13. A Game of Pool

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 18:23:22 GMT

Previously — In episode 12, Vandyck reveals her misgivings about Area J operator procedures — specifically, the over reliance on aperture screen technology. She mockingly compares this to Santiago’s no-frills demonstration from earlier, when he took control of a recorded session to directly address a room full of operators from his stone dungeon in Puerto Rico. Privately, she admires the old man, and wonders if she might be able to duplicate his results — essentially creating a bridge between her world and his.

Back at the Grass Cutting Area, there’s a catastrophic descent into chaos shortly after machine gun fire erupts. Communications have been cut off. JTF Alpha is inside the wire. In the confusion, the men of building two rush to the armory to gear up for a fire fight. Meanwhile, Captain Sepulveda takes a two-man detail to collect Santiago from his detainment cell, but when they hear the explosions and gunfire above, they realize building two is lost. The captain leads the group to cell number 3, locks the door, and orders his men to leave through the secret evacuation hatch built into the floor. When they’re safely gone, he draws and uncocks his sidearm, prepared to join his men upstairs. Santiago prevents him from leaving, tell him he’ll die if he walks out that door. They argue a while, but when Dawkins shows up, wiping his bloodied hands along the walls of the hallway outside and loudly boasting of his kills, Sepulveda realizes everyone he cares about is dead. Moments later, just as Dawkins kicks the door in, the air of the room folds over on itself. And Sepulveda and Santiago vanish in a pinwheel of blue sparks.

12. The Control Plane

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:39:05 GMT

Previously — In episode 11, we meet the three-man chalk of JTF Alpha—a motley collection of military oddballs hand-picked by John Spillers. There’s Delaloza, who spends most of his time napping, not saying a word. And Chaulette, a full bird colonel recently transferred from an all black airborne unit known as the Triple Nickels. And Dawkins—a disgraced Navy UDT diver who is, in the words of Ramler “a pile-up of unintended consequences”. Dawkins is in charge of the chalk and their mission objectives are clear: jump into the Grass Cutting Area, cut off the compound’s communications with Ramey, locate and take possession of the detainee Jesus Santiago, and kill anyone who gets in the way. Accompanying the chalk is a tight-lipped jumpmaster who wears a blank piece of fabric where his name tape ought to be. This small violation of uniform SOP immediately arouses the attention of the pilot—captain Will Hardesty, a man who by modern standards, would be classified as on the spectrum—but in 1950 is just another military oddball. Hardesty spends the duration of the flight spitballing possible names for the jumpmaster while observing the men of the chalk with a mixture of suspicion, astonishment, and detached coolness. Though he knows he’s flying them to a spot above Ramey Air Force base in Puerto Rico, he has no idea why.

11. JTF Alpha

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 02:04:12 GMT

Previously—In episode 10, Sepulveda walks with Spillers in the Grass Cutting Area compound, only to wake up below the canopy of the enormous ceiba tree. Unable to speak or move his legs, things quickly take a turn for the bizarre when Garcia shows up. This is the Spaniard Santiago’s father killed over 400 years earlier while protecting his family. During the melee, Spillers disappears from view and tells Captain Sepulveda he must get up and fight or die at the hands of the Spaniard. There’s a struggle during which Sepulveda is convinced he will die. In what he believes are his last moments, he finds a macana and uses it to get the better of Garcia. When he rises to his feet, the there is only Santiago. The old man, who appears to be able to change his appearance at will, explains that he has brought Sepulveda here despite his physical body remaining in building one—that the two are now entangled in what he describes as shared intent. He ends by warning him that something ominous is coming. Back at building one, we learn from Spillers and Ramler that JTF Alpha is inbound to Puerto Rico, and will be jumping in in less than 45 minutes.

10. The World Behind the World

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 02:25:08 GMT

Previously—In episode 9, Captain Sepulveda and FBI station chief John Spillers go for a short walk. Their conversation is cordial—mostly smalltalk about the new Sikorski helicopters recently shipped to Ramey Air Force base. But deeper into their walk, Spillers suggests moving over to a tall tree in the distance. When this happens, Sepulveda catches a glimpse of something he can’t explain—Spillers’ face seems to wobble and move, capturing and bending the light in a way that acts as a kind of blurring filter. At Area J, we find out that Jesus Santiago has somehow become aware of the activities of Dr. Vandyck and her colleagues—that he can sense the presence of their aperture sessions. When the other operators at Area J learn about this, Vandyck’s FOJIP presentation breaks down into chaos.

9. Rough Drafts of Men

Sat, 04 Mar 2023 19:25:03 GMT

Previously—In episode 8, FBI station chief John Spillers arrives at building one of the Grass Cutting Area, and quickly makes it clear to Captain Sepulveda that he and Ramler are there only to interrogate Jesus Santiago. Sepulveda, who’s meeting Spillers for the first time, instantly feels there’s something off about him—he just can’t quite put it into words. After some awkward introductions, Spillers and Ramler leave the captain’s office to confer privately. When they’re gone, Sepulveda calls his old acquaintance Pedro Alvarez, who runs la Princesa prison in San Juan—hoping to learn something that might explain Spillers’ motives in all this. Pedro tells him about the FBI’s aggressive questioning of hospital employees on the day of the break-in, the vast network of informants throughout Puerto Rico, and the arrest of the Ortiz brothers. When Sepulveda learns of Anton Ramler’s involvement in the case, he’s unsure if this is reason enough to distrust everything Ramler told him earlier—about the secret tissue samples and the medical experiments done to his men during the summer. Another thing he can’t quite figure out—what does Spillers really want and what part does Jesus Santiago play in all of this? Just as he’s wrapping things up with Pedro on the telephone, Spillers enters the room, and suggests they go for a walk.

8. Spillers

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 21:27:22 GMT

In Episode 8—Spillers arrives at building one of the Grass Cutting Area, a secret interrogation facility nestled in the middle of Ramey Air Force Base. Spillers, who earlier killed Ramler, then reanimated him, seems unsure about whether or not he can count on the man’s loyalty. Sepulveda, having just found out from Ramler the unbelievable story of an indestructible uterus being kept in a jar… doesn’t trust anyone, and begins to wonder how Jesus Santiago fits into all of this.

Previously—In episode 7, PORTREX, Captain Sepulveda revealed to Ramler that earlier in the year, several of his men died under mysterious circumstances during a work detail at New York Presbyterian hospital, and that he himself is dying of cancer. Ramler, who had briefly considered killing the captain while being held at gunpoint, instead decided to share bits and pieces of classified information regarding medical experiments that were being done at the hospital under the direction of the war department. He explained that in 1941, after a young Puerto Rican woman underwent an involuntary hysterectomy, her excised uterus was discovered to possess remarkable properties—namely, that the cells didn’t seem to age or die. Through a series of New York contacts, this information wound up catching the attention of the Los Alamos medical research group, at which point, the tissue samples were subjected to more thorough analysis. As Ramler was about to explain how all of this relates to captain Sepulveda’s men, in walked John Spillers.

7. PORTREX

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 22:09:47 GMT

In Episode 7—Captain Sepulveda explains what happened recently to his men at New York Presbyterian hospital. Ramler, who’s being held at gunpoint, has to decide—is it time for an on-the-spot-correction… or something else? He shares some backstory about what’s in the crate, and how its contents overlap with classified Los Alamos research being done in Puerto Rico.

Previously—In episode 6, the Ceramicist, we learn from Dr. Vandyck that Mr. Spillers, in addition to having extremely long life, can revivify people—can literally bring them back from the dead—which he does to Anton Ramler, after crushing his skull. We see this happen in the area J aperture. A few months later, the freshly resurrected Ramler pays a visit to captain Sepulveda at building one. Things start off well, but take a turn for the worse when the captain suspects that Ramler’s stories are flat out lies, and that he’s concealing something about New York Presbyterian hospital. So he calls bullshit—then pulls a gun, and demands to know everything about the mysterious detainee Ramler’s so curious to see—Jesus Santiago.

6. The Ceramicist

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 19:24:57 GMT

In episode 6—We find out about one of Spillers additional capabilities, alluded to by Dr. Vandyck in the previous episode. We also watch as Captain Sepulveda greets a visitor to building one—an FBI interrogator sent by station chief John Spillers. On the face of things, the purpose of this man’s visit is to demonstrate interrogation techniques, but Sepulveda doesn’t quite trust him. For good reason.

Previously—In episode 5, The Hawk’s Bells, we learned that in 1518, John Spillers went to a small Taino village in Aymamio to collect gold (what is now Aguadilla, Puerto Rico). When he discovered there was none to be had, he killed every man, woman, and child. Brutally. All except the young boy Hayuya, who we learn, is actually the young version of Santiago (the old jibaro who was held in the calabozo of la Princesa). Observing the events of 1518 through an aperture portal at Area J, Dr. Vandyck explains that the event stream is not simply a mathematical construct, but a highly complex system—what she calls a consciousness producing biome that behaves exactly like an organism. Further, that some humans have the ability to alter their energetic luminescence in ways that are not fully understood. One example of this is Spillers, who she describes as an aberration threatening to destabilize the event stream. Another example is Santiago, who she mentions is a shape shifter. Her theory is that these two men are on a collision course, and that the event stream has deployed Santiago as a sort of countermeasure to Spillers, in an attempt to set itself back into equilibrium.

5. The Hawk's Bells

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 19:41:19 GMT

Previously—In episode 4, The Calabozos of la Princesa, we learned about Jesus Santiago, a jibaro who is dropped off at the old colonial prison. Right away, he meets the warden, who suspects the old man of having some connection to the wooden crate recovered by the FBI, now in the hands of John Spillers. Santiago, it turns out has history with Spillers, going all the way back to 1518.

In episode 5—We find out more about Spillers and Santiago’s shared history, while also learning about why the operators of Area J are so interested in these events. 

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/5-the-hawks-bells

4. The Calabozos of la Princesa

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:25:46 GMT

Previously, in episode 3, we peeked into the top secret interrogation facility at Ramey Air Force Base, and learned about two of its occupants: a 460 year old ceiba tree and Captain Cristian Monserrate Sepulveda.

In episode 4, we're introduced to Jesus Santiago, an old jibaro who's dropped off at the Spanish colonial prison named la Princesa. Right away, he meets the warden, who suspects the old man of having some connection to the wooden crate recovered by the FBI, now in the hands of John Spillers. Santiago, it turns out, has history with Spillers.

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/4-the-calabozos-of-la-princesa

3. The Memories of Trees and Men

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 16:04:00 GMT

Previously, in episode 2, Dr. Esteberger of Area J explains point clouds, FOJIP polyhedrons, and type 2 simulations, then draws our attention to the fact that John Spillers was one of the 39 men left behind at La Navidad in 1492 by Christopher Columbus—that Spillers stopped aging in 1518 as a side effect of the deformation of his human luminescence. He also suggests that Spillers has become unclamped from the human layer of the Event Stream.

In episode 3, we peek into the top secret interrogation facility at Ramey Air Force Base, and learn about two of its occupants: a 460 year old ceiba tree and Captain Cristian Monserrate Sepulveda.

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/3-the-memories-of-trees-and-men

2. FOJIP

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 04:00:00 GMT

Previously, in episode 1, we got a glimpse of 1950 Puerto Rico, as seen from the eyes of special agent Anton Ramler of the FBI. We learned that his boss, station chief John Spillers is not at all what he appears to be. In fact, after killing Ramler's partner with his bare hands, Spillers makes the shocking admission that he's been alive for hundreds of years. Then he grabs Ramler by the head and squeezes, until his brains shoot out of his ears.

In episode 2, we meet the operators of Area J—mysterious observers whose business is to exhaustively explore, analyze, and document the human layer of something they call "the event stream". Dr. Jamal Esteberger of Area J walks us through a presentation of point clouds and FOJIP polyhedrons, describing the workings of human brains, using the language of symbolic logic, machine learning, and neuroscience. He then draws our draws our attention to the fact that FBI station chief John Spillers was one of the 39 men left behind at La Navidad in 1492 by Christopher Columbus.

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/2-fojip

1. The Crate

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 04:00:00 GMT

In this first episode, we jump into the world of 1950 Puerto Rico. There's been a recent break-in at a lab inside of New York Presbyterian hospital in San Juan. As soon as the FBI station chief, John Spillers finds out, he takes an unusual interest in the case. He sends special agent Anton Ramler to recover the stolen items—stashed in a wooden crate.

The world that Ramler and Spillers find themselves in is one of heightened paranoia: the cold war has just started. 75,000 communist troops, armed by the Soviet Union, have just crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. The FBI has a massive presence on the island of Puerto Rico. Luis Muñoz Marín is governor. No one knows it, but he’s in the back pocket of J. Edgar Hoover because of secret files proving he’s a drug addict from his bohemian days in New York City opium dens. Hoover uses this leverage to ensure that Marin plays nicely in the ongoing suppression of the Puerto Rican independence movement, led by the nationalist party. If you’ve never heard of this movement, it’s because the FBI did its job. Starting the in the 30s, they enlisted the aid of tens of thousands of informants—regular citizens—to spy on their neighbors—anyone suspected of harboring sympathies with the independence movement. Even high school students. 

Episode 1 starts a couple weeks before major island-wide armed uprisings, that culminate with assassination attempts on Governor Marin and President Harry Truman. 

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/1-the-crate

0. The Masters Teaser Trailer

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 18:08:12 GMT

2 minute video trailer that attempts to explain what my writing project is about. 

https://www.ben-willenbring.com/willenblog/the-masters-sample-chapter-and-video

README.md

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 23:01:04 GMT

In this episode, I describe what The Masters is about and why I'm writing it. Also, why people see Jesus in pancakes, how autobiographical reasoning and historical memory are related (in my opinion), I throw in a story about a Roman emperor killed by his own brother, a childhood anecdote about the KKK, a comb and an afro pick, and recap why the Haitian revolution was such an important event.

https://roughmasters.substack.com/p/a-monster-story-with-a-point-of-view