(San Quentin says books are ‘Unauthorized Donation’ returns Quantum Entity | we are all ONE to author)
Part of the action in Book 1 happens in a place referred to as ‘The Arena’. It is called this by its inmates not by the warden, prison guards or prison staff who instead refer to it as ‘California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s San Quentin State Prison for men’.
As I say in Book 1, “It is the worst, most feared prison in a nation with a prison community so large that if it was a separate country, it would rank among the top 70 biggest countries (by population) out of 242 nation states.”
As part of our outreach program for Quantum Entity Trilogy, we got in touch with a Minister at the prison and he welcomed a book donation to their prison library saying, “It isn’t often we get people willing to donate anything to this place.”
Alex Wolfe boxed up a set of books and snail mailed them to San Quentin. Each book had an inscription in it, each one different, but basically encouraging inmates there to look forward to better days.
Unceremoniously, the books were returned to us in the same box marked, ‘Unauthorized Donation’.
San Quentin has now made these six copies of Quantum Entity | we are all ONE collector items. If you would like one, please contact Alex Wolfe, awolfe @ exploriem.org or via Twitter @alexwolfe12. We will make sure you get a copy of the rejection and a personal inscription from the author too.
Since there appears to be no shot to get these books onto the shelves of San Quentin’s library or even into the State prison unless someone takes an unauthorized copy in, here is a key excerpt from the book about what it is like to be a prisoner in The Arena.
@ProfBruce
@Quantum_Entity
(Excerpt from Chapter 13, Quantum Entity | we are all ONE, Book 1 of the Quantum Entity Trilogy, http://www.brucemfirestone.com/)
Damien has been incarcerated in a place inmates call The Arena for over five months. They’re sweating him for his Quantum Key. There’s no pussyfooting around with these guys.
As he watched his newest bodyguard Vince Bowen die, he counted 14 heavily armed Special Agents plus two members from the hated Bureau of Indian Affairs Police only there to give political cover for his arrest on Hopi land.
He’s been in solitary for the entire time but he can smell other inmates not far away. Damien doesn’t know how many (there are 112 others). He also doesn’t know much about prisons never having been in one before. But he’s figured out that the conditions he finds around him are not ‘normal’ even given his individual circumstances. He is actually on death row in the only California prison mandated to carry out both State and Federal executions.
The execution chamber (all by lethal injection) is less than 150 metres from Damien’s present position. He’s heard it being used seven times since his arrival. Sometimes there are prayers—he’s heard Christian, Muslim and possibly Animist. Sometimes there are curses. But mostly just a slow methodical walk by at least six people, only five of whom will return his way.
The reason they want his Key is obvious—they want to take back control over the Internet and the entire quantum economy. If he could talk to Ellen, he would tell her, ‘See I was right. It’s the economy, stupid.’
His interrogators report to and are appointed by DOC, Department of Commerce. Someone there is pulling the strings. It is their agents who took him.
He’s been arrested and charged with, among other things, contempt of Congress. That is a Federal charge which brings the FBI into the matter. But, apart from a cursory interrogation by two of their agents, they don’t play much of a role in this as far as Damien can tell.
The DOC’s mission statement calls for the Department to ‘protect foreign policy and economic interests of the nation through a law enforcement program’. New acts have been rushed through Congress with surprisingly little opposition and signed into law by the new President whose coattails have brought like-minded legislators into both the Senate and the House in November elections of the previous year.
Acts like ‘Fairness for American Industry’ have given DOC all the authority they need to go after Damien and Q-Computing, practically with impunity. The President speaks eloquently of the need for the US to ‘get back on its feet’, ‘to stand up for what’s right and just’, ‘to match Imperial China and rightfully take our place again as first among nations’. He intends to see that they do and has signed a Presidential Executive Order further authorizing his DOC Cabinet Secretary to take all necessary steps to assert and then retain control over aspects of industry crucial to US economic sovereignty and not currently under US-control. While it doesn’t specifically mention Toronto-based Quantum Computing, there can be no doubt about its intended target.
But they don’t really need any of that. Damien doesn’t show up for his 10 am ET appearance before the Senate Sub-Committee and, despite protestations from Linnert, he is charged with contempt of Congress by the Chair and unanimously found guilty. That citation is passed along to the US Attorney who issues a warrant for his arrest and detention. They can hold him for a year just on this charge and fine him $10,000 New Dollars. Of course it doesn’t seem to matter to anyone that the reason he doesn’t show up is because he was already detained by the US, more than 36 hours before his appointment with a handful of Senators.
In their announcement later that day about locating and arresting Bell as he attempts to flee from US Special Agents in an isolated part of Arizona, they neglect to mention time frames.
This escapes the attention of the tabloid media in their rush to judgment but not Mike Cronkey and OLA Tech Crunch.
Damien is kept in his cell 24/7. The only time he is removed is for questioning by a pair of interrogators appointed by the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce. They are always accompanied by a stenographer and an in-house DOC lawyer. Damien has never seen a human stenographer in action before and he is impressed with the guy’s ability to keep up with the conversation using such a primitive typing machine and also not to react to anything that is said. These interrogations last anywhere from one to 24 hours.
They feed him twice a day—a special diet calculated to keep him alive but in a weakened state. He is losing weight and his mental acuity fades in and out. They also use sleep deprivation, loud noise and other forms of psychological pressure. There has been no overt torture so far but they sometimes strap him to a chair and leave him there for hours. He loses track of time.
Someone appearing to be a doctor comes to check on him every two weeks. He brings with him ancient medical equipment to check on his vital signs.
It’s an all-guy place, he hasn’t seen any women and none of the men appear to have any sense that what they’re doing to Damien is in any way morally wrong. Maybe they’re just true believers in their cause.
He has been threatened that in addition to anti-trust proceedings against Q-Computing by DOJ, there will be other unspecified measures taken against his company unless he cooperates.
Demanding to see his lawyer or a representative from the Canadian Consulate and other tactics like the Habeas Corpus that they used at Langley won’t work here. He’s been detained under Homeland Security Act III which allows them to hold him as a terrorist threat indefinitely. He has NO rights.
But Damien has absolutely no intention of giving his Quantum Key to these bozos, now or ever.
“Mr. Bell, my name is Yao Allitt, General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce.”
Damien sees a short man of indeterminate age and nationality entering the interrogation room. He stands ramrod straight, probably because he has short man syndrome or Napoleonic Complex. Damien notices he wears custom dress shoes with soles that are at least two and a half centimetres thick.
“I have come here to see for myself whether there is a basis for us to resolve matters. But first let me provide you with an update of current actions involving your company.
“The EPA has issued a compliance order for your company to withdraw all Quantum Entities from the states and territories of these United States of America until independent tests confirm that they pose no threat to the environment of this nation, both its security environment and its financial one. The Agency can issue such orders without court approval. Your firm, Mr. Bell, cannot appeal compliance orders unless EPA asks a Federal judge to enforce the order which they do not plan to do.
“As a result, new sales of Q-Phones in the US have unfortunately,” Alitt pauses and smiles falsely, “dropped close to zero as consumers naturally do not want to purchase a product that is subject to total recall.
“In addition, you personally, your entire management team and your company have been charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as RICO. In addition to fines, each person so convicted can be sentenced to 20 years in prison for each racketeering count. You will also forfeit all your ill-gotten gains and your interest in Q-Computing.
“It is also interesting to note that the U.S. Attorney does not have to prove any of this in court before he seeks a pre-trial restraining order and injunction to ‘temporarily’ seize your assets and all those of your colleagues.
“I understand that you have an exceptionally nice condo in Toronto which, by the way, I look forward to seeing in an auction soon.” He smiles again.
“I should also add that Canadian cooperation via both CSIS and the RCMP has been exemplary.
“You guys are still pushing too hard, Mr. Allitt,” says Damien. “There’s no way you’ll force withdrawal of QEs from the service of your nation—the economic hit you’d take from that is way too much so you’re just bullshitting me. What I can’t figure out is why you want the Quantum Key so bad?”
Yao has been told the fellow is smart. He can see this for himself even if the man before him currently looks more like a street person.
“We cannot and will not tolerate actions by these drogues you’ve unleashed on the world. We plan to eliminate them and you, Mr. Bell, are going to help us do that.”
“Mr. Allitt, I can do that for you. Let me speak to one of these so-called drogues. If I am convinced that you are right and they are damaging the economic or security interests of the United States, I promise you, I will work with your people to find a way to end them,” Damien says.
“Ah, we prefer to do that ourselves,” Allitt answers.
The interrogation continues for another five hours with Damien zoning in and out. It goes around in circles. There are times when he cannot follow the conversation or he stops talking because he’s lost the thread or can’t remember where he left off.
“Give him another shot,” Yao tells the doctor who is now in the interrogation room with him. Damien has passed out again from exhaustion.
“Ah, I’m not sure that is wise.”
Allitt comes over, takes a brief look at Damien and then says softly, now very close to the Doctor, “I believe I was clear the first time.”
Moments later, Damien is awake again.
“How are you feeling, Damien?” Yao asks.
“Feel like you’re ready to go on then?”
“So you’re willing to help us with the drogue problem, we are agreed, yes?”
“I think I already told you I can help.”
“We have some excellent scientists you will be working with, Damien. Our facilities are much better than anything you have at your, ah, Canadian university and our funding is, well, unlimited. Would you like a tour? Perhaps you’d like to see a few old friends too. We could bring Ellen here you know.”
“What do I have to do to get a tour and visit with my friends?”
“Why just the simplest thing possible, really. I’ll give you this sheet of paper, you write out the location of the Quantum Key please. There, that’s a good fellow.”
Damien has picked up the pen, looked down at the paper, looked up at Yao once more then again at the paper. He starts to write. His coordination is poor; it’s been awhile. He stops. Yao gently takes the pen and paper from him.
He reads what Damien has scratched out, ‘Until you find something worth dying for, you’re not really living,’ Rebecca St. James.
Allitt brings his face so close to Damien’s that he can see the large pores on the man’s skin which has turned red. Yao whispers in Damien’s left ear, his only good one having suffered serious hearing loss in his right ear during a previous interrogation. “I will break you into a thousand pieces each one of them infinitely painful and, after you give me the Key, I will not only have ruined you and your company, I will find and destroy all the people you are close to.”
Yao then spits in Damien’s face—the ultimate insult in his world, Damien supposes. He is surprised but not angered by this primitive behaviour. A new thought occurs to him as he calmly, carefully wipes spittle onto a cuff of his prison jumpsuit. He is quite sure he is looking into the face of a dead man.
Damien is interred in San Quentin State Prison for men. It is 17.1 miles from the prison to Market and 8th in downtown San Francisco to the south of him where Q-Computing America has its head offices.
This is the prison that the late great Johnny Cash, one of Nell’s favourite oldster artists, once said, ‘I hate every stone of you.’
It is the worst, most feared prison in a nation with a prison community so large that if it was a separate country, it would rank among the top 70 biggest countries (by population) out of 242 nation states.
There are more than 7,300 prisoners jammed into a space originally built for 3,000. Many of them are considered habitual offenders under vague statutes and laws and jailed for life for crimes such as smoking a joint, shoplifting or stealing less than $50 New Dollars. Almost none of the inmates ever had any significant personal resources, financial, educational or otherwise, when they lived in the outside world. In other words, this place is reserved exclusively for the poor.
In these times, US jurisprudence is harsher than 18th century Britain which transported large numbers of convicts to its Australian Penal Colonies under the Bloody Code that cited 222 crimes—almost all crimes against property. Cutting down of a tree, stealing goods worth more than five shillings or stealing a rabbit got you exiled and jailed for life.
Damien is in the maw of a vicious US justice system from which most do not escape.
