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Total number of assignments submitted: 568
I
am submitting this report upon completion of Assignment NCI-2332/01.
I was unable to obtain photographic evidence of my completion of the
assignment, but as requested, I will suply the locations of the
bookstores I placed the materials.
Barnes & Noble
2205 Pleasant Hill Rd, Ste 100, Duluth, GA 30096
Borders Books Music & Cafe
3555 Gwinnett Place Drive, Duluth, GA 30096
Barnes & Noble
5141 Peachtree Parkway
Norcross, GA 30092
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
3333 Buford Drive, Space VA01
Buford, GA 30519
Chapter 11 Bookstore
10945 State Bridge Road
Alpharetta, GA 30022
B. Dalton Bookseller
2100 Pleasant Hill Rd, Duluth, GA 30096
Thank you. I look forward to the next assignment.
Mr.
Hastings,
I have completed Neurocam assignment NCI-2332/01. Due to the lack
of
available copies of The Magus in Portland's (albeit numerous)
bookstores, I have placed an image in multiple copies of the book
at
the locations noted, and at one library:
Borders Books, South Portland: 3 copies
Booktraders, Portland: 2 copies
Portland Public Library: 1 copy
I look
forward to receiving my next assignment.
Cheers,
XXXX
Dear Neurocam,
Cards were printed in colour and laminated. Distribution of the required
five cards was as follows :
Angus & Robertson Books - Forest Hill Chase
Borders - Chadstone shoppign centre
Sybers second hand books - Chapel St Prahran
Borders - Chapel St Prahran
Borders - Knox City
The sixth and final card was inserted into a copy of The Magus at
Vermont South Public Library.
Several other bookstores were visited, including Angus & Robertson
Chadstone, Collins Books Chadstone and Angus & Robertson Eastland.
These were found to lack on shelf copies of The Magus.
Regards,
Operative XXXX
During the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1st i
decided to go to 6 different libraries in order to accomplish my
assignment. 3 of the bookstores had the spanish version "El Mago"(keep
in mind i live in Colombia) while the other 3 had the English Version.
3 of these bookstores are located in the center of the city, one
is called "El Aleph", the other one was a bookstore that sells
used books(no name) and the other one is called "Panamericana"
, current addresses are Kr 7 #18-24, Kr 11 #18-42 and Kr 8 #34-25
All of these librareis are located in a zone that is very populated
and they are near to a Masonic Lodge.
The last 3 bookstores are part of a big Franchise called "Libreria
Nacional" i went to 3 of their locations around the city and
left the card on page 404.
No one noticed anything since most of these libraries have a "reading
zone" so i just took the book, went to the zone and read for
abour 5 minutes and then i slipped the card.
I have successfully completed assignment NCI-2332/01. I have enclosed
a list of book stores where I planted the neurocam card inside The
Magus, as well as photographic evidence.
The stores are:
1. O'Connells Bookshop
62 Hindley St
Adelaide
2. Borders
97 Rundle Mall
Adelaide
3. Dymocks
136 Rundle Mall
Adelaide
4. Angus & Robertson
138-140 Rundle Mall
5. Angus & Robertson
Shop 38-39 Tea Tree Plaza
Modbury
6. Angus & Robertson
Shop 83 Golden Grove Village
Golden Grove
I have enclosed photos of each store in numerical order. Please note
that the image "magus 003" is of both Angus & Robertson
and Dymocks,
and they are next door to each other. The image "magus 004"
is of
Angus & Robertson Tea Tree Plaza, and "magus 005" is
Angus & Robertson
Golden Grove.
Security cameras were fairly easy to evade. Most were pointed at the
door, or somewhere other than my position, and shoulder high book
shelves provided excellent cover.
Dear Charles,
This Operation has now been succesfully completed.
jpeg was printed and cut with scissors so exquisitly
it made me gasp!
They were then placed in copies of "The Magus" at the
following stores
1. Borders, Macquarie Centre
2. Dymocks, 350 George st, city
3. Dymocks, 424 George st, city
4. Angus $ Coote, Pitt street mall (The book already
had an image.. it now has 2)
5. Kinokuniya, 'The Galeries Victoria' 500 George
Street
6. Abbeys book store, 131 York Street
All locations in Sydney.
Not 100% sure that i avoided the surveillance camera
and I decided it not a good idea to ask them to check
Anything else?
Cheers,
XXXX
Report on NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
27.01.05 - Angus & Robertson 379 Collins St, Melb.
27.01.05 - Angus & Robertson 35-37 Swanston St, Melb.
29.01.05 - Greville St Books 145 Greville St, Prahran.
29.01.05 - Readings 185 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern.
01.02.05 - Dymocks 234 Collins St, Melb.
03.02.05 - Hill of Content 65 Bourke St, Melb.
cheers,
XXXX
Completion of NCI-2332/01:
Advertisement successfully placed in 6 bookstores at page 404.
All locations are in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Angus And Robertson - Capalaba Park Shopping Centre, Capalaba
Collins Bookstore - Capalaba Central Shopping Centre, Capalaba
Big W - Capalaba Park Shopping Centre, Capalaba
QB Bookstore - Westfield Shopping Centre, Carindale
Collins Bookstore - Westfield Shopping Centre, Carindale
Cleveland Book Repository - Cleveland
Other:
Noticed that a book with a cover like that of The Magus was purchased
by customer from the Celeveland Book Repository. They were not present
at the time of placement of ad.
Hello there, Charles.
This is Travis, replying back with the results of my first assignment.
I went to 6 different bookstores, and located a copy of The Magus
and placed a cutout from the attachment in page 404.
I went to a borders in Castleton, Indiana, and searched for Magus,
and placed it in. No problem.
Next I went to the mall right by it, to a walden's books, and found
the book there. I ran into some trouble, though, when a employee
asked me if i needed help finding anything. I replied, "no thanks"
and she went on her way.
Later I went to the Barnes and Nobles on SR 37, put it in, no problem.
After that I headed to Carmel, Indiana, and went to the Barnes and
Nobles on 116th. Found the book, put the sheet in, and left.
I went to downtown Indianapolis and foudn a Barnes and Nobles there,
too, and put one there.
Last I went to a Borders books, I forget what street, and palced a
sheet in The Magus there.
No problems, assignment complete. Thanks. Awaiting my next assignment.
--
XXXX
Dear Charles Hastings,
I have completed the propaganda assignment. I traveled to six
different bookstores (Some were the same store, just a different
branch in a different suburb).
Following I will include the adresses of each of the stores. I have
attatched a .rar file, with 6 photos of the storefronts, and 6 photos
of the book, with the card inside.
The stores:
Readings
185 Glenferry Rd
Malvern
Readings
309 Lygon St
Carlton
Angus & Robertson
Cheltenham Shop 3050 Westfield
Borders
380 Lygon St
Carlton 3053
Borders
Knox Shopping Centre
Shop3110 425 Burwood Hwy
Wantirna South 3152
Borders
Melbourn Central
Shop 106/211 Latrobe St
Melbourne 3000
I hope that this is satisfactory information.
Regards,
XXXX
Dear Charles Hastings,
This response is to verify the completion of assignment NCI-2332/01.I
have managed to place the desired image into Six different copies
of the tome known as "The Magus" found at six different
bookstores.
Following is a list of locations:
- Angus & Robertson Southland Shopping Center (Near Harvey Norman)
- Angus & Robertson Southland Shopping Center (Near Big W)
- David Jones Bourke Street
- Angus & Robertson Swanston Street
- Angus & Robertson Bourke Street
- Readers Feast Bookstore Bourke Street (Which I must say was the
most entertaining and challenging one)
Also, some photographic shots of the stores in question are provided.
I hope this is enough evidence of completion.Thankyou,
XXXX
I just came back from finding my last book, the Magus
do you know how hard it is to find this book in bookstores??? i think
it must be a school book or soemthing. i rang up one store and they
had it and then when i got there it was gone! sooooo frustrating!!!!!
i dont have photos cos i lost my camera camping but i do have the
bookstores names and where they were so i'm hoping that thats alright
with you.
Collins Booksellers
-------eastland shopping centre in ringwood &
--------Doncaster shopping town
Angus & Robertson
-------Box Hill central
-------Eastland shopping centre
-------Doncaster shopping centre
and the last one i went to...
------Forest Hill Shopping centre
yay
Love XXXX
REPORT ON ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
Unfortunately, due to a range of factors - notably the volume of other
operatives apparently undertaking it - I've been unable to fully complete
Assignment NCI-2332/01 by today's deadline.
I did manage to complete 50% of the assignment, which hopefully goes
some way towards fulfilling its stated objective of propagading the
myth that Neurocam is related to "The Magus".
The details of my partial completion are as follows:
Sunday January 23rd 7:00pm-7:30pm
Made two successful insertions at bookshops in St Kilda: Chronicles
at 91 Fitzroy St. and Cosmos Books & Music at 112 Acland St.
The latter had two copies in stock, but I only tagged one, in line
with operational directive (B)-6, indicating that the assignment
should be carried out in six different bookshops.
Friday January 28th 4:30pm
Abortive attempt at Bookhouse Secondhand at 137 Fitzroy St, St. Kilda:
they didn't have a copy of The Magus in stock. Small shop, deserted
except for two staff members, so covert execution might have been
impossible anyway.
Wednesday February 2nd, midday
Abortive attempt at Angus & Robertson at 35 Swanston St. in the
CBD. Their copy of the Magus had already been tagged three times.
Thursday February 3rd, 4:00-4:30pm
Two abortive attempts at bookshops on the corner of Burke and Swanston
Streets: Reader's Feast (two copies in stock: one already tagged three
times, the other once), and Book City (no copies in stock).
One abortive attempt at Academic & General Bookshops at 259 Swanston
St: no copies in stock.
5:00pm
Found a copy at Book Affair at 200 Elgin St, Carlton. It had previously
been tagged at pages 166/67. I performed another insertion at page
404.
5:30pm-6:00pm
Two abortive attempts on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy: The Brunswick
Street Bookstore at no 305, and the Grub Street Bookshop at no 379.
Neither establishment had copies in stock.
I don't believe I was observed at any point engaging in activities
related to this operation.
Please accept my apologies for failing to complete. I await advice
regarding my ongoing status as a Neurocam operative.
Result of Assignment 2 (the Magus card placement):
I found it substantially more difficult to find stores that stocked
"Magus" then I had initially counted apon, I assumed inner
city book stores would already be targeted by other operatives; granted
I did begin my search close to the end date. In hindsight I should
of started my search earlier then I did.
List of stores that had to order the book in:
Frankston (bayside plaza):
Collins book seller (10 - 14 days)
Angus & Robertson (1 week)
Myer (not stocked)
Robertson's (1 week)
Doncaster (shopping town):
Dymocks (hasn't been in stock for 2 years)
Collins book seller (store in Chirnside Park may have copy)
Myer (not stocked)
Angus & Robertson (1 copy at Heidelberg store)Successful placements:
Heidelberg (Angus & Robertson)Although my time has expired to
complete this assignment, I will continue to search for the novel
until I have placed the other 4 neurocam cards on page 404 of the
Magus.
I will send a follow up email when I have placed all 5 cards.
Operative XXXX
Dear Mr Hastings,
I am pleased to report that I have successfully completed Assignment
NCI-2332/01. All went as per instructions.
Images were distributed to:
Reader's Feast, Swanston St (Two images were left here on different
occasions)
Borders, Melbourne Central
RMIT Bookstore, Swanston St
Dymocks, Collins 234 Complex
Angus & Robertson, Swanston St
In all but two of these cases, other operatives had already placed
images
within the book.
I look forward to working with Neurocom on future assignments,
XXXX
to neurocam,
report.
i visited 8 bookshops but only 3 had the book the magnus.
due to the timeframe of the assignment, (holday inbetween), i was
only able to slip the neurocam get out of your mind slip into 3 books.
successful stores:
borders, chadstone shopping centre
monash uni clayton student book shop
monash uni clayton co-op bookstore
stores without the magus:
collins, chadstone shopping centre
angus & robertson, chadstone shopping centre
abc book store, chadstone shopping centre
sun book store, yarraville
angus & robertson (i think that was the name), lorne.
i understand i have not passed 100% but still wish to be part of this
excitement.
regards, XXXX
To whom it may concern
I am reporting the completion of the mst recent mission assigned to
Operative Fleagle. Neurocam has been distributed to page 404 of The
Magus in the following locations
1. Flinders Books, 119 Swanston St, Melbourne
2. Dymocks booksellers, Collins St
3. Angus and Robertson, cnr Flinders and Swanston St
4. Readings, Lygon Court, Lygon St
5. Book Affair, cnr Lygon and Johnston Sts
6. Melbourne University Bookshop, Bailleau Library, University of
Melbourne
XXXX
I have read this e-mail upon writing my report to tell Neurocam that
I have completed the assignment. I found another two bookstores with
a copy of 'The Magus' and placed the images. The six book stores which
I have placed the images are:
Borders Bookstore, Lygon St, Carlton
Borders Bookstore, Chapel St (Jam Factory), South Yarra
The Paperback Books, 60 Collins St, Melbourne
Hill of Content Bookstore, 86 Collins St, Melbourne
Reading Bookstore, Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn
Angus & Robbinson's, 35 Swanston St, Melbourne
I apologise for being unable to provide exact addresses for all stores
but I'm sure you will be able to find them if necessary. As I was
originally going to send this report to Charles I figure I may as
well send him a courtesy copy.
Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.
Regards,
Operative XXXX
I visited thirteen bookstores in my local CBD in an attempt to
complete my mission, and unfortunately was able to locate only three
copies of The Magus. The stores that had copies;
Angus and Robertson – Pitt Street
Borders – Pitt Street
Borders – Macquarie Centre
Photographic evidence of my three successful trips is attached.
Time restrictions due to other unavoidable commitments prevented me
from travelling further to find copies of the book.
I regret that I was unable to fulfil the requirements of the mission
to the previously stipulated outlines.
Sincerely,
XXXX
NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
Completed.
Postcodes can be used to identify locations at http://www.multimap.com
1.
29 Jan 2005
WH Smith
See attached photo 1
SL9 8PG
2. -fail
29 Jan 2005
Gerrards Cross Bookshop
SL9 7QE
Book not in stock.
2.
30 Jan 2005
WH Smith
Uxbridge
UB8 1JY
3.
30 Jan 2005
Books etc
Unit 240A The Chimes Shopping Centre
UB8 1GB
4.
1 Feb 2005
WH Smith
London Victoria train station (Island shop)
See attached photo 2
SW1V 1JT
5.
2 Feb 2005
Books etc
Unit SU14 Victoria Place Shopping Centre
SW1W 9SJ
6.
2 Feb 2005
Books etc
66 Victoria Street
SW1E 6SQ
OPERATIVE REPORT NCI-2332/01
Propagation of the myth that Neurocam is related to 'The Magus'
Neurocam flyers were printed out on a Ricoh colour laser printer at
the highest quality setting from Adobe Photoshop.
21 January 2005
Indigo
1500 McGill College, Montreal
Two copies of 'The Magus' (paperback). This is a large, busy bookstore,
so it was very easy to insert the flyers without attracting attention.
Chapters
1171 St.Catherine W., Montreal
Three copies (two paperback, one hardback). Again, no trouble avoiding
attention.
Chapters
2305 Chemin Rockland, Montreal
One copy (paperback), no difficulty.
Champigny
4380 St-Denis, Montreal
One copy (paperback, French translation), no difficulty whatsoever.
SW Welch
3878 St Laurent, Montreal
One copy (used paperback), somewhat more difficult as there were other
customers immediately on either side.
Westcott
2065 St-Catherine W, Montreal
One copy (used paperback), no trouble as the store is a little labyrinth
and invisibility is easy.
Vortex
1855 St-Catherine W, Montreal
One copy (used paperback), rather difficult as the store is tiny and
the man behind the counter very chatty and inquisitive. I had to send
him looking for
something in the back to do the deed, as it were.
I visited many other bookstores, but these were the only ones that
had 'The Magus' in stock. On my own initiative, I thought of visiting
public libraries as well,
but at the two that I visited, strangely enough, the book had been
lent out.
Regards,
XXXX
Ex nihilo N.I.H.I.L. fit
________________
XXXX
Operative, North America Quadrant
Neurocam International
Mission accomplished, though there were complications.
Chief among these is the lack of five bookshops in the business area
of Dundee. There are, in fact, three. Ottakars, High Street Dundee,
Waterstones 35 Commercial St Dundee, and John Smith, College Wynd.
The first contained two copies of the Magus, which were duly
leafleted. The second contained one, which was likewise "adjusted."
The third sold textbooks, and my inquiries about hermetic orders and
practises weren't smiled on.
As of Mon 31 Jan, one copy in Ottakars had been sold and not replaced.
The copy in Waterstones was one without a leaflet and featured a
different cover than the one I'd photographed previously, so I added
another leaflet.
This makes a total of four leafleted books. I have completed the fifth
by slightly stretching the interpretation of "my city" and
leafleting
the single copy of Fowler's "The Magus" in the Ottakars
at 103 Markest
St, St Andrews - my home. Well, St Andrews is, at any rate. I
wouldn't really want to live in the bookshop.
Photographic evidence has been taken and will be submitted at some
point at the weekend when I have a charged battery and a USB cable
that consents to actually lower itself to the burden of transferring
my data.
Personal Note:
"The Magus" happens to be one of my favourite books. It's
an
interesting choice of things to associate with Neurocam. You
reference, in fact, the "perpetuation" of a "myth."
Might I ask how
the myth arose, and why Neurocam seeks to perpetuate it?
Please excuse the hasty report and somewhat sketchy details. If you
require any further details, clarifications, or badly composed violin
sonatas, feel free to ask and I'll try to provide them.
--
XXXX
Greetings, and here is my report for Assignment NCI-2332/01
Although I was not able to obtain photographic evidence of my
completion of the mission, I give you this information (and my
sincerest word) that I did place the myth propagation materials in
the
following bookstores.
Barnes & Noble (located in Mayfair Mall)
2500 North Mayfair Road
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin 53226
- I had a little trouble finding the book, as this was my first
location. I was forced to ask a customer service worker. He told me
they had one on order, meaning there might not be one on the shelves.
However, he led me to the Fiction section and there was one copy.
I
took time to read page 404 - brilliant, if I may say so.
Barnes & Noble (located in Bayshore Mall)
5900 North Port Washington Road
Glendale, WI 53217
- The fastest one of them all. Knowing to look in the Fiction section
already, I was in and out. There was an employee milling around the
Fiction shelves, but I was able to lose them under the guise of paging
through the book.
Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops (located in the Mequon Pavilion)
0976 North Port Washington Road
Mequon, WI 53092
- No trouble at all. Got in, found the fiction section, got the book.
Luckily it wasn't too crowded.
Borders Bookstore
8705 N. Port Washington
Fox Point, WI 53217
- This store was a little confusing. They had "Science Fiction",
"Romance", and "Mystery"... I eventually found
the book under
"Literature" with the help of a cashier.
Borders Bookstore
101 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53203
- Thanks to the insights of the previous "Borders", this
was another quick stop.
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
4935 South 76th St
Greenfield, WI 53220
- In and out. No problems.
Looking forward to your response and future missions.
Agent XXXX
Regarding NCI-2332/01
The mission failed.
I researched where to find local book stores on the internet,
I visited:
Waterstones, Colchester, Essex, UK
W H Smith, Colchester, Essex, UK
Bookworld, Colchester, Essex, UK
W H Smith, Clacton-on-sea, Essex, UK
W H Smith, Felixstowe, Essex, UK
All bookshop staff reported the book as out of stock and that they
would be able to order me a copy in, which obviously wouldn't be the
way to plant the messages.
Please get back to me regarding this,
Regards
XXXX
I am reporting back on my NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01. I have
been traveling through North America and have completed this assingment
today Friday 4th Feb. Following is a list of the bookshops I visited
and left what was required.
Bolen Books, Hillside Centre, 111-1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria,
BC, Canada, V8T 2C5
Munro's Books, 1108 GOVERNMENT STREET, VIctoria, BC, V8W 1Y2
Chapters, 788 Robson St, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 1A1
Chapters, 2505 Granville St, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3G7
Granville Book Company, 850 Granville St, Vancouver, BC, V9Z 1K3
Book Warehouse, 2388 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6K 1P1
Regards, Operative XXXX
It seems that i did not have much luck with this assigment. In the
end i travelled to about 20 bookshops, and phoned at least 40 others.
I live in Belgium, so this put me up with a number of problems. The
first was finding bookshops that specialised in English books only.
Most of the bookshops that i contacted only sold books in Dutch or
French. The second problem was that apparently, The Magus has not
been translated into Dutch or French so i was forced to find an English
version. Another thing that i was told by 80% of the bookshops was
that the book was not in stock at the moment, but it could be ordered
for me. This would take up to an average of 2-3 weeks (which i did
not have), and then there would be the question of me making up some
excuse for not wanting the book anymore, and wanting to put it on
the shelves.
In the end, i found the book in only 2 shops instead of 6. The locations
are the following:
1) The first book was found in a shop called "FNAC", which
was inside a huge shopping center. The adress of the shopping center
is this:
Wijnegem shopping center
5/90 Turnhoutseban
Wijnegem (post code is 2110)
Belgium
The shop in question, is the only one of its kind in the mall, and
sells things like computers, music, games, stationary, books and tvs.
It is on the second level in one of the corners of the mall (refer
to the shopping centre map which is found at almost every enterance
to the mall).
2) The second book was found in a shop called "Sterling books
- the english bookshop". The adress is this:
38 Wolvengracht
Brussel
Belgium (post code is 1000)
phone number: 02 223 62 23
This shop stands in the middle of the busy Brussel city, on a corner
of two streets, and right next to a shop that sells tourist guides
for countries across the world.A picture of each shopfront was taken,
and is included with this email.
I have printed the cards out, and placed one in both copies of the
books just as i have been told.
I apologise for being able to find two copies of the book only, but
this is what i was able to do with the resources i had. If i had more
time, then perhaps i could have placed orders for the copies.
Another note: you say that this report must be submitted by close
of Friday 4th of february. Im not sure what day it is where you are
now, but here in Belgium it is still Friday 7:51 PM.
Apologies this message has the accompanying jpeg file attached.
Neurocam after action report for operative XXXX:
No photographic evidence is forthcoming as ABG's trusty digital camera
was pilfered by his roommate for his snowboarding trip out west. The
bastard. Please see attached.jpg file for the route taken what
follows is a written account of that visual representation.
Leaving my place of work I walk to 23rd and Lexington to Shakespeare
books leave the slip of paper in the only existing copy of John Fowles
'The Magus' on page 404, exit to street. I take 23rd street down to
6th avenue and 19th street to to the first of four Barnes and Nobles
I
will be visiting that day, repeat the process. Begin walking east
down
19th to 5th avenue to another B&N on 18th street, repeat process.
Walk
down 17th ave. to Union Square, yet another Barnes and Noble, Repeat.
Exit to street walk through park to 14th street, check Virgin
Megastore which, while not technically a bookstore, carries a variety
of books. No dice, they have The French Lieutenant's Woman, but no
'The Magus' same at the Strand which is located on 12st and Broadway,
NY's premiere used bookstore and one of the increasingly few that
is
not owned by some major conglomerate. I continue down Broadway to
8th
street and the final Barnes and Noble again, repeat the process of
locating a copy of The Magus and placing the slip of Neurocam printout
on the top of page 404. Exit to street, walk to the corner of 8th
Street and 4th ave to St. Marks Books lather, rinse, repeat.
Mission Accomplished this day of February the 4th 2005 between the
hours of 12:30 and 1:45 PM. EST
Neurocam International,
The execution of this assignment was fraught with
problems for me from the beginning. I do not drive or
have a vehicle of my own. As such, I have to rely on
friends or my stepfather for transportation. My
family's primary vehicle had (still has, as of this
writing) something wrong with it.
I did, however, get to three different bookstores two
of which did not even have "The Magus" in stock. Thus,
I was able only to insert a card into one copy of the
book.
The addresses for the stores are below:
I went to the Waldenbooks and B.Dalton stores (neither
one had a copy of "The Magus") at Century 3 Mall:
Address
3075 Clairton Road
West Mifflin, PA 15123
I also went to Barnes & Noble(This store did have a
copy), Located here:
The Stacks at the Waterfront
100 West Bridge Street
Homestead, PA 15120
412-462-5743
I feel badly that I was unable to complete my first
assignment. I hope that I will be more successful in
the future.
Regards,
XXXX
drop-off locations:
FEBRUARY 3
5:30 p.m. Harvard Bookstore, Cambridge
5:50 Harvard Coop, Cambridge
FEBRUARY 4
2:05 p.m. Barnes & Nobles Downtown Crosssing, Boston
2:15 Borders Books Downtown Crossing, Boston
3:00 Brentano's Prudential Center, Boston
3:50 MIT Coop, Cambridge
Begin forwarded message:
Assignment has been completed.
Detailed information is below.
Regards,
Operative XXXX
[Only two bookshops large enough to carry the book "The Magus"
have been located as I live in a small country town. 1. ABC bookshop
(Shop 3, 26 Prinsep St Bunbury WA) & 2. ]
[10:35AM] Depart Home Premises. Mission Start.
[10:46AM] Arrive at primary target, ABC bookshop (Shop 3, 26 Prinsep
St Bunbury WA). Park and enter bookshop. There appeared to be little/no
security except for two cashiers (male and female). No video surveillance
was observed. Walked around for about 5 minutes trying to located
the book, was approached by one of the cashiers (female one) and asked
if I needed assistance, to which I responded I was just browsing.
Five minutes later, I locate two copies of the book on the far right
shelf. An image is inserted into each book.
[11:03AM] Depart bookshop, return to car and make way to other bookshop.
[11:14AM] Arrive at secondary target, Angus & Robertson (117 Victoria
St Bunbury). Single cashier is observed, sign warning of "Vidguard
Hidden Cameras" observed at entrance. Two additional staff are
observed stacking shelves. Walk around store for 10 minutes, am not
approached by anyone. Unable to locate book.
[11:33AM] Depart secondary target store, return to vehicle.
[11:46AM] Arrive At Home Premises. End Mission.
NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
I've listed the stores (ones with the book in stock) that I stopped
by
below. I just went to stores I saw while driving around the past few
weeks. No photos as my stops were a bit random. Hopefully my addresses
are correct. As usual I am sending my report at the last minute just
before close. :-)
Borders
22401 Old Canal Rd
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
Desert Books
1526 East Lincoln Ave
Orange, CA 92865
Borders
429 South Associated Rd.
Brea, CA 92821
A&S
13230 Jamboree Rd.
Irvine, CA 92602
Barns & Noble
The Market Place
13712 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92602
Until next time....
NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
Myth Propagation – "The Magus."
accomplished.
the following locations were considered:
1 W 37.8656930 -122.2591180 2476 telegraph avenue berkeley ca us
- moe's books
2 W 37.8660590 -122.2592550 2454 telegraph avenue berkeley ca us
- cody's books
3 W 37.8686860 -122.2612370 2430 bancroft avenue berkeley ca us
- university press
4 W 37.8668260 -122.2681800 2352 shattuck avenue berkeley ca us
- barnes & noble
5 W 37.8668620 -122.2681800 2349 shattuck avenue berkeley ca us
- pegasus books
6 W 37.8802750 -122.2697130 1491 shattuck avenue berkeley ca us
- black oak books
7 W 37.8685920 -122.2684800 2090 kittredge st berkeley ca us
- berkeley public library
moe's did not have a copy of tm, in lieu two adverts
were placed in different editions at cody's. pegasus
was likewise lacking, prompting the berkeley public
library but 'neurocam.com' had already been scrawled
in the back cover, i gifted an ungrafittied, unrevised
edition with the addition of an advert.regards,
XXXX
This is done and done my good sir.
I managed to deliver the cards into page 404 of the Magus in the following
locations.
Borders - Melbourne Central.
Borders - Chadstone.
Dymocks - Collins St.
Angus + Robinson - Swanson St.
Borders - Lygon St.
There certainly was a lot of stores that didn't have the Magus. I
also notcied that there were a whole bunch of copies that already
had cards in them. If not multiple cards.
Anyways. I hope this is sufficent and I look forward to my next assignment.
XXXX
Oh, and do you mind if I ask you about the purge?
Have completed the mission as requested. The six locations of myth
propagation are:
Highland Park Public Library
494 Laurel Ave.
Highland Park, IL
Deerfield Public Library
920 Waukegan Rd.
Deerfield, IL
Barnes and Noble
728 Waukegan Rd.
Deerfield, IL
Barnes and Noble
720 Hawthorne Center
Vernon Hills, IL
Borders
595 Central Ave.
Highland Park, IL
Waldenbooks
2171 Lake Cook Rd.
Northbrook, IL
Am awaiting next assignment; hope this report is satisfactory.
- Operative XXXX
I have completed my assignment but unfortunately I don't have the
appropriate equipment to obtain photographic evidence (also it would
increase the difficulty of remaining discreet). Here are the locations
of the bookstores
1)Chapters- Metrotown Metropolis, Hall 1L
2)Black Bond Books- 7023-120th street
3)Chapters- 12101-72 Ave.
4)Central City Book Store- 2769-Central City
5)Black Bond Books- 2769-Central City
6)Copper Beach Books- 13745-72 Ave.
Operative XXXX
Hello,
I have completed the Magus assignment. Along the way, I also read
"The
Magus" - a pretty good book.
Personally, I feel that photographic evidence is redundant.
Also, I hope libraries count, too. I think they should.
Heere are the 6 locations, all, obviously in the USA:
Borders Books and Music
3232 Lake Ave
Wilmette, IL 60091
Borders Books and Music
49 S Waukegan Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015
Barnes and Noble Booksellers
55 Old Orchard Shopping Center
Skokie, IL 60077
Barnes and Noble Booksellers
728 Waukegan Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015
Glenbrook South Library
4000 W. Lake
Glenview, IL, 60025
Glenview Public Library
1930 Glenview Rd
Glenview, IL 60025I hope that this satisfies your requirements. I
look forward to my
next assignment.
XXXX
Hello,
I am aware that I am 2 days late with my mission. What could excuse
me
is the fact that I had to go to Paris and I just returned yesterday.
Here is my report.
I completed the mission. I left the pictures as instructed, in page
404 of copies of The Magus, in the following bookstores:
* "Moskva", one of major bookstores of Moscow, Tverskaya
St.
* "BiblioGlobus", one of major bookstores of Moscow, Lubyanka
Sq.
* Bookstore on Shirokaya St., Medvedkovo district
* "Foreign Books" store on Kuznetskiy Most St. (note: the
book was in
the original)
* Two more places: small book outlets in under street passages, nearby
Aviamotornaya and Tretyakovskaya Underground stations.
To my best knowledge, my actions were unobserved. I also did not
disclose any details of the mission to anybody.
Included please find photos of me putting the images into the books
(all 6 cases were photographed by me), as well as photos of the
exterior of 4 of the 6 locations. Hope this is sufficient.
Sincerely,
XXXX
Assignment completed and report late.
I selected the Readings bookstores to be the target for my assignment.
First I visited the Port Melbourne store at 253 Bay St, located the
selected book and placed the Neurocam image inside.
Second was the Carlton store at 309 Lygon St. They didn't have a copy
in
stock but I found a couple of copies at the Bindings bookstore directly
opposite. Both copies already had Neurocam images at p404 but one
was an
older version and had different text on p404 than was in newer
publications. I then placed an image in the older publication on page
411
which contained the same text as in the newer publication. My assumption
is that the text on p404 is relevant, not the page number.
Third was the Malvern store - 185 Glenferrie Rd followed by
the Hawthorn store - 701 Glenferrie Rd. There was an image here already
but left another as mine was colour and larger!
Due to the repeat images found so far and the lack of copies in many
stores I decided to try a different path. I left one at the Roanna
site of
the Plenty Views library - loacted on the corner of Turnham Ave and
Douglas St.
Then I went to the Watsonia library on Ibbottson St. It is right next
to
the Watsonia train station.
Libraries aren't exactly book stores but will serve to propagate the
myth.
Assignment complete
Black Bond Books
1711 152 Street,
Black Bond Books
15562 24 Avenue,
Black Bond Books
2769 Central City,
The Book Barn
5723 176 Street,
Book Outlet
19557 Fraser Highway,
Chapters
12101 72 Avenue,
Operative Report.
Copies of the Neurocam cards were printed on a Tektronix Phaser 8200
and seperated using a desktop paper cutter. Cards were inserted into
copies of The Magus at the following locations:
Barnes and Noble Booksellers
3900 Mowry Ave.
Fremont, CA 94538
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Hillsdale Shopping Center
11 West Hillsdale Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94403
Borders Books
39210 Fremont Hub, Suite 211
Fremont, CA 94536
Borders Books
McCarthy Ranch Marketplace
Milpitas, CA 95035
Borders Books
32111 Union Landing Blvd
Union City, CA 94587
Borders Books
316 W. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
At all stores, dome cameras were present that could have been pointing
in the direction of the shelves holding the copies of The Magus. I
took the books from the shelves and placed the cards in them in a
discreet location before returning them to the shelves.
--
XXXX
Charles,
Please accept my sincere apologies for not having written to you sooner.
I did in fact complete the task set for assigment NCI-2332/01 but
I
was unable to send an e-mailing detailing this before the necessary
deadline, as I was unexpectedly sent abroad for ten days, for a series
of business meetings.
I did however complete the task, and inserted the printed Neurocam
labels into six copies of "The Magus" at the following
six bookshops
in central London:
1. Waterstones, 203-206 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LE.
2. Borders, 120 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H OJR.
3. Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0EB.
4. Blackwell's, 100 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0JG.
5. Borders, 203 Oxford Street, London, W1D 2LE.
6. Hatchards, 187 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LE.
I managed to do this without being spotted or questioned at any of
the
shops, and left the labels in between the required pages of the books
and then replaced the books back onto the shelf and left the shop.
My apologies once again for this late reply. I am very rarely sent
away at short notice or left without access to personal e-mail.
This afternoon I shall be travelling to Spain, but I return on
Tuesday. I look forward to hearing from you, and hope that this will
not affect my status as a Neurocam operative.
Best regards,
Operative XXXX
A copy of the attachment you sent me was inserted in The Magus at
the following five bookstores;
1) Bertrand Bookstore
3544, avenue du parc, Montréal
2) Indigo
4920, rue Sherbrooke Ouest,
Westmount, QC H3Z 1H3
3) Indigo Books & Coffee
1500, avenue McGill Collège,
Montréal, QC H3A 3J5
4) Renaud Bray
Carefour Angrignon (mall in montreal)
5) Renaud Bray
Carefour Laval (mall in Laval)
Please accept my apologies for this error.
XXXX
My original report follows:
" First five stops were Antioch College Bookstore, Darkstar Books,
Open Books, Epic Books, and Corner Books, all in Yellow Springs,
OH. No copies were found in any of these stores.
Next stop was Barnes & Noble in Beavercreek, OH. Two copies were
found there. I inserted the graphic in both copies at page 404, even
though my instructions led me to believe to only leave one per store.
There was different text in the two copies. The first page 404 seemed
very relevant. The second was not. I was tempted to find the relevant
text in the second copy, but instead followed directions and inserted
it at page 404.
Next stop was Waldenbooks in the Beavercreek mall. They did not have
a copy.
Last stop was Newsreader Book Outlet in Fairborn, OH. They did not
have a copy.
There are no other bookstores close to my location.
Was this attempt sufficient, or should I procede in some way? If
so, what way? "
Also I note that on January 27, in an email from yourself, I was
informed,
"Your report for Neurocam Assignment NCI-2332/01 has been received
and filed."
Cheers,
Operative XXXX
My Magus Assignment is finally complete. Attached you will find my
"diary" of my journies. See corresponding picture for more
details. I quite enjoyed myself.
(picture: books1)
Approx 340pm Copperfields Montgomery square - a search in fiction
ends
poorly and I even bother to ask the people in front but its all out.
My
next destination is paperbacks unlimited on the sonoma highway....
(picture: books2)
Approx 358pm Paperbacks Unlimited. Success. A quick browse of the
Classics/Literature section reveals quite a few Fowles books. My whole
body smiles as I quickly notice the purple spine of The Magus. Quickly
locating page 404, I slip in the 1st piece of paper and put it back
on
the shelf, pretneding to browse briefly before making my exit.
Next destination: downtown santa rosa 4th street bookstores.
It should be noted I am doing this on a virtually empty gas tank.
I'm
broke until the 10th.
(picture: books3)
Approx 420pm Barnes & Noble bookseller. Upstairs I venture to
the
fiction section and come accross Fowles. There are two versions of
The
Magus this time, one thick and white, but I opt for the purple spined
one instead, quickly placing the paper facing the other direction
on
page 404.
(picture: books4)
Treehorn Books Never been in here once, but I like the old style feel
of it. A majority of books here are hardcover, stacked all the way
to
the celing. A search reveals many Fowles books, including several
copies
of The Maggot, but no Magus in sight.
(picture: mallhand)
I head towards the mall, only to remember there is no bookstore at
this
mall, and since I am hubgry my destination becomes the great steak
potato company coz they have the best fries. Once I head back to my
car
my next stop is coddingtown mall, waldenbooks.Slight change of plans.
The fries were pretty good, and I'm heading
toward the outskirts of santa rosa to borders books and music. Even
if
they have it, I'm only halfway finished. I think there's another
bookstore in the area, but its one of those outlet places so I'm
doubtful. After that, I'm heading to sebastapol to check out some
stores
there. Its 443, and already beginning to get dark. Shit. I wonder
if the
adult bookstore carries it? Bad joke.
(picture: books5)
Approx 449pm Stacks and Stacks Outlet bookstore. Here goes nothing.
Og excuse me this used to be a bookstore. Now its just a home store.
Fulled with stacks and stacks of crap.
(picture: books6)
Approx 454pm Borders
They better fucking have it.
Perhaps ii cursed it just for saying that. They only had 2 fowles
books,
no Magnus, not even a Maggot, what gives?? Off to sebastopol.
On the way I decide to double check the due date. Crap. Didn't know
it
was Friday. I continue on, reguardless.
(picture: books7)
Approx 524pm Copperfields Sebastopol had the thick white paperback
and I
would have missed it had it not been on display at the very top shelf.
I
wondered if I attracted any attention because I think the cashier
looked
at me funny for a minute. It could just be the pot speaking though.
(picture: books8)
Copperfields Rare & Used only had a paperback of the ebony tower.
The
girl at the desk was cute though.
(picture: books9)
Many Rivers Books & Tea. Spiritual bookstore. They had only one
small
section devoted to fiction and the rest was new age stuff. Keuorack
and
London spotted, but no Fowles..
Now heading back to the freeway towards Coddingtown mall.
Wow I'm 3 for 9. I guess I have to go to rohnert park and maybe windsor
or healdsburg. This is tough.
If this next one is bust, I'm calling it a night.
Approx 546 arrive at Coddingtown mall.
(picture: books10)
Waldenbooks. Coddingtown mall. No.
Done for the day.
Saturday, February 19th, 2005
Having recieved my warning of possible termination, I came out of
my coccon and decided the job must be done. It must be completed.
And forgodsakes, I was going to be in Berkeley. Where undoubtedly
they will carry The Magus!!!! I knew my search was going to continue.
And I felt godawful for letting down the good citizens of Nuerocam.
4 books, truly, were not enough.
Approx - 1pm
Arrive at Solono Ave. street full of interesting stores, and two good
bookstores in particular
(picture: books11)
Half Price Books & Pegasus books. They are right next to each
other practically. Though Pegasus has been there for a while. I don't
think they were too happy to have another bookstore move in so close,
but they both seem to be holding their own. I check half-price. They
only carry The Ebony Tower....#@#^%@#^. Hopefully, with all the positive
energy I can muster, I check Pegasus next door. No Fowles titles here.
I am now completely irked at this fact, and I head towards the Barnes
& Noble on Shattuck Ave.
Approx 130pm
(picture: books12)
Arrive at Barnes and Noble. A quick scan of the Fiction area lands
me on a most beautiful site. The fat white book, The Magus. I take
my only indoor bookstore picture with my Sidekick2, and gleefully
tuck the paper into page 404. One more to go!!!
Approx 150pm
(picture: books13)
Arrive at Telegraph Ave. There is a bookstore here that I would literally
stake my soul on them carrying the Magus. They're just that kind of
bookstore. Yup. Cody's Books. I snap a quick pic with my Sidekick2,
and head in. I love the atmosphere here. It's so large, and so open,
books are laid out just about everywhere and they look so inviting.
I quickly find the Fiction area, and come across The Magus. This is
it! Mission complete! I am quite happy and joyful as I place the final
piece of paper inside page 404.
My Sincerest of all apologies for taking as long as I did to complete
this. I hope you will still allowe me to remain an agent, despite
my tardiness. Which I attempt to explain in a seperate report. Again
thanks for your understanding in this matter. I promise not to dissapoint
in the future.
Agent XXXX
NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/01
SUMMARY
+ Fremantle: Attempts 1 to 5 (Placement 1 and 2)
+ Cannington: Attempts 6 (Placement 3)
+ Perth City: Attempts 7-10 (Placement 4 to 6)
+ Conclusion
REPORT
TIMING : 12.30pm, Wednesday 23 February, 2005
LOCATION : Fremantle, WA
PRESENT : Myself
I began this lunchbreak, of course, with a Visit to
the library. I felt this was the best place to start,
as I was unsure where the book would be found in a
store. I quickly found the computers and looked up The
Magus. I found the category (general fiction), year
and blurb. I was amused at the approriateness of the
blurb, and scared by the year. This was an old book,
and would take some finding.
Of the five book stores in Fremantle, two had it.
I first tried Angus and Robertson. I wondered the
General Fiction and Literature sections. No luck.
I next tried a second hand bookstore. Elizabeths.
Again, I had no luck at all. However, this time I did
find some books by the same author - but only after
some looking. They were behind a book that had been
placed to face out, covering the spines of the books
by Fowles. Interesting.
After the empty Angus and Robertson, I didnt think
Dymocks was worth bothering with. I was right.
Nothing.
Elizabeths, believe it or not, has two stores in
Fremantle; the second, on South Tce, being much larger
than the first. I walked in, and had a good feeling. I
looked around for cameras and such, but the clerk was
busy and no security systems seemed to be in place.
Well, it is a second hand bookshop. I headed for
General Fiction, and, again, all books by John Fowles
were behind a facing book. Except The Magus. I picked
it and pretended to read random pages. I discovered
someone had beaten me to this book - a library or ID
card written was in it, written in French. It was
devoid of magnetic strips, and the back was signed
with the name Fleur Scott. I left the card in place,
on page 233, and added my own to page 404. I scanned a
few more books in that area, and then headed to the
SciFi section, where I found and purchased a book by
Jack Whyte.
The final bookstore in Freo is the New Edition
Bookshop, also on South Tce. This is not your
commercial pop culture outfit like Dymocks, so I was
sure to find it. And I did, at the back, conveniently
in a location where no cameras pointed. The store was
quiet, so I was quite surprised when I took down the
book, turned and found a customer not two feet away. I
moved slightly, reading, and placed the card in as a
rotary rack stood between us. The card was palmed in
with no dramas, although it wasnt as nice and straight
as I would have liked. I examined a few other books
and left for the bakery down the road to salvage what
as left of my lunchbreak.
TIMING : 8.45pm, Thursday 25 February, 2005
LOCATION : Cannington, WA
PRESENT : Myself
After Fremantle, I didnt bother with any of the
commercial chains or department stores. I went
straight to Pulp Fiction (a second hand store) at
Carousel Shopping Centre. One copy of The Magus in the
first row. This was the row inline with the cashier,
so I had to wait until she was distracted to pull it
down and place my card inside.
TIMING : 1.30pm, Saturday 27 February, 2005
LOCATION : Perth City, WA
PRESENT : Myself
With three cards remaining, I decided that Boffins in
Perth would be my best bet at finding such an old
book. The benefit of Boffins is that a third
Elizabeths store is on the same street. I took the
train into Perth, planning on meeting some friends
later on. I quickly checked Angus and Robertson, as it
is located in the train station. Nothing.
I made my way to Murray St, and went into Elizabeths.
This is the biggest second hand book store in Perth, I
believe, and sure enough, it had what I was after.
Like Fremantle, the book was located close to the
clerks field of view. This time, I had the card in my
hand as I took the book, and slipped it in on the
right page. The book was back on the shelf in less
than thirty seconds.
A friend works at Boffins, so I made small talk with
her for a while, before making my way to their
smallish but comprehensive fiction area. It was a
simple process to duck down with the book, where the
shelf shielded me from view, and place the card in the
book. I wondered the area for a while, told my friend
that Alice Through The Looking Glass was a bit
expensive, and left.
I was now stuck for ideas. However, Perth is full of
"book sales" where bigger chains dump books they cant
sell. These places always seem to be attempts to grab
a quick buck overnight, and never have meaningful
names or set locations. I was lucky. I wondered down
Murray Street, and the third one I entered had a
single copy, sitting up the back, between two authors
noone has ever heard of, or ever will. Strangely, this
place had the best security of all, and a camera was
pointed directly at me. Rather than wander the store
with a book I was not going to buy, just to get a
better location, I decided my body would be shield
enough. I walked around a bit, reading bits of other
books, and getting the card in my hand. I held each
book the same way - down low, like my glasses were an
old prescription. Then I made my way back up the row,
took the book down, and opened it at waist level, like
the others. I turned away from the camera, and slid
the card up and over, into the book, as I had earlier
at Elizabeths. I looked at a few more books before
making my exit.
CONCLUSION
Thus concludes my report on Myth Propagation
Assignment. It was more difficult than I expected. I
had assumed that operational security would be the
main hurdle. In fact, actually finding copies of the
book was far more complex. It was only luck that
enabled me to complete this assignment successfully -
perhaps next time, further research will be in order