The Straw Men 3-Book Thriller Collection: The Straw Men, The Lonely Dead, Blood of Angels. Michael Marshall

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СКАЧАТЬ doesn’t say,’ I said, disconnecting. ‘Just for me to give her a call tomorrow.’

      ‘Ward, look at this. You got an email.’

      I looked over his shoulder. There was a short message on the screen:

       EARN BIG $$$ GUARANTEED!!!

       We are a small company offering an EXPANDING service. Make use of our product to change your world, working with nothing more than your own dedication. The pure shall rejoice in there hearts when he seeth our Web site!

       Go back for information that could change all our lives! Start immediately – with a business that’s growing fast. Hundreds are already doing more than they ever thought possible: Why don’t you become one of us?

       Don’t delay – this offer ends at midnight.

      ‘Look up “junk email” in a dictionary,’ I said, ‘and they’ve probably got that printed out in full.’

      ‘But,’ Bobby said, ‘there’s no order form. The sending address looks fake and it mentions a Web site without giving the URL, and then gives a deadline in three hours’ time. They’re not making it easy for you to get ripped off. Plus look at the two sentences with exclamation marks at the end. The first is odd – some kind of biblical-sounding thing – and the second says “Go back”. Go back where?’

      I thought a second. ‘This has come to me as a result of having already visited some site and having my IP address logged.’

      ‘Sometimes, Ward, it’s almost like you’ve got a fully functioning brain.’ He doubleclicked a desktop bookmark, and the browser loaded up. Within a few seconds we had the page in front of us, with just the two words: WE RISE.

      But this time they were underlined, and when Bobby moved the cursor over them, it became a pointing hand.

      ‘It’s changed into a link,’ he said. He clicked on the words and a small dialogue box popped up asking for a password. ‘Oh, crap.’

      ‘The Straw Men,’ I suggested.

      He typed it in. A white page came up with the words UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY at the top. Bobby swore and clicked the back button.

      ‘Show me the email again,’ I said. He switched the browser to the background, bringing the email back to the front.

      I scanned it quickly. ‘Try there, as it’s spelled in the “rejoice” sentence.’

      ‘Because?’

      ‘It’s the only misspelled word in the entire email, and it’s in the sentence referring to the Web site.’

      He clicked, typed it in. We got unauthorized again. ‘It’s going to throw us out soon,’ he muttered, retracing his steps once more.

      ‘Try it spelt correctly.’

      He clicked and typed in ‘their’. There was a pause. And then another page came on screen. This was black, with the word WELCOME, in white in the centre.

      ‘Okay,’ Bobby said, his voice quiet and constricted. He moved the cursor over WELCOME, and it changed to a pointing hand. I crowded in closer, and he clicked on the word.

      There was a pause, and then the screen changed to a forest green, filled with white text.

       THE HUMAN MANIFESTO

       [image: strawlogo.jpg]

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       HERE IS THE TRUTH

       Some people do not agree with Evolution as a Theory. This is wrong. We were only told that Evolution was untrue for so long to STOP US from seeing the real Truth. But now we have Seen it, and it cannot be hidden again by Politicians or other LIARS.

       You think you know the Truth but you don’t: You only know LIES.

       THE HISTORY OF MANKIND.

       In olden times we were all apes. Then one day 5 Million years ago a new line split off to make three new types of apes: the gorillas, the chimpanzees and the ‘hominids’ – who became us. Anyone who has seen TV programs on how smart chimpanzees are will not find it hard to believe this is TRUE. 2.5 Million years later the first creatures who were true Humanity came into being. They are sometimes referred to as Habilis, although names during this period are open to controversy: This is a dark period in our Evolution, and the scientists use LONG WORDS when they do not know as much as they want us to THINK they know.

       By 1 Million years ago we began to see a type called Erectus, so-called because they stood Upright. It is standing Upright that divides us from the apes, and from all other animals. Some of this type became Neanderthals, who were successful for a long time. Over the next few hundred thousand years this type became better at walking, got better tools, and tamed FIRE. Further Evolution then took place in Africa, finishing in Homo Sapiens. Our brain size became bigger, hence our Intelligence, which is unique. The Homo Sapiens supplanted the Neanderthals.

       During all of this time, humankind and those who came before us were HUNTER-GATHERERS. We lived in small groups who tied together through Kinship and Co-operation. We fed ourselves with game that we HUNTED and berries and roots that we GATHERED, and then we moved on.

       AS YOU SOW SO SHALL YOU WEEP

       About fifteen thousand years ago everything started changing. This may sound a long time ago, but not when you think in terms of Millions of years. What happened is we stopped our natural hunting and gathering. Why?

       Some people have put this down to growing population, causing a strain on resources, and less freedom to move. Or changes in the weather because the Ice Age had finished, and various other things. I have read all of the so-called Scientific explanations, and no one knows. There were once millions of bisons roaming the plains of America. They were still able to support themselves. They had to move about to find new food, but that is the Natural Way. Humans, who can stand Upright, are DESIGNED for walking long distances. So why did we suddenly stop moving – when we had spent millions of years Evolving to be another way?

       The reason is because WE STARTED FARMING. The result was that people started staying in one place, and began living in larger groups up to hundreds and then thousands of people. And once this had started, it could not be stopped. Farming makes more food, but it is a LESS EFFICIENT method of supporting small numbers of people. It only works with big groups. Farming also caused more people to be born, which meant the groups got even bigger. Once you have a bigger population, you cannot give it up and go back to foraging. You are Trapped.

       From these changes came towns and cities, which gave rise to even more population growth. These caused LACK OF EQUALITY, and then LEADERS and RELIGION. It also created MORALITY. If you start living in one place for a long time, then you will be seeing the same people tomorrow as you did yesterday. This means that you have to start behaving towards them in a certain way, or they will KILL you. From this people came to believe that they OUGHT to behave in certain ways – even if you do not know the people involved. And for the first time we saw one of mankind’s not endearing but most real tendencies, something that makes us different to all other natural species: СКАЧАТЬ