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THE BARRIO DUDES **IMPORTANT: This document is Level 4 classified. Do not copy** Much has recently been said regarding the Barrio, although not all of it accurate. That such a state of public misinformation exists, can no longer be considered tolerable, and was the principle directive in the commissioning of this report. Its contents are the result of nearly three years field research, and fourteen thousand hours of source correlations. Three people lost their lives during the course of the investigations. It can only be hoped that such cost is mitigated by the capacity to which the information contained herein proves helpful in averting future tragedy. Sandra Kirsten, Administracion THE SANTA ROZA REPORT <Reporte: SANTAROZA:Extract > Barrio Society: What do we know? The Barrio, as they have become known, are members of an enigmatic racial group, dwelling in small, socially complex New World enclaves common to many indigenous groups, and with almost gypsy-like origins - in that nobody seems able to trace their origins. In most other respects, they bear scant resemblance to 'primitive' human tribes. Rumours of extensive genetic tampering have led to their tentative classification as a 'quasi-human racial type'. But, regardless of the existence, or otherwise, of a common ancestor, it is almost certain that procreation between humans (homo sapiens) and Barrio cannot take place. We know them to be custodians of some formidable technologies, in exotic disciplines foreign to human science, yet sophisticated enough to make thinking people seriously consider alien conspiracy theories, among other things. When people speak of "...lost tribes living in a virtual time warp...", in the case of the Barrio, they mean a time warp ...from the future. What is strange, therefore, is the lack of any evidence for Barrio industry. They do not, it seems, create the plethora of tools and artefacts that we associate with human societies. Only a single class of implement has so far been identified - but it forms the nexus of Barrio culture. End extract: <return> PROLOGUE The legend of the Barrio cult has, in recent years, changed status. These days it is necessary to speak, not of a Barrio cult, but a Barrio culture. For some time, reports of strange individuals - immense in stature and wearing distinctive black protective garb - although increasingly common, were easily dismissed as the detailed manifestations of abductee paranoia. As you might expect, the subject attracted the usual sort of attention, due mainly to the improbable number of fabulous stories adorning the popular tabloids - and who's only real contribution has been to popularize the colourful moniker "Barrio Dudes", in reference to the alleged appearance and pocketed distribution of these 'persons', typical of most reports. It was only following the injection of funding that real data began to surface, which, aside from establishing factual basis to the rumours, has precipitated the most startling revisions to our understanding of human anthropology since Darwin. Several trails in the inquiry have led to the most astonishing findings, in many cases shifting debate from the facts themselves, to a question of their interpretation. But, if we are far from consensus, a certain shroud of mystery seems to have lifted, forcing many commentators to review their stance. And, in view of the alarming and exceptional nature of the material under investigation, it is difficult to overstate the implications of such a turnabout. At present, the most informed and reliable source of information - and far and away the most articulate - is, without doubt, the recently commissioned Santa Roza Report, probably the last we can expect to see from a purely non-military agency. Proposed reclassification under the Securities Act 2008 will make access to impartial un-sanitised material a far trickier proposition. What follows is a personal account, recorded during an un-scheduled stopover in Alto Pueblo, a region said to include 'off the map' areas, and widely reported to be a hotspot of Barrio activity. XAQUOIA DEL GROSSO "...I have come up against some very big, very heavy looking characters..." Xaquoia:15/7/08 So began my notes. Travelling alone in remote, potentially hostile territory is hardly ever recommended. I owe that misfortune to a routinely inevitable breakdown in the local transit infrastructure. My destination was soon to be the town of Alto Pueblo - literally, 'high people', although not so named by virtue of its altitude, which, at a mere 1600 metres, hardly warrants special mention. This does not make it any more accessible, however. Lying inland, and ringed by mountains on the sunken plateau of Xaquoia Del Grosso, contributes to its isolation far more than distance, or altitude, alone. Of course, I knew nothing of 'Barrio', although local people had been quick to warn of 'strange men', while the children chimed in with choruses of "Barrio! Barrio!" I was there to write. Perhaps to stumble around some pre-Columbian artefacts. Meetings with 'strange men', however, was not part of my agenda. There were far more pressing issues to attend to, and since neither my itinerary, nor finances, would support a long delay, they were issues with rather more defined boundaries. To that end, I found myself obliged to risk the hazards of disease, misadventure and bandits, and patch the final leg of my journey with a 5km foot hike into Pueblo, for a stopover. (short section omitted) It took closer to five and a half hours of scrub bashing and frequent rests, to do what I had reckoned might at best take four. But, things had gone more or less to plan until, somewhere before the edge of town, I was confronted by three men, standing not far off, to the side of the road. They bore the general features of the indigenous population, but their identical black garb was curiously out of character with local custom. Covering them from neck to ankle, was what appeared a kind of heavy, woven mesh, which included a patchwork of metal inserts and other bizarre incorporations, further adding to the intimidating impression of size. But, apart from radiating a tangible danger, their demeanour did not convey anything at all to me. And, while they did not appear armed, I stopped in my tracks, taking them to be bandits. At that precise moment, they moved towards me, with alarming speed, their actions oddly mechanical - the usual overlay of nuances smoothed off, and on lines so direct that they seemed to grow larger, rather than nearer. I fancied that, somehow, they had covered more ground, or in less time, than I had expected. Or, that my own reactions had slowed, as though I was anaesthetized, or succumbing to a stupor. Either way, events were simply happening too quickly to follow. Slowly, I turned my head to find them spaced around me, one stationed at each rear flank, in a precise triangle with the third, directly in front, so that whichever way I faced, there were always two of them behind me. For a while, they did nothing, simply looming over me - I remained in the grip of inactivity, field of view fixed on a patch of asphalt, and a periphery of grey mesh and heavily armoured thigh sections, the whole scene occasionally jittering like a high pitched heat mirage. I was in ...a loop ...of some kind. Because, I kept 'coming to' with the frustrating idea that I had just come down the same route, a moment earlier - to the same ...junction of thought and emotion. I wondered if I had suffered a blow that I couldn't recall, or just spontaneously lost track of reality altogether. Then, there was the jitter of mesh, and asphalt, and a ...'coming to'. I knew only that something had repeated. Exactly what, or how many times, was impossible to say. Nor was there any way to determine whether anything existed outside this state. For me, this moment was all the time there was. These ...shapes ..around me ...meant something, as well. Had they always been there, a part of my life? Of course, they had. But, why had I never noticed them before? The dark-grey anodised fittings seemed infinitely memorable - icons for my existence. They reminded me of ...posters. Black and white posters. Had I put them up years ago, and forgotten to take them down? Seeing them, filled me with nostalgia. Then, there was ...a jitter, and a sense of ...'coming to'. But, this time, the feeling of stupor had lifted and I was released, into the presence of three imposing individuals - stepping, out of the loop, and turning away as unassumingly as possible, I set off down the road, glancing back after a few paces to find they had vanished, in much the way they had first appeared. It was, precisely, then, I realized, that the phrase 'strange men' had finally come back to haunt me... < Reporte SANTA ROZA: Extract> Theory of Mind: B-Tech Demystified The observation (due to Clarke) that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic..." or that, in reality, what appears to be miraculous, may be no more than a manifestation of technology - accords with our perspective of the Barrio. It is a not a perspective that we are particularly comfortable with. Philosophically, Barrio technology (or B-Tech) is 'knowledge based', directed to the enhancement, manipulation, and exploration of subjective experience. That we are speaking of 'hard' technology, and not some application of psychology, needs to be emphasized. Our own technology, by contrast, is directed conspicuously outwards, and manifest upon the uncertain idea of the 'objective as real', a position in no small way responsible for its spectacular failure to penetrate the real mysteries of human experience. A fierce disposition, and brutal legal and ethical tenets have fuelled the inaccurate perception of Barrio as savage and cruel. This seems merely a churlish attempt to compensate for our physical vulnerability by staking the moral ground, while underrating the extent to which our respective concepts lack common ground. Death, and by symmetry, killing, hold for them neither fascination, nor horror. Claims that they do not aspire to cheat death, we may safely dismiss as parochial as the idea that they do not mourn it, subject at least to this observation; that while such behaviour would flaunt the rational notion of 'remaining alive' as indicative of evolutionary fitness, there are still plenty of ways in which 'living dangerously' might be viewed as powerfully attractive to a potential partner. Life need not be lengthy, in other words, if sufficiently prolific. In the more immediate sense, at least, whatever the physical or emotional traumas endured, (by the living, or the dying) they are sensations, and sensations are what the Barrio live for. <End extract: return> ALTO PUEBLO I arrived at the outskirts of Alto Pueblo around midday. The sky was overcast, but the low humidity, and almost permanent high-pressure node, made it as airless as a vacuum. The streets were empty. I proceeded half a block further into town, before knocking at the most professional establishment I could find, to make inquiries. The old man who opened the door eyed me over carefully, taking a step outside to glance up and down the street, before waving me inside, and firmly bolting the door behind us. I was introduced to his family, and offered tea, which must have contained some kind of stimulant because my fatigue soon vanished. Then, obligations of hospitality fulfilled, the entire family simply sat, and stared at me. They were clearly troubled to learn that I had walked into town - alone, on foot, and unarmed - apparently regarding my presence with nothing short of astonishment. Some crucial underlying conceptual barriers existed to communication - I recall asking them, on several occasions, to clarify what I took to be incongruities. Eventually, however, and quite contrary to my expectations, it was the incongruities that prevailed, so that my encounter on the road earlier that morning (which I had been prepared to dismiss as a case of heat exhaustion) suddenly took on a new, very frightening dimension, and I fell to a bout of introspection, more in keeping with the mood of the gathering. Without ceremony, my education into the Barrio had officially begun... [END EXCERPT] Back To Contents |
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