Uncle Arthur’s Many Secrets

From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 5:36pm, July 18, 2024

Subject: This weekend

Hey Andy,

Just letting you know that I can’t make your BBQ this weekend. I was looking forward to having a few beers with you and the guys and maybe playing a few hands of poker once the eating is done, but I have to head to Albany in the morning.

Remember my Uncle Arthur? Don’t worry, I don’t either. (Well, a little.) Anyway, he passed away a few days ago and his sister - my Aunt Bonnie out in Wisconsin - contacted me this morning to inform me that he left “certain assets” to me in his will. Most intriguing! I won’t know the details for a while but Bonnie begged me to go to his house in Albany right away to take care of his cats and locate some important documents in his library. (My recently-deceased uncle who named me in his will was wealthy enough to have a personal library? The plot thickens…)

Anyway, I’m packing a bag and planning to stay up there for a little while to help manage affairs at the house and work with Bonnie on the local funeral arrangements while she lines up a flight over the next few days. Not much else to do at the moment as I await my next work assignment but I should be back by this time next week. In the meantime, you know how to reach me. Tell the boys I said hola.

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 7:48pm, July 18, 2024

Subject: Re: This weekend

Hey Jamie,

Sorry you can’t make it this weekend. Me and the guys will look forward to the next poker game after you score your big inheritance. Crazy news, man. Barely known rich uncle dies and leaves you a possible fortune? The stuff of legends…or daydreams? LOL. Anyway, good luck there. (Don’t forget your old college roommate when you strike it rich!)

See you when you get back. Talk soon man.

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 6:12pm, July 20, 2024

Subject: Re: This weekend

Hey Andy,

Greetings from gloomy Albany! Hasn’t stopped raining since I got here. Also, I’m fairly certain these cats are plotting my demise. Other than that, things are fine and the house is basically a smallish mansion.

Listen to this, while searching for the documents that my Aunt Bonnie asked me to find for her in the library I found some really interesting old books. I think we might have some pretty rare first editions here, plus some other really strange stuff. I need to do a little web research tonight to try to figure out what I’m looking at but I’ll let you know. 

As a newly-minted Ivy League literature professor I thought you would be interested. Maybe I will come home with a copy of In Cold Blood signed by Capote for you? 

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 11:22am, July 21, 2024

Subject: Re: This weekend

Hey Jamie,

Very interesting! Bring home a signed Capote first edition for me and we can totally forget about that $80 Venmo request I sent you for golf last week. Seriously though, that sounds really amazing. Looking forward to hearing more.

Andy

p.s. The guys all say hello and they missed your "easy money" at the poker game last night. (Their words, not mine.)

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 9:52pm, July 22, 2024

Subject: Re: This weekend

Andy,

In addition to Capote’s In Cold Blood, so far I have already found four more signed first edition iconic novels; Heart of Darkness, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Illustrated Man and - hold on to your hat here - A Tale of Two Cities! No telling if the autographs are legit but I don’t know why my uncle would be hoarding counterfeit-signed copies in his home library. More research necessary here but I have attached photos of the covers, bindings and the author-signed pages in each.

The library has floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books on three walls and I have only checked out about a third of them so far. Stay tuned!

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 9:36am, July 23, 2024

Subject: Re: This weekend

Hey Jamie,

Okay listen. Just give me the Dickens novel and not only will I cancel the $80 Venmo request, but golf is on me for the rest of the year. I think that’s a fair deal.

Seriously man, I just did a quick bit of Googling here and those books do look like legit first edition copies and the signatures look right too. Usually people take these sort of things to Sotheby’s or Christie’s, where they employ rare book experts who can authenticate them properly. Even if they’re not going to be put up for sale this is probably a good idea, just to officially document these historical items.

Can’t wait to hear what you find next. I’m seriously on the edge of my seat here!

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 11:45pm, July 24, 2024

Subject: Okay, this is getting weird now…

Andy,

Forget about the signed first editions. I am into some strange new terrain here.

Yesterday I found a number of extremely interesting books way up on one of the top shelves I hadn’t explored yet. Listen to this. I found a copy of For Whom The Bell Tolls by William Faulkner. Yes, William Faulkner! And it wasn’t just a different author’s name transposed onto the cover. It was the same third-person omniscient narrative of the Spanish Civil War, only it wasn’t written in the short staccato sentence styles and brief paragraphing of Hemingway but the long, leisurely prose of Faulkner. I’m not even a fan of Faulkner and I couldn’t put it down!

Similarly, I also found a copy of The Catcher in the Rye by Dalton Trumbo and The Iliad by EE Cummings! (Seriously, I can’t make this up.) Still so many more books to look through. I am simply overwhelmed here. Stay tuned.

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 7:51am, July 25, 2024

Subject: Re: Okay, this is getting weird now…

Jamie,

Okay. You’re just fucking with me now, right? You had me going with the thought of all those rare, signed first editions, but that’s at least within my fathomable universe. What you just described has to be a joke. Come on, man.

What about the funeral plans? Isn’t that a big reason why you are there?

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 11:56pm, July 28, 2024

Subject: Okay, this is getting weird now…

Hey Andy,

You’re right. I have been negligent in my funeral arrangement duties of late. I accidentally let my phone battery die out, not sure when. The truth is that I haven’t slept much in the last few days. This continues to get more and more fascinating.

And no, I wasn’t kidding about those strange books I mentioned in my last message. But never mind that. I am into some truly bizarre territory now. I found some old 3-ring binders filled with dot matrix printed files listing the daily opening and closing numbers of each of the stocks contained in the Dow Jones Industrial Index running from January 1, 1977 through December 31, 2026. Andy, it has accurate stock performance data through the end of 2026! I’m sure you think I am kidding again (or maybe just crazy) but I have been watching those stock prices over the last few days and my God man they are accurate right down to the last decimal point!

You think I’m joking? Here’s a random selection for tomorrow for you to check out. Merck & Co. (ticker symbol NYSE: MRK) will open the trading day at $154.34 and it will close at $156.12 per share with a total of 7.126 million shares in overall trading volume. I’m sure you won’t but you can literally bet the house on it. I guarantee it.

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 9:41pm, July 29, 2024

Subject: Re: Okay, this is getting weird now…

Jamie,

I don’t know what to say at this point. I have been thinking about this since the market closed about 5 hours ago and I have no idea how you were able to make that prediction with such accuracy. I would call it dumb luck but I actually opened up Excel and took the time to do a little statistical modeling and what I found was that a stock prediction with that level of precision is basically like calling out the next day’s lottery numbers. Not quite that improbable but close enough that I am simply baffled.

I need answers, because I just can’t believe you found an old set of stock market printouts from almost 50 years ago that can perfectly predict what will happen tomorrow. I’ve tried to call you several times but it goes straight to vmail every time and your mailbox is full. You gotta get back to me asap. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until you do.

Funeral plans? Still a concern?

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 2:13am, August 1, 2024

Subject: Whole new level

Hey Andy,

Forget about the stock market. Forget about the rare first edition signed books. Those things are trivial. At least for now. 

I just found a medical manual that seems to contain advanced diagnostic techniques and curative/surgical treatments for most common, and some uncommon, forms of cancer and various other deadly diseases. I am only about halfway through it and without the benefit of a medical background it is taking me forever to research the basic terminology needed just to understand this even on a rudimentary level, but if it’s true it’s an incredible discovery and I owe it to the world to get this into the right hands once I can at least confirm its basic legitimacy. 

I can’t say when I will be able to call you or even write back since my time is so limited now. I don’t see this changing anytime soon. Who knows what I will find next? So much more to still be explored. I can’t worry about the funeral arrangements right now either. Before my phone died I got a message from my Aunt Bonnie saying that she had some health problems that were preventing her from flying in. I can’t remember the details but that’s just going to have to wait for now. I have far more important concerns at this point.

- Jamie

p.s. I have discovered a number of old hand-written notes, presumably penned by my late Uncle Arthur, warning anyone who comes across these documents against sharing them in any way. The writing is rambling and paranoid in nature and some of the warnings give me pause but how could anyone possibly just sit on all this? It would be immoral, no?

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 8:51am, August 2, 2024

Subject: Re: Whole new level

Hey Jamie,

I just hope you are all right. Maybe it’s time to take a break? You were supposed to be back here a week ago. Are the cats okay at least?

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 3:45am, August 5, 2024

Subject: Re: Whole new level

Hi Andy,

I let the cats out a few days ago when all of the remaining cat food ran out. Don’t think I’ve seen them since. Not sure. They should be okay. It’s summer.

Dude, you wouldn’t even believe what I’m looking at now. No time to explain but I will get back to you when I can. Not planning to head home anytime soon.

- Jamie

p.s. Please see the attached file containing stock market data for the next two years. I just ask that you don’t share this with anyone else. “Law of Unintended Consequences” and all that.

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 7:51am, August 6, 2024

Subject: Re: Whole new level

Jamie,

I‘m really getting worried about you man. Please call me.

Your Friend,

Andy

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From: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 4:37pm, January 1, 2029

Subject: Re: Whole new level

Andy,

Happy New Year! Don’t worry about me. I am well. Not sure if I will ever see “you” again (that is, the “present day” you) but that is primarily a temporal and theoretical question. I have a set of guidelines to follow and I will soon find out where all the boundaries lay. I will fill you in (whatever version of “you” that might be) whenever I see you next!

Stay healthy. It might be a while...for you anyway.

- Jamie

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From: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

To: James Benson (jben****@gmail.com)

Time/Date: 7:01am, August 9, 2024

Subject: Re: Whole new level

Jamie,

How did you change the timestamp on your email like that? Seriously, stop messing with me. What’s going on? I am really having a hard time with all of this. Can we please just talk?

Andy

p.s. They announced that a potential breakthrough cure had been found for various types of cancer and other diseases on the news today. I really don’t know what to think at this point.

p.p.s. Thanks so much for the stock market data you forwarded. I plan to pay off my mortgage before the end of this month!

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From: mailer-daemon@gmail.com

To: Anders Westbrook (ande****@cornell.edu)

Time/Date: 7:02am, August 9, 2024

Subject: Delivery Failure Notice: Re: Whole new level

Sorry, we were unable to deliver your message to: <jben****@gmail.com>

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