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brexiiton · 9 months

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A judge called an FBI operative a 'villain.' Ruling comes too late for 2 convicted in terror sting

BY MICHAEL HILL

Updated 3:59 PM GMT +10, August 8, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - In a scathing ruling last month, a judge said the FBI had used a "villain" of an informant to manipulate a group of Muslim men into going along with a fictitious plot to destroy military planes and synagogues in New York City's suburbs. She ordered three released from prison, saying "the real lead conspirator was the United States."

Now, a man convicted in another sting carried out by the same FBI operative says he hopes the ruling will prompt U.S. prosecutors to review the fairness of similar counterterrorism operations carried out in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

"Hopefully this will be the first step for the Justice Department to review all those cases of conspiracy and entrapment," said Yassin Aref, a former imam who spent 14 years in federal custody in a case involving a business loan made to an Albany pizza shop owner and a made-up story about a Stinger missile.

Aref and the shop owner were arrested in 2004 in one of several FBI stings carried out by a paid civilian operative named Shahed Hussain, whose work has been criticized for years by civil liberties groups.

Hussain entered the U.S with his wife and two sons in the 1990s afer he was accused of murder - falsely, he once testified - in his native Pakistan. He settled in the Albany area and was working as a translator when he got caught helping someone get their driver's license illegally. In exchange for leniency, he started working for the FBI.

American law enforcement at the time was on a massive hunt for terrorist "sleeper cells" planning attacks on U.S. soil. Hussain worked with the FBI to approach people suspected of being sympathetic to Islamic militant groups and see if they could be talked into an illegal act.

One target was a group of four men from Newburgh, New York, who were arrested in 2009, convicted of plotting deadly antisemitic attacks and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Courts has upheld their convictions, finding they knowingly became eager participants in a plot to plant explosives at a Bronx synagogue. But when three of the four applied for compassionate release, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon granted the request, saying the FBI had sent a master manipulator "to troll among the poorest and weakest of men for 'terrorists' who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime."

In a ruling July 28, McMahon called them "hapless, easily manipulated and penurious petty criminals" who had no connection to any terrorist group and had "never remotely contemplated" violent extremist before they met Hussain.

The ruling resonated with defendants and attorneys in a case Hussain helped build in 2004 against two men involved with an Albany mosque, Aref and former pizza shop owner Mohammed Hossain.

Posing as a successful businessman, Hussain befriended Hossain, eventually offering to lend him $50,000 for his struggling business. But he also told the pizza parlor owner the money would come from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile, imported from China, to a group that wanted to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City.

Hossain later said he thought the talk about an attack was a joke and that the missile he was shown was a plumbing supply. For religious reasons, he asked his imam, Aref, to witness the business transaction, much like a notary.

Aref and Hossain, now free after serving long prison terms for money laundering concealing material support for an attack with a weapon of mass destruction and giving material support to a terrorist organization, say they were innocent.

"I was a businessman taking care of my children," Hossain told the Associated Press.

Defense lawyers said they were manipulated to take part in a deal they didn't understand.

"The government wanted to make me something big, to make me look like danger," said Aref, speaking to the AP from his native Iraq, where he now lives. When the FBI was not able to find real terrorists, he said, "then they created one."

The FBI declined to comment. Emails seeking comment were sent to the Department of Justice and the regional U.S. attorney's office.

At the time of the arrests, then-deputy attorney general James Comey said "we are working very, very hard to infiltrate the enemy." After their convictions, then-U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby said the pair were "prone to support terrorism."

But the Albany case became a prime example used by critics who believed the government overreacted in its response to 9/11. In their view, Hussain was not informing on potential terrorists, but pushing people toward illegal behavior.

Judge McMahon described Hussain as "most unsavory," saying he encouraged his naive targets with rhetoric and a large cash reward.

McMahon's government-led conspiracy criticism is "exactly the argument we were making," said Terence Kindlon, the attorney who represented Aref. Kindlon called a "contrived case" tried amid rage over 9/11.

Hussain is believed to have returned to Pakistan, but he maintained a limo company in upstate New York that was operated by a son. In 2018, one of the company's vehicles wrecked while carrying a group on a birthday outing, killing 20. Hussain's son was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to at least five years in prison after prosecutors presented evidence that the company had evaded safety regulations.

The FBI said in a prepared statement that it did not take any action that allowed the limousine company to operate, "nor did we take any action to interfere with the prosecution of the case."

Contact information for Hussain in Pakistan could not be found.

Aref, 53, was deported after his prison sentence but says he bears no ill will. His appeals attorney, Kathy Manley, said legal appeals are exhausted.

Hossain, 68, was released in 2020 and lives in Albany. He no longer has the pizza place, but maintains a handful of rental properties. He said the experience has left him with lingering fears.

"If I look back and I'm thinking about what has happened," he said, "it just makes me numb."

#terrorwave #terror wave #terror #a #judge #called an FBI operative a 'villain.'#Associated Press #Michael Hill #Albany #N.Y.#Yassin Aref #counterterrorism #shahed hussain #newburgh #new york #colleen mcmahon

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beardedmrbean · 3 months

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A man convicted in 2010 of plotting to blow up New York City synagogues and a Jewish community center, and shoot down military planes, was ordered to be released from prison by a judge who said the defendant was part of a group manipulated by the FBI.

Four men, who became known as the "Newburgh Four," were caught up in a scheme in 2009 to attack the synagogues and community center, and launch stinger missiles at military aircraft, driven by what the judge describes as overzealous FBI agents and an "unsavory" confidential informant.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon had already ordered the three other men in the group - Onta Williams, David Williams and Laguerra Payen - to be released last July.

The fourth man, James Cromitie, described as the ringleader by the government, was ordered released by the judge on Friday.

The judge called the case "notorious" and described the men as "hapless" petty criminals who were "easily manipulated" by the government in a sting operation.

Cromitie's lawyer was quoted in the New York Times as saying the judge's order was "at least some kind of vindication for what we believe was a tragic miscarriage of justice."

The four men were convicted of terrorism charges in 2010 and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Friday's order by the judge asked for Cromitie's sentence to be cut to time served plus 90 days. It did not reverse the conviction.

Judge McMahon said that Cromitie was a small-time "grifter" who was broke and unemployed when he was enlisted in the FBI-driven plot and provided fake bombs to plant in exchange for $250,000 in the "jihadist mission." Cromitie enlisted the other three men to serve as lookouts, according to the judge. "The three men were recruited so that Cromitie could conspire with someone," the judge said. "The real lead conspirator was the United States. .... The FBI invented the conspiracy; identified the targets; manufactured the ordnance."

Cromitie was recruited by longtime FBI informant Shahed Hussain, whom the judge called a "villain." The judge wrote that Hussain's role was to infiltrate mosques and spot people who could be potential extremists.

Hussain offered "heavenly and earthly rewards, including as much as $250,000" to Cromitie "if he would plan and participate in, and find others to participate in, a jihadist 'mission,'" according to the judge.

#nunyas news

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ebookporn · 1 year

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Why Would Someone Steal Unpublished Manuscripts?

Filippo Bernardini has been accused by the government of stealing over 1,000 book manuscripts. In court filings, he said he was motivated not by money but by a love of reading.

by Elizabeth A. Harris

For more than five years, someone was stealing unpublished book manuscripts from editors, agents, authors and literary scouts. The question of who was behind the scheme baffled the publishing industry, but just as perplexing was another question: Why?

Most unpublished manuscripts would be almost impossible to monetize, so it wasn’t clear why somebody would bother to take them. Filippo Bernardini, who has pleaded guilty in a fraud case in which the government said he stole more than 1,000 manuscripts, offered an explanation on Friday in a letter addressed to a federal judge.

Bernardini said he stole the books because he wanted to read them.

Bernardini told Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that his scheme began after a literary agency where he had interned declined to hire him for an open position. He was applying for jobs without success when he started impersonating publishing professionals over email.

“While employed, I saw manuscripts being shared between editors, agents and literary scouts, or even with individuals outside the industry,” he wrote. “So, I wondered: Why can I not also get to read these manuscripts?”

#booklovers #bibliomaniac #bibliomania #librarians #booksellers #antiquarian books #archives

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felixandbctimetoshine24 · 2 months

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If a company(brand) hiring the celebs to endorse their product ,the celebs are not allowed to promote or be seen using the competitor poducts.

The so called celebs have signed a contract and are being paid to promote on that company(brand).

If a celeb decide to be seen with competitor brand product,it as seen as unethhical and unprofession by the celeb.

Even if the company is worth millions ,the company will not lose money because their endorsers are seen with competitor but its because the company brand has been built a on reputation and if a celeb is unprofessional it hurts the brands image.

The celeb will lose contracts and sometimes can pay a hefty fine if that was included in contract for being unetical twarde the brands.

If a celeb lose brand deals, it can jeopardize the celeb by showing how unloyal and unprofessional they are to a brands and won't be hired in future for endorsement.

Its stains their career.

Also when a celeb is hired by Brands they have to be on their best behaviour too.

If the so called celeb starts trending for eg controversial, inappropriate,or offensive stuff,they will be dropped by their Brands.

Celeb can and will lose brand endorsements for unprofessional behaviors.A list celebs are not spared.

Its how the real world works,

Its same with products,sports,fashion,cars etc.

gGo do your own research, google it too.cepebs lose major barnd deal.there are countless celebs losing brand deals.

Hollywood celeb do something dumb,even if it accepted by hollywod it does not go well with general public and gets called out,

So imagine a hollywood celleb trend for being unprofessional to their brands or hurting brands reputation than they lose all deals.

"Charlize runs out of time

Charlize Theron found herself in an even sticker situation when she substituted her endorsed product for a competitor’s. Designer Raymond Weil paid the model and actress for rights to her wrists for two years, so she could wear only his watches. Theron did not play by the rules though, and went to a press conference wearing a Dior watch. Gasp. That didn’t go down too well with Weil, who went onto seek £12 million in compensation"

"LOS ANGELES - Actress Charlize Theron has been ordered to appear in court for breaching her contract with Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil, which is seeking $20m (£12m) in damages from the Oscar winner for wearing a Christian Dior watch.

The legal action stems from a 14-month contract Theron signed with Raymond Weil in 2005, which stated that she must only wear Raymond Weil timepieces during public events, especially when the paparazzi is present.

In 2006 during a film festival in Austin, Texas, Theron was snapped at a press conference wearing a Christian Dior watch, with photos appearing in newspapers across the country the next day.

Theron fought the initial claims, stating simple oversight rather than a deliberate breach of her contract.

However, last week a New York judge ruled that Theron was guilty of repeatedly ignoring the terms of her contract with Raymond Weil, citing several other instances of breach, including a separate advertising contract with Christian Dior and a Montblanc billboard in Geneva.

Judge Colleen McMahon told the courts: "By wearing a Christian Dior watch at the film festival, Theron breached her covenant not to 'wear publicly any watches other than Raymond Weil.

"Theron recognises as much, calling her decision to wear the watch 'regrettable'. It was more than 'regrettable' it was a clear breach of the agreement."

Both sides have been ordered to reappear before the courts in November for a pre-trial settlement. Should both parties fail to reach an agreement, the case will go before a jury next year."

"Charlize Theron has settled the $20 million breach of contract lawsuit against her, according to papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court Monday"

But now if you mention how kpop idols do dumb stuff and end up being unprofessional to their brands,the idol fans go crazy.

They say Idol is giving Idgaf attitude or is seen as rebellious.

Than if thats the case, why they so controlled by their own agency and company and can't speak their mind or give opnions and controlled like robots. Every celebs image is controlled but more so in South Korea.

Its because mostly in south korea ,where majority are misogynistic, racist and all types of phobia , topic for another day.

And so if celebs were allowed to speak and give opinions there would be no one there who would have international brand deals,is the reason why all celebs there are controlled to a point by their agency that is not seen natural to international public.its because they know their behaviour will not go well worldwide ,only in their society and bubble its allowed.

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gamesfromfolktales · 6 months

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The Phantom Town

This week, The Phantom Town, recordedinto the public domain by Colleen McMahon through LibriVox, thanks to Colleen and herproduction team. This is a piece of Irish folklore that was originally written into a newspaper in the late 19th century. Clearly useful in other Ars Magica or Magonomia. *** Sir, the following story is founded on the legend well-known on the carry shore of the Shannon. I…

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antonio-velardo · 9 months

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Antonio Velardo shares: Judge Orders Release of Three of ‘Newburgh Four,’ Criticizing F.B.I. by Jesse McKinley

By Jesse McKinley Judge Colleen McMahon of U.S. District Court suggested that the federal agency had “invented” a conspiracy. Published: July 27, 2023 at 07:37PM from NYT New York https://ift.tt/IxZgC3f via IFTTT

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#antonio velardo #IFTTT #NYT

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johnsbookshelf · 2 years

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📚 🅱🅻🅾🅶 🆃🅾🆄🆁 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 📚 𝗠𝗬 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 by Colleen MacMahon ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Today I'm sharing my thoughts on My Name Is Ten, as part of the blog tour hosted by Random Things Tours. As always, thank you for my spot on the tour, and for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 I do like a good dystopian story and this is as dark as they get. The author paints a bleak picture of the future, and makes it feel so plausible, so real, that it kept me up late last night contemplating life, the universe, and everything... I do that sometimes. Like many readers, I try to put myself into the story in reading. I’m not sure how well I would do in Akara’s world. I felt a whole range of real emotions as I read the book. The descriptions, the landscape, the harsh environment, were described so clearly that it was easy to visualise the ruined earth. Overall, I think this is one of the best post-apocalyptic books I have read, certainly in the last couple of years, and it is certainly a book I am happy to recommend to any readers of post-apocalyptic/dystopian science fiction. I gave My Name Is Ten, by Colleen McMahon, five stars, and can’t wait to read more from her. #ad #gifted #mynameisten #colleenmacmahon #blogtour #randomthingstours #mystery #cult #booklover #bookstagrammers #johnsbookshelf #bookstabloggers #bookreader #blogtour #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookshelf #bookaddict #igreads #bookblog #readabook #johnsbookshelfblogs #bookaholic #fortheloveofbooks #goodreadschallenge2022 #bookpost #blogpost #johnsbookshelfreviews #honestreviewsonly (at Southampton, England, U.K.) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgx1bJdIirg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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generallemarc · 2 years

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If you don’t wanna follow the law, you shouldn’t be surprised when it comes after you. The Sacklers ain’t going bankrupt, but they wanna be protected from lawsuits. I’d be leery of anyone who wants an immunity from having to go to court, but here it’s quite clear why. This is nobody’s fault but their own-because of their attempt to save themselves Purdue Pharma will be back in the fire. All they had to do was follow the law.

#colleen mcmahon #opioid

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rainingmusic · 6 years

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youtube

Swans "The Seer Returns"

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ebookporn · 2 years

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Alleged book thief Filippo Bernardini may avoid trial in the US

The Simon & Schuster employee is accused of masterminding a phishing scam to obtain manuscripts from top authors

by Sarah Shaffi

The man charged by the FBI with stealing hundreds of book manuscripts may not face trial, under an agreement between prosecutors and his lawyers.

Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who worked at UK publisher Simon & Schuster, was arrested in the US in January, with the FBI alleging he had “impersonated, defrauded, and attempted to defraud, hundreds of individuals” to obtain unpublished and draft works. The indictment said Bernardini had registered more than 160 fake internet domains to impersonate others since 2016.

Bernardini, who was charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, was due in court in early July. In June, however, the judge in his case, US district court judge Colleen McMahon, agreed to postpone the appearance so prosecutors could consider a deferred prosecution request, according to Publishers Marketplace.

#book publishing #book thief #bibliomania #book lovers #bookseller #librarians

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numberonedefendorparadise · 3 years

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Legal Library

Major Lindsey Drops Suit After Federal Court Nixes Computer Fraud & Abuse Act Claim and Hints at RICO DismissalSeptember 15, 2010 A few days ago, this blog reported on two recent noncompete cases in which former employers have asserted RICO claims against departing employees. Previously, we have also commented on Computer Fraud & Abuse Act claims in similar contexts. It is the rare case, however, that involves claims under both statutes by employers against a departing employee. A few days ago, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon dismissed a CFAA claim in just such a case, and she hinted that a dismissal of the RICO claim could soon follow. Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the action reserving its right to pursue its claims in arbitration or state court.The suit began in May, 2010, when legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa filed a complaint against a former Managing Director. Until recently, it was difficult to piece together the allegations because the complaint was sealed by the court, but the recent decision granting Mahn’s motion to dismiss the CFAA claim sheds some light on MLA’s claims.According to the court, MLA alleged that Mahn disclosed confidential information, which she obtained from MLA’s computers, to a few of its competitors. This was purportedly done in violation of the confidentiality provisions in Mahn’s employment agreement, but MLA filed in federal court basing jurisdiction in part on the CFAA. Simply stated, the CFAA makes it unlawful for a person to access a protected computer “without authorization” or “in excess of one’s authorization” to obtain something of value or to impair the integrity of data. Some courts hold that an employee acts “without authorization” or “exceeds authorization” if an employee is accessing information for purposes contrary to his or her employment. Other courts note that the statute’s legislative history suggests Congress enacted the statute simply to address computer hacking, and not to provide employers with a remedy against faithless employees. Judge McMahon agreed with the latter school of thought, but noted that a conclusion to the contrary is not “implausible.”Dismissing the CFAA claim, Judge McMahon noted that continuing federal jurisdiction was dependent upon the survival of MLA’s RICO claim. In this respect, her comments took on a more colorful tone. “This Court has ample experience with the assertion of bogus RICO claims for the purpose of (1) obtaining federal jurisdiction over an action that belongs in the state courts, and/or (2) extracting a coercive settlement due to the in terrorem nature of labeling someone a racketeer.” She continued, “I frankly have no interest in retaining a case in which it appears that federal charges have been trumped up in order to avoid litigating what are essentially state and common law claims in [state] court.” Against this backdrop, Judge McMahon stated that she would not permit discovery to proceed until MLA supplemented its “thermonuclear” allegations with a RICO case statement and Mahn (along with the other defendants) has an opportunity to file a motion to dismiss. Whether the RICO claims would have survived will never be known. In the face of this ruling, MLA dismissed its federal court claims.

The views expressed in this document are solely the views of the author and not Martindale-Hubbell. This document is intended for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case or circumstance.

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micahrodney · 3 years

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Thread; Chapter 4 - Through The Looking Glass

The following is a commission for Matthew Caveat Zealot. The morning of the memorial service was especially bitter and cold. A slight drizzle had started which threatened to turn into lake-effect snow at a moment's notice. Kevin made his kids pack up everything just in case they couldn't make it back to the hotel, and the trunk had a fully stocked emergency kit. It was something of a Brown family tradition to prepare for the worst, but this quality had been more pronounced since the accident.

“How's this?” Neil asked, fiddling with the knot on his tie.

“I don't suppose you'd consider a clip-on?” Travis teased, moving in to correct the full-hearted but half-studied attempt at a Windsor knot.

“Can't tie a tie, little bro,” Dawn said, waggling a mock judgmental finger. “They aren't teaching you anything at that school.”

“You're just upset that I'm not in the psych ward,” Neil shot back, running a comb through his hair while Travis fiddled with his tie.

“Injustice of the century,” she smirked.

Kevin, Kim, and Rocky were already downstairs eating the continental breakfast and no doubt having “adult” conversation. Travis was still in the kid's group but only by virtue of sharing a room with Neil. Dawn had been dressed since 7 AM, but only because Kim woke her up by loudly dropping her make-up kit on the bathroom floor a half-hour prior.

She looked quite nice in a simple black dress with matching leggings, though Neil wondered what their mother would have said about the heeled boots that she wore with them. Combined with her unique hair coloration, the whole effect was very “Bride of Frankenstein”. But then Dawn had always been avant-garde in her fashion sense.

Travis was wearing a chocolate brown suit with a charcoal tie. It didn't quite match but then Travis didn't own much in the way of suits. Not that Neil could talk, he had only ever owned the black suit that his father bought for him for the funeral three years prior. Wearing it to every memorial service since probably did not help the mounting anxiety and grief. It was as though a bubble was forming in the pit of his stomach that threatened to consume him the moment he let his guard down. There was the choking sensation followed by the slight urge to vomit.

“There you go. Dad will be proud,” Travis announced, completing the adjustment to Neil's tie.

“Cool. Can you tell him I did it?” Neil joked, his stand-by for keeping the nerves in check.

“If you think he'll believe it,” Travis replied with a weak chuckle.

A moment followed, where the three youngest Brown children sat in uncomfortable silence. They knew what happened next and each was dealing with it in their own way. Dawn was aloof as she always was, but she wasn't drowning her senses in her electronics. There was a stillness to her mind that was a precursor to the waves of emotion that would inevitably hit her around the halfway point of the service. She had notably forgone mascara today, the easier to pretend she wasn't crying.

Travis felt compelled to “big brother” more, and Neil's clumsiness with his tie was a perfect opportunity to let him express that. He wanted to reclaim some of the control he felt he had lost in his life after their mother's death. This was especially potent considering his past addictions. Travis had been balancing on a tightrope across a chasm of chaos for so long, and this day was the hardest one of the year for him.

Neil was unsure how Kim was coping. She was the oldest, he was the youngest and their age gap meant she had been out of the house for most of his life. He had gained a portrait of his older sister in the family meetings and stories from Travis and their father. Still, it was fascinating how incomplete these recountings were. Humans were complicated but at least when you lived with somebody for a time you got to understand how they behaved. Without this context, everything else in their life was as shrouded in mystery as if they were a stranger, and carefully curated stories never did them justice. Sometimes it baffled him how little he really knew about somebody so close to him.

As for Neil, jokes, pointed asides, flippancy: these were his allies. It was not that he was going to try and avoid feeling sad. The pain would come and he would fully experience it, making no attempt to hide his tears when the time came. He just didn't want to cross the bridge yet. Things had to go according to a schedule. If he could contain the emotion, then he was in control of his emotions. Perhaps he and Travis were not so different.

“So,” Travis said, breaking the silence. “Breakfast?”

---

Saint Mary's was Colleen Brown's church as a child. It was just a few blocks from the river and had a rich history to it, about which Colleen could recite paragraphs at a moment's notice. It was founded in 1850 and much of the original foundation was still intact. While clearly weathered, the chapel was remarkably beautiful.

The centerpiece was, as always, Christ the Redeemer upon the cross just above the dais. He was flanked by John the Baptist and St. Peter. Further out on the walls adjacent to the stage were the Virgin Mother on the left and Joseph carrying a depiction of the baby Jesus on the right. As far as Catholic churches went, it was a fairly humble affair. There was just something inherently wholesome about the building which Neil found comforting.

The only people in attendance at this quiet ceremony were the Brown family, Rocky, and a couple of Colleen's friends about whom Neil knew very little. All in all, there were roughly ten people including the priest.

Father Dwight McMahon was a person who Neil had come to know, at least somewhat. He was a family friend long before he took to the cloth. Their mother had described him as an “inspiring young man”, though how they had initially met was unclear. However both Kevin and Colleen had taken a liking to the young man as though he were a foster son, and he had often attended any family occasion of note, at least for the past six years. It seemed only right that he, having joined the clergy around the time Colleen passed away, preside over the ceremony.

“Let us pray,” the Father began, as was his custom.

The attending lowered their heads respectfully and clasped their hands together.

“Most Holy and Gracious God. We meet before your sight this day in remembrance of your daughter Colleen Angelica Brown, who departed three years ago. We seek your guidance and comfort as we honor her memory and uphold the traditions of her family. We thank you for your blessings and tender mercy, for surely you are the light and the way. In humble gratitude, we pray. May our lives please you, oh Lord. Into your embrace, we offer ourselves. For what lies on the journey ahead, God only knows. Amen.”

Dawn swallowed hard. Travis's head was lowered. Their father could barely keep his eyes open. Kim was already openly weeping, and leaning on Rocky for support. As for Neil, he just felt empty. There was a pit where his heart should be. It was the same as every year. A horrible reminder of what he had lost. Neil forced himself to look up at the Reverend, to try and connect with the man who had begun reading off the life story of his mother.

He let out an audible gasp, perhaps mistaken as a sob for how Travis put a consoling arm around him. But it was not grief that overcame Neil, but terror.

McMahon had been wearing the standard black cassock, but now stood draped in off-color robes with a wide-brimmed hood. In that instant, the nightmares he had forgotten about came screaming back into his mind. The deep pit, the darkness, the pool of suffering, and the frozen temple in which gathered a black mass of robed skeletal figures.

“We all want to go home,” McMahon said, his voice now hollow and raspy. “We can never go home.”

“We just want to go home,” came a pale imitation of Dawn's voice from behind him.

“End our suffering,” Travis uttered, his bony hand now clasping itself around the back of Neil's neck.

Neil wanted to scream. He wanted to react in some manner, but it was as though every joint in his body had locked up.

“This is a nightmare,” Neil said to himself. “I've fallen asleep and this is sleep paralysis. That's all it is.”

Hail began to pelt against the windows of the chapel. A ferocious wind burst open the doors, wood crashing into brick with a loud crack.

“You cannot go home,” came a stern and familiar voice. “Because your home no longer exists.”

At once, Neil stood up, suddenly free of the grasp of terror that had consumed him. He turned to the figure who now stood in the doorway; purple translucent lines containing a field of glowing stars.

“Rem,” he choked. “Is that you?”

“It is us,” Rem replied simply. “The thread of this one is broken, difficult to follow. But we have finally found you. You must come with us. The Dreamer awaits.”

“Go where?” Neil asked, still processing the new reality. “I'm in the middle of my mother's memorial.”

“Are you? You are here. Your body's location is ultimately irrelevant for our purposes,” Rem explained.

“Am I... asleep?” Neil asked, desperate for more information.

“Approximately,” Rem replied, his voice growing sterner. “There are complications to that term, but it is perhaps the closest understanding you will grasp. At first.”

“Go home,” the phantom priest bellowed.

“Want home!” screamed the nightmare Dawn.

“Your thread is broken,” Rem explained again. “But you still exist. Were you any different, you would be as they. Lost in time and space, a shadow of your former self.”

The shades moved closer to Rem, their movements foul mimicry. It was as though they were marionettes with a few cut strings.

“Home!”

“We want to go home!”

Rem raised his hand. “Your homes are no more. You return to the Dreamer now.”

With a wave, the chapel and all of its inhabitants vanished. The fabric of reality melted away, revealing a field of stars in which the two now floated. The great planet on which Neil had spent several eventful hours in the prior dreams was directly beneath them, as was the iridescent star.

“You have seen this world as it once was. I will show you what has become of those who once dwelt upon it. Soon, you will understand, Neil Brown,” Rem announced.

Without warning, Rem placed his hand on Neil's forehead, covering his eyes in bright pulsing light from the stars within. His retinas burned, his head throbbed, and soon he felt nothing as the light overtook him.

---

Neil shook himself awake and leaned forward, gasping in shock as the sleep paralysis wore off. The dream had been especially vivid, and utterly horrible. But at last, it was over and Neil was in the safety of...

“Where the hell am I?” He exclaimed.

The young man was surrounded by stars, safely observed through translucent panes held in place by a silvery steel framework. He had been lying on one of several identical beds, though he appeared to be the only occupant, each raised high off the ground the better to appreciate the cosmic light show. The air was crisp and manufactured, the low hum of some alien technology thrummed somewhere beneath him.

This was not a dream.

“You are awake, Binder,” came Rem's rigid voice from just behind.

Neil turned to greet the figure once more, though he noticed that his would-be savior was now wearing a silvery robe which seemed far more opaque than the rest of him. His footsteps were a musical chime on the metallic floor.

“What is this place?” Neil asked, repeating his concern now that a supposedly sympathetic ear was present.

“We refer to it as The Cradle,” Rem explained. “Throne of the Dreamer and safe haven for the Somni.”

Neil tilted his head slightly. “I mean... could you start from the beginning?”

“Nox will give you a more thorough explanation. I am to take this one to her,” Rem replied. “Please accompany me.”

Rem gestured towards the center of the room, where a railed circular platform hovered a foot or two off the ground. Just above it was a tunnel through the ceiling which went up quite a ways. The lift could hold perhaps three of these Somni at once, but Neil barely took up a tenth of the space.

With a slight jolt, the lift began to rise. Neil almost lost his footing at the sudden momentum but was able to steady himself. After the initial shock, the rise was smooth and swift, rocketing the two of them up several hundred feet. The lift tunnel was illuminated by pure white rings of the light in even intervals. The effect was almost hypnotic, not that Neil felt any desire to sleep.

The lift finally reached its destination, placing the two of them on the rear wall of – there was no other term for it – a space station. The room was massive, at least ten times the circumference of the galactic dormitory they had just departed. The silvery steel framework branched out around the room creating a dome-like structure, offering a mostly unobstructed view of the cosmos. At ground level, a variety of holographic panels were erected, forming a semi-circle opposite the lift. Indecipherable glyphs relayed incomprehensible data at lightning speed, observed by a host of these Somni.

In the dead center of the room was one particularly large well-like structure, above which hovered a glowing cerulean orb, bound up in crisscrossing threads of white light. At varying intersections of the impossibly dense thread were tiny golden spheres. A horrible sense of deja vu overtook Neil as he beheld the gentle turning of this web.

“You behold the Threads of Fate,” said Nox, moving out from behind one of the holographic terminals on Neils' left.

She was adorned in a cerulean robe with golden pauldrons. There was a royal aura about her, and given the uniform attire of all the other Somni in attendance, it was clear that she was the one in charge.

“I,” Neil began, but words failed him. So much was happening so quickly. He had no idea where he was, what he was doing there, and what his family must be going through with him suddenly gone.

“This must be quite troubling for you,” Nox offered, grasping his shoulder in a comforting yet strangely hollow grip. It was as though he was being touched by a ghost.

“This is just so confusing,” Neil explained.

“Perhaps we should start from the beginning then,” Nox said.

She gestured to Rem who busied himself at the central well. With a few flourishes from him, the scene changed, and the cerulean gem in the center took on the appearance of a planet.

“Millions of years ago,” Nox began. “We Somni lived as you do. Mortals upon the blessed planet of Somnus. Ours was a paradise, and from our bountiful came a wealth of technology and hoarded knowledge. In time, we began to become aware of not only the existence of other planets throughout the universe which sustained life but entire planes of reality apart from our own.”

The planet's image changed slowly, with a number of the continents now covered in sheets of ice, while others succumbed to wildfires and volcanic eruptions.

“However this knowledge came at a terrible price. We suffered calamity after calamity, which we later discovered to be deliberate attempts to destroy us. The Somni had grown too powerful, and we were becoming a threat.”

“A threat to who?” Neil asked.

The image shifted once more, a black cloud now consuming the entire planet.

“We came to call it Kosmaro: the Nightmare. It is an entity as old as time itself, in constant combat with the Dreamer. One creates, the other destroys. As the final catastrophe rent our world asunder, the Dreamer reached out to a select few of us and granted us with these forms.”

Nox gestured to the room at large. Neil only noticed then that several of the Somni had gathered round to witness this retelling, starry gazes twinkling gently in the dim light.

“So,” Neil interjected delicately. “Why am I here?”

Nox let out an approving noise; a musical hum exhaled from her like a sigh. “For you are a Binder.”

“I've heard that term a lot lately,” Neil replied. “But I have no idea what it is.”

Nox turned her attention back to the well. “It comes down to the Threads of Fate. The history of our universe is one full of opportunity and choice. Yet several events are preordained and must occur according to the whim of the Dreamer. Their dream, their plan. Yet the incidental day-to-day interactions upon which new realities may come to exist are immaterial to them. No matter how many threads are created, all will eventually converge upon a Crossroad.”

Nox pointed to the bright golden stars floating around the threads. Neil could now notice in greater clarity that thousands of these strands all seemed to converge around every one of these points.

“This is a multiverse then,” Neil offered.

“This one is familiar with the theory,” Rem said almost approvingly, before returning to his usual stoicism. “Though their kind has barely begun to scratch the surface of the implications.”

“With a Binder in their midst, perhaps they will learn more,” Nox chastised. She then elaborated. “You see, Neil. Kosmaro has been attacking these Crossroads. And when a Crossroad is destroyed...”

With a wave of her sleeved arm, a single golden star flickered out of existence. The white strands that connected to it floated about aimlessly for a moment, connecting to nothing and seemingly adrift in the void. Another wave and a second Crossroad vanished. Now those few threads which had been connected at both points faded from existence.

Neil swallowed hard, as he remembered the desperate cries of those phantoms.

We want to go home.

And what had Rem said?

You can't.

“My family,” Neil sputtered. “Are they dead?”

Rem, frank as ever, immediately responded. “A few thousand variations of this one's family have been lost to the phenomena, but they number among several quintillion lives. It is of little consequence one way or the other as far as you are concerned.”

“Rem,” Nox warned, her tone approaching annoyed while still retaining its ethereal quality. “The thread from which you originate has not been lost. However, it and many other adjacent threads remain in jeopardy. It is fortunate that we discovered you when we did.”

The image above the well zoomed in on a small section of the web, Two Crossroads were now enlarged, with the threads between them more easily distinguishable. What Neil had once taken for a few hundred were in fact several thousand.

“Binders are Somni who are able to traverse the Threads of Fate to repair the damage done. Kosmaro is as old as time itself, and thus the strain on our universe is an inevitable part of it. Some day in the future, Kosmaro shall, eventually, win the battle. But Binders do their part to delay that unhappy hour as long as possible,” Nox explained.

One of the golden lights dimmed into a dull grey, and the threads were once again floating about in tatters, loosely connected to the other. It looked like a badly frayed knot.

“And to do that, Binders must enter these Crossroads and set the actions right. Things must play out according to the will of the Dreamer. If they are successful,” Nox touched the dimmed Crossroad once more and its light returned, setting the strands right again. “Balance is restored.”

Neil was doing all he could to keep his head straight. In summary, there was a multiverse full of temporal weak points, and these strange alien beings were saying he was one of a select few capable of repairing it.

“How?” Neil spluttered out finally. “How am I supposed to fix those? I've never seen anything like this before.”

“It is better to show you rather than tell you,” Nox said. “But for now, you should return to the world from whence you came. Rem shall be in contact with you, and will come for you when the time is right.”

“Rem?” Neil asked nervously. The stern specter had not done much in their brief interactions to inspire a sense of camaraderie in him. “Can't it be you?”

“Nox is the Voice of the Dreamer. She has matters well beyond the scope of managing this one,” Rem sighed. “I shall serve as overseer and – if the need arises – protector.”

“Take heart, Neil,” Nox said soothingly. “It is a long road you have ahead of you, but we shall be your allies every step of the way.”

With a popping sound, all the lights on the station dimmed. The room slipped away to darkness, and Neil Brown felt himself falling once more into nothingness.

#writing #cosmichorror #commissionwriting #shortfic

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