing with it?” I asked, exasperated.“Look, in order to work, this thing’s effect has to propagate back through time, right? Otherwise we’d still have all the cultural artifacts about visitors to bootstrap the concepts from.” I nodded as if I understood.“I’ve re-written the ideovirus to insert new concepts instead of deleting them. I can use their device to send our own signal back, as far into the past as possible, to give us time to prepare.”“And how far is that?” I asked. They deflated slightly.“I don’t really know, actually. As far as I can get before the amplifier burns out, I guess.” They shrugged. “Two hundred years or so, maybe? I only have the one device so its effects will be localised, not global like the visitors’ first strike. But that’s what I can do.”“So what, you give everyone around London in 1900 a sudden message that visitors are going to attack Earth in the far future?”“Better than that!” they exclaimed. “I’m going to give them an inoculation. Take a look for yourself,” they beckoned, holding up their headset. Warily, I reached over, placed the headset on my head and saw--Tripods marching through the burning skyline of London, their infrared lasers setting a borough ablaze in an instant. Saucers hovering above the White House, a sickly blue light pulsing from their underbellies as a metropolis is wiped out in an instant. The flesh of a man’s stomach flowing like water as the parasite within prepared to emerge in search of a new host. A woman’s sanity slipping as the crude memory block degrades and flashes of lying captive on a dissection table come in and out and-I yanked off the headset and retched, my head spinning. It was a parade of every horror of the Invasion I’d tried to forget, laid out like a buffet.“What the fuck was that for?” I yelled. They looked at me almost shocked.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to dredge it all up. But they need to see it, all of it. If this works, when the visitors come, humanity will have spent two centuries thinking of ways to defeat them.” My mind whirled, and I searched for something real to latch onto.“If it works, will we feel it?” I asked Alex.“I don’t think so. We didn’t feel it when they arrived, did we? I… I don’t know what will happen.” they admitted. I looked at them, still just a kid, yet still trying to save the world.“How long until it’s ready?” I said into the silence.“It’s ready now. This was the only piece I was missing.”I smiled. “Let’s do it, then.”Alex pressed a button on their console and the device they’d set the sphere in started to come to life. LEDs flickered and fans began to whir. It was surprisingly impressive for something soldered together out of spit and spare parts.“You’re a proper mad scientist you are, aren’t you?” I chucked, even as I pulled them into an embrace. Even as we held each other tightly, I thought of the panic in the first weeks after the visitors came, of how I’d struggled to come to terms with what was happening even as I drove away from the ruined city that I used to call home. Of how I hated myself every time I looked at Alex and saw instead my Jason, surely dead like so many others.There was a flash of white light.1895, Woking, United KingdomYawning, Herbert George Wells dragged himself out of bed and descended the stairs to the kitchen, where his wife Catherine already had a pot of tea boiling on the stove for him. “Did you sleep well, dear?” she asked.“You know,” he exclaimed, “as a matter of fact I did. I believe I may have just had the idea for my next novel!”“Oh, that’s wonderful!” she replied. “Whatever about?”“Well,” he said, “imagine a race of beings like us, only far more advanced, who originate from the planet Mars…”
full image - Repost: Cicada 3301: The Internet Mystery That Watches You (
from Reddit.com, Cicada 3301: The Internet Mystery That Watches You)
It was January 2012 when an image suddenly appeared on 4chan with a strange message: “Hello. We are looking for highly intelligent individuals. To find them, we have devised a test. Good luck. 3301.” No one knew who had posted it or why, and no one expected that it would evolve into one of the most complex and chilling mysteries on the Internet. At first, many thought it was just a game or a troll, but soon participants realized that each puzzle led to something deeper, more intricate, and more terrifying.The first puzzles required knowledge of cryptography, mathematics, and literature. They used everything from classic ciphers to complex patterns that hid secret messages within images and sounds. When some managed to solve the initial stages, they received emails with instructions for the next step, indicating that behind all of this was someone with complete knowledge of the participants and their actions.The mystery became even more unsettling when it was revealed that the puzzles were not confined to the digital world. GPS coordinates led people to real-world locations in various countries, from the United States to Europe and Asia, where printed cards with QR codes continued the puzzle. Participants traveled, exchanged information, and formed groups, all while feeling the pressure to keep going, as if watched by an invisible eye.The puzzles grew increasingly difficult, requiring knowledge from multiple fields: music, literature, philosophy, digital security, and complex mathematical algorithms. No one had ever solved all the stages, and no one knew who or what was behind Cicada 3301. Some participants who went deep reported receiving messages implying that their lives were being monitored or that there was a dark plan for selecting them.Cicada 3301 reappeared in 2013 and 2014 with similar puzzles, but even more complex. Those who tried to solve all the stages became entangled in a network of secret forums and private communications that no one outside the circle could see. No one ever confirmed that they had won anything, and after 2014 the activity suddenly stopped. No one knows who or what created it — it could have been a secret government agency, a hacker group, a private company, or something even darker and more inscrutable.The most terrifying part is not just the puzzles or the journeys, but the sense that Cicada 3301 was alive, watching, choosing, and influencing the lives of its participants. It is not merely a horror story or a viral Internet phenomenon. It is a real mystery that haunts those who tried to solve it, and no one has ever learned its ending.
full image - Repost: The Daily Market Flux - Your Complete Market Rundown (02/13/2026) (
from Reddit.com, The Daily Market Flux - Your Complete Market Rundown (02/13/2026))
Our platform aggregates and organizes all relevant market news, helping you stay informed, up-to-date, and knowledgeable without spending hours sifting through headlines.Reinvented to keep you in control, it's where your edge begins with better information. Go from market noise to clarity in seconds with a real-time platform built to redefine how traders and investors digest financial news.Visit www.marketflux.ioHere is Your Complete Market Rundown (02/13/2026)Top StoryUS January Inflation Comes in Below Expectations as CPI Rises 2.4% Year-Over-YearUS consumer prices rose 0.2% monthly in January, below the 0.3% forecast, while annual inflation reached 2.4%, under the expected 2.5%. Core CPI met expectations at 0.3% monthly and 2.5% annually. Gold prices gained on the softer-than-expected inflation data.Company NewsUBS Group Ag (UBS)Performance Overview1D Change: -0.57%5D Change: -4.32%News Volume: 127Unusual Volume Factor: 1xUBS Issues Wave of Rating Changes Across Sectors as Analysts Adjust Price Targets and OutlookUBS conducted extensive coverage adjustments on February 13, issuing rating changes and price target revisions across multiple sectors. The firm upgraded Rivian Automotive from Sell to Neutral, citing balanced risk-reward dynamics and projecting 14 percent upside with a price target of $16. The electric vehicle maker received concurrent upgrades from several other firms including Deutsche Bank’s move to Buy. In the utilities sector, UBS downgraded both Edison International and Evergy from Buy to Neutral on valuation concerns and balanced outlook, while upgrading Xcel Energy from Neutral to Buy with 13 percent upside potential.The firm maintained its constructive stance on logistics REITs while expressing caution on office and retail properties ahead of UK REIT earnings. Technology coverage saw mixed adjustments. UBS raised its Roku price target to $110 from $103, projecting 33 percent upside while maintaining a Neutral rating. Pinterest faced a significant price target reduction to $26 from $40 due to weak revenue outlook. The firm raised price targets on several tech names including Arista Networks to $177 and Applied Materials to $430, both maintaining Buy ratings.In consumer and industrial sectors, UBS lowered Domino’s Pizza price target to $500 from $540 while maintaining Buy, and reduced Fortune Brands target to $70 from $79. The firm raised targets on US Foods to $117 and Generac to $270, both with Buy ratings. UBS Wealth Management separately set a year-end 2026 S&P 500 target of 7,700, expressing confidence in AI-driven market momentum despite near-term volatility. The firm noted retail investors are returning to Big Tech, with $197 million flowing into the Magnificent Seven stocks on Wednesday alone. In legal news, UBS was ordered to pay $5.5 million to a former client who is a prominent real estate broker.The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS)Performance Overview1D Change: 0.09%5D Change: -2.52%News Volume: 129Unusual Volume Factor: 2xGoldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Resigns Over Epstein Ties as Bank Navigates Market Volatility and Crypto InvestmentsGoldman Sachs’ top lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler resigned following revelations in Justice Department documents showing she accepted gifts from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a $9,350 handbag, and referred to him as “older brother” and “Uncle Jeffrey” in emails. CEO David Solomon told CNBC he “reluctantly accepted” her resignation, noting the controversy made it difficult for her to execute her responsibilities effectively. The resignation came as Goldman Sachs shares plunged over 5% Thursday alongside other major banks including JPMorgan and Citigroup during a broader market rout driven by AI-related concerns.Despite the turbulence, Solomon characterized the economic landscape for 2026 as “quite good” with a “constructive environment,” though he expressed concern about continued deficit levels. Goldman disclosed significant cryptocurrency positions, revealing a $920 million Bitcoin bet despite the recent market crash and a $152 million position in XRP, representing 14% of the XRP ETF.The bank also participated in institutional crypto activity alongside Jane Street in driving XRP ETF inflows. On monetary policy, Goldman economists forecast two Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, with the first expected in June. The bank projected January core CPI at 0.33% versus consensus of 0.3%. Some Goldman analysts see potential for four rate cuts depending on labor market conditions. Goldman issued multiple analyst calls, upgrading Upstart from Sell to Neutral and raising price targets on Arista Networks, Applied Materials, and Stanley Black & Decker while downgrading BB Seguridade to Neutral.The firm expects “very large IPOs, unprecedented in size” this year and anticipates NVIDIA will deliver a beat-and-raise quarter. The bank also selected ad platform Moloco alongside JPMorgan to lead an upcoming IPO and created a new custom basket targeting software stocks perceived as insulated from AI disruption.Barclays Plc (BCS)Performance Overview1D Change: -0.94%5D Change: -4.22%News Volume: 137Unusual Volume Factor: 2xBarclays Issues Sweeping Price Target Adjustments Amid AI Selloff Warning and Active Portfolio RepositioningBarclays analysts warned that the AI-driven market selloff may remain unstoppable in the near term, with investors in a “sell first, think later” mode. Analyst Emmanuel Cau noted that while markets remain broadly resilient, fears of AI disruption are driving sharp sector rotations and could continue pressuring valuations. The bank executed extensive portfolio adjustments across multiple sectors. In technology, Barclays raised Applied Materials’ price target to $450 from $360, projecting 37% upside, while upgrading Zscaler to Overweight despite lowering its price target.The firm also raised targets on Arista Networks and Tower Semiconductor. However, AI concerns prompted significant cuts to software names, with Tyler Technologies slashed to $410 from $715 and Procore reduced to $65 from $90. In retail, Barclays downgraded H&M to Underweight from Overweight on weak sales growth concerns, while downgrading Fortune Brands on 2026 outlook worries.The bank raised price targets on consumer names including Crocs and Kraft Heinz. Healthcare saw mixed moves, with Barclays reinstating Medtronic coverage at Overweight with a $116 target, citing strong heart device growth prospects. The firm also highlighted Vertex Pharma’s renal pipeline as a major growth driver while raising Tenet Healthcare’s target to $257. In cryptocurrency exposure, Coinbase’s price target was cut nearly in half to $148 from $258, though Barclays still sees 5% upside.Travel and hospitality names including Expedia, Copa Holdings, and Hyatt received raised targets. RBC Capital separately raised its Barclays bank stock price target to 550 pence from 525 pence, maintaining an Outperform rating as the bank pledges enhanced shareholder returns.Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)Performance Overview1D Change: 8.08%5D Change: 10.08%Applied Materials Surges 13% on Strong Earnings and Bullish AI-Driven ForecastApplied Materials shares jumped over 13% on February 13, 2026, reaching an all-time high of $368.25 after the chipmaking equipment manufacturer reported better-than-expected Q1 2026 earnings and issued an upbeat revenue forecast. The rally was driven by robust demand for AI infrastructure and chipmaking tools, with CEO Gary Dickerson predicting growth momentum will continue through 2027, when he expects global semiconductor industry revenues to reach $1 trillion.The strong results prompted a wave of analyst upgrades and price target increases across Wall Street. Summit Insights upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy, while Craig-Hallum raised its rating to Buy from Hold. KGI Securities upgraded to Outperform from Neutral, citing 29% upside potential. Multiple firms raised price targets to $450, including Barclays, TD Cowen, KeyBanc, Deutsche Bank, and Stifel. Cantor Fitzgerald set the highest target at $470, while other firms including Wells Fargo, Needham, RBC Capital, UBS, Mizuho, and Bernstein also increased their targets.The company’s performance stood out as a bright spot amid broader market concerns about AI valuations, with analysts characterizing Applied Materials as a shelter from AI fears. The earnings beat was attributed to surging AI demand driving chipmaking tool orders and memory shortages supporting equipment sales. Applied Materials was among the day’s most active movers in premarket and regular trading, appearing alongside other notable stocks including Arista Networks, which also posted strong results.The stock’s performance came as markets digested a CPI inflation report showing inflation falling to 2.4%, a four-year low, though broader indices remained under pressure with the Nasdaq heading for its fifth consecutive weekly decline.Airbnb, Inc. (ABNB)Performance Overview1D Change: 4.65%5D Change: -0.66%Airbnb Surges on Strong Q4 Results and Optimistic 2026 Outlook as Analysts Upgrade StockAirbnb shares jumped 6.4% in premarket trading February 13 after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded analyst estimates and issued upbeat guidance for 2026. The vacation rental platform cited resilient global travel demand and growing adoption of its flexible payment and booking options as key drivers of accelerating bookings growth.The strong results prompted a wave of analyst upgrades. Deutsche Bank elevated Airbnb from Hold to Buy, projecting 33% upside, while Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to Outperform with a 25% upside target. TD Cowen raised its price target to $160, maintaining a Buy rating. BMO Capital and Wells Fargo also increased their targets, though Wells Fargo maintained a Hold rating. Not all analysts were uniformly bullish—Morgan Stanley and Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price targets, citing valuation concerns. CEO Brian Chesky expressed confidence that artificial intelligence represents “the best thing to happen to Airbnb,” suggesting the company views AI as an opportunity rather than a competitive threat.Analysts noted Airbnb’s product improvements and strategic expansions as supporting continued momentum. Bloomberg Intelligence highlighted that healthy demand should fuel faster growth throughout 2026, helping Airbnb outperform in what analysts described as a challenging year for online travel stocks overall.Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN)Performance Overview1D Change: 16.46%5D Change: -0.46%Coinbase Stock Surges 15% Despite Q4 Miss as Analysts Slash Targets but Maintain Bullish OutlookCoinbase Global shares jumped over 15% following fourth-quarter results that missed revenue and profit estimates amid softer crypto trading volumes. The company announced a $2 billion stock buyback program and signaled expansion of its Everything Exchange platform, highlighting diversified revenue growth from subscription services. CEO Brian Armstrong executed a $550 million stock sale through a pre-arranged trading plan.Wall Street analysts broadly reduced price targets, with cuts ranging from Barclays’ $148 to H.C. Wainwright’s maintained $350, though most firms retained buy ratings. BTIG, Canaccord Genuity, and Deutsche Bank project upside potential between 57% and 113%. Analysts cited improving regulatory outlook, revenue diversification beyond transaction fees, and strategic buybacks as reasons for optimism despite near-term margin pressures in the softer crypto market environment.Macro EventsTrump Administration Moves to Scale Back Steel and Aluminum TariffsThe Trump administration is reassessing its metals tariff regime, planning to ease some steel and aluminum duties imposed last summer at rates up to 50%. Officials are working to narrow the scope of these tariffs, particularly for downstream products and goods that companies find difficult to calculate, amid concerns over affordability and implementation challenges. Separately, the Treasury Department released interim rules enforcing provisions in Trump's tax law that restrict clean energy tax credits for companies with excessive China-linked subsidies.Continue readingTrump Announces Venezuela Oil Sanctions Waiver, Plans Future VisitUS waives Venezuela oil sanctions as President Trump emphasizes America's unique refining capacity for Venezuelan crude. Trump announced plans to visit Venezuela but provided no timeline for the trip.Continue readingTrump Administration Sees Key Departures as Trade Policy Shifts and Courts Block Health CutsThe Trump administration experienced significant personnel changes as Justice Department antitrust chief Gail Slater resigned after less than a year, marking the highest-profile casualty in internal disputes over competition enforcement. Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathy Ruemmler also stepped down following revelations of her ties to Jeffrey Epstein. On trade, the administration finalized a reciprocal agreement with Taiwan establishing a 15% US tariff rate while Taiwan committed to eliminating or reducing tariffs on American goods. Separately, Trump plans to scale back steel and aluminum tariffs, according to the Financial Times. A federal judge in Chicago temporarily blocked $600 million in public health grant cuts to four Democratic-led states. Meanwhile, European leaders are reconsidering nuclear weapons strategy following US policy shifts.Continue readingSupreme Court Sets February Opinion Days as Tariff Ruling AwaitedThe US Supreme Court has scheduled opinion days for February 20, 24, and 25, with markets watching for a potential ruling on a pending tariff case that could impact trade policy.Continue readingU.S. Inflation Falls to 2.4%, Four-Year Low Triggers Mixed Market ResponseJanuary's Consumer Price Index dropped to 2.4%, marking a four-year low and exceeding market expectations for cooling inflation. The Dow Jones slipped despite the favorable data, while major indices showed mixed movements. Bitcoin rose as crypto traders increased bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts. DraftKings shares plunged following earnings results, while Applied Materials jumped, highlighting divergent sector performance amid the inflation news.Continue readingU.S. Inflation Drops to Four-Year Low as Markets Weigh Fed Rate Cut ProspectsU.S. CPI inflation fell to 2.4%, a four-year low, with core CPI rising 0.3% in January as expected. The data triggered mixed market reactions, with Nasdaq futures falling amid AI-related concerns while Bitcoin gained on renewed rate cut speculation. Treasury yields dropped, with two-year notes hitting 3.40%, the lowest since October. Traders now price a 50% probability of a third Fed rate cut this year. The Dow slipped following the inflation report, while DraftKings shares plunged on disappointing earnings.Continue readingRussia Cuts Key Rate to 15.5% as Economic Concerns Override Inflation FightRussia's central bank reduced its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 15.5%, signaling additional cuts ahead as economic growth concerns take priority over inflation management.Continue readingGeopolitics EventsMerz Declares End of Post-War Order, Proposes European Nuclear ShieldGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced at the Munich Security Conference that the post-World War II international order has fundamentally changed, citing U.S. policy shifts under Donald Trump toward unilateralism. Merz revealed he has held discussions with French President Macron on nuclear deterrence and called for a European nuclear shield. While stating that U.S. claims to global leadership are disputed or squandered, Merz rejected calls to abandon the transatlantic partnership entirely. He emphasized that even the United States cannot act alone and appealed for repairing transatlantic trust while advocating for the alliance to evolve in response to current challenges.Continue readingPentagon Adds Major Chinese Tech Firms to Military List Then Withdraws DocumentThe Pentagon designated Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, COSCO, and Huawei as Chinese military companies operating in the US under Section 1260H. The designation sent Alibaba shares sharply lower. However, the Defense Department subsequently withdrew the list from the Federal Register. The US also proposed banning government agencies from using certain Chinese semiconductors. Companies on such lists can request removal through an appeals process.Continue readingTrump Escalates Iran Pressure, Signals Regime Change Preference as Second Carrier Deployment LoomsPresident Trump intensified rhetoric toward Iran, stating regime change "could be the best thing that could happen" while announcing plans to deploy a second aircraft carrier to the region shortly. Trump told troops that "fear" serves as a powerful motivator in difficult negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program. The escalation comes as five Democratic senators questioned the administration's decision to lift sanctions on individuals previously accused of spreading surveillance technology used against Americans. Separately, the Department of Homeland Security faces an impending shutdown amid Trump's standoff with Democrats.Continue readingBangladesh Nationalist Party Secures Landslide Victory in Parliamentary ElectionThe Bangladesh Nationalist Party won a decisive parliamentary majority, with political heir Tarique Rahman positioned to become Prime Minister. The victory marks a stunning reversal for the nation's progressive party, whose September gamble to coopt rivals backfired. The landslide is expected to restore political stability in Bangladesh.Continue readingTrump Administration Unveils $38.3 Billion Immigration Detention OverhaulThe Trump administration announced a $38.3 billion plan to expand and remake the US immigration detention system, aiming to streamline operations and accelerate deportations. Meanwhile, a federal judge ordered the administration to facilitate a deported college student's return.Continue readingStock Markets EventsMarket Divergence Widens as Median S&P 500 Stock Falls 11% From PeakBroad market weakness intensified with the median S&P 500 stock now down 11% from its 52-week high, signaling significant divergence beneath headline indices. Nearly 200 stocks hit annual lows, including major names like DraftKings, Booking Holdings, and Hercules Capital. Wendy's reached its lowest point amid weak guidance, while Sanofi neared lows following leadership changes. Bright spots remained limited, with Merck and PCG touching 52-week highs.Continue readingNasdaq Heads for Fifth Consecutive Weekly Decline as Tech Selloff ContinuesThe Nasdaq fell 1.9% this week, tracking toward its fifth straight weekly loss, the longest streak since May 2022's seven-week decline. Technology stocks led the selloff, dragging the index lower while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones remained relatively flat. The market wobbled despite February CPI data showing inflation cooled more than economists expected, with the Nasdaq opening down 0.2% while the S&P 500 held steady.Continue readingCrypto EventsCoinbase Shares Rally Despite Missing Q4 Estimates as Investors See BottomCoinbase stock surged following weak fourth-quarter results that missed revenue and profit estimates amid a softer crypto market. The rally came as investors concluded negative factors were already priced in, with analysts maintaining buy ratings. Meanwhile, the CoinDesk 20 index rose 2.0% to 1920.47, led by UNI and BCH gains exceeding 5%.Continue readingBitcoin Faces Pressure as ETF Outflows Mount and Key $60K Support Level LoomsBitcoin slipped to $67,000, heading for its fourth consecutive weekly loss amid heavy selling pressure. ETFs recorded $523 million in combined outflows as bearish sentiment intensified. The critical $60,000 level has emerged as a potential liquidation trigger, with Deribit data showing concentrated put options below this threshold near the 200-week moving average. Despite U.S. inflation falling to a four-year low of 2.4% in January—which briefly lifted Bitcoin and renewed Fed rate cut speculation—the cryptocurrency faces headwinds from declining network activity and whale selling. Standard Chartered warned of possible downside toward $50,000, while market sentiment indicators flash extreme fear near current levels.Continue readingTrump Media Files SEC Applications for Two Cryptocurrency ETFsTrump Media's Truth Social Funds has filed with the SEC to launch two cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. The first ETF will track Bitcoin and Ethereum with Ether staking capabilities. The second, called the Cronos Yield Maximizer ETF, will focus on Cronos tokens with staking rewards. The filings mark a significant expansion into digital asset investment products.Continue readingCorporate Actions EventsSpaceX Considers Dual-Class Share Structure for Planned IPO to Preserve Musk ControlSpaceX is weighing a dual-class share structure for its upcoming IPO that would grant Elon Musk super-voting power, allowing him to maintain control despite holding a minority stake. The approach mirrors governance models used by major technology companies and a strategy Musk previously proposed for Tesla.Continue readingOil And Gas EventsWTI Crude Tests $61 Support as Oversupply Concerns Drive Weekly LossesWTI crude oil faces weekly declines amid oversupply fears and failed breakout attempts, testing key $61 support levels. Natural gas weakens below $3.20, while pump prices edge toward $3 per gallon. Market focus shifts to Iran and OPEC+ supply outlooks, with Venezuela's natural gas reserves emerging as potential development target.Continue readingOPEC+ Signals Likely Return to Oil Output Increases Starting AprilOPEC+ members are leaning toward resuming oil production increases from April after pausing output hikes throughout the first quarter, according to sources. Eight key member nations see scope to restart supply increases, though no final decision has been made. Talks will continue ahead of the group's March 1 meeting, where delegates will finalize output plans for April and beyond.Continue readingOne Gas and Canadian Utilities Hit 52-Week Highs Amid Mixed Energy Sector SignalsOne Gas Inc reached a 52-week high of $85.35, while AltaGas, Enbridge, and Hydro One also hit yearly peaks. Oil prices headed for weekly losses on Iran and OPEC+ uncertainty. U.S. rig count remained flat at 551, with oil drilling declining to 409 rigs while gas activity rose to 133.Continue readingVenezuela's PDVSA Restricts Oil Sales to Licensed Companies OnlyVenezuela's state oil company PDVSA now sells crude exclusively to individually licensed firms, sources report, as oil sales exceed $1 billion with funds no longer directed to Qatar account.Continue readingTechnology EventsFTC Intensifies Microsoft Investigation, Probing Cloud and AI Business PracticesThe Federal Trade Commission has escalated its examination of Microsoft, interviewing competitors about the company's cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations, according to Bloomberg reports.Continue readingEnvironment EventsECB Fines Credit Agricole €7.6 Million for Climate Risk Management FailuresThe European Central Bank penalized France's second-largest bank Credit Agricole €7.6 million for inadequately managing climate-related and environmental risks, marking regulatory enforcement on financial institutions' climate oversight obligations.Continue readingEarnings EventsEuropean Stocks Mixed as AI Concerns and Earnings Weigh on MarketsEuropean equities opened lower and traded mixed following Wall Street's AI-driven sell-off, with investors digesting corporate earnings reports while awaiting key economic growth data.Continue readingModerna Exceeds Q4 Revenue Expectations Despite FDA SetbackModerna surpassed fourth-quarter revenue estimates driven by stronger-than-expected COVID vaccine sales, though shares declined following an FDA regulatory setback announced alongside the earnings report.Continue reading© 2026 Market Flux. 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