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Assignments completed: 372

 

Dear Mr. Hastings,

What follows are the details for NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02 as
performed by me, XXXX. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide
photographic evidence. The bookstores I visited were:

St. Mark's Bookshop
31 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10003

Barnes & Noble
33 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003

Barnes & Noble
2289 Broadway
New York, NY 10024

Barnes & Noble
1972 Broadway
New York, NY 10023

Borders Books
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019

The Strand Bookstore
828 Broadway
New York, NY 10003

All attempts were made to evade standard surveillance.

Regards,

XXXX

 

XXXX 4/05/05
Neurocam Assignment NCI-2332/02

April 5th, 2005

à8:08pm

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Union Square
33 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003


April 4th, 2005

à5:07pm

Borders
100 Broadway
New York, NY 10005

** I can confirm that another operative fulfilled part of their assignment at this location. Fortunately for me, there was another copy of the book.


à6:32pm

McNally Robinson Book Sellers
50 Prince St.
New York, NY 10012


March 30th, 2005

à11:35am

Borders Books & Music
461 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022 US


March 27th, 2005

à3:53pm

St. Mark's Bookshop
31 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10003

à5:22pm

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Astor Place
4 Astor Place
New York, NY 10003

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Please find enclosed my report for this assignment.

I have printed and distributed six 'images' on page 59
of the required book 'The crying of lot 49'. This was
a tricky assignment as the book was unavailable in
most local bookstores as I mentioned in previous
correspondence. I took the liberty of ordering the
book from stores to make sure a copy was on the
shelves in some places and although not the best
method have placed cards in two copies of each book in
three locations that stocked the work. I hope I have
avoided undue attention and didn't note any cameras
pointed in the direction of where I was distributing.
I did note that after distribution some books have
been sold and new 'empty' copies have appeared in WH
Smiths branch. This bookstore originally had no copies
of the work untill I requested they ordered some.
The stores I distributed in where:

1. WH Smith 14-16 Lister Gate, Nottingham, NG1 7DD
2. Waterstones Booksellers 1-5 Bridlesmithgate
Nottingham NG1 2GR
3. Waterstones Booksellers 25 Wheelergate Nottingham
NG1 2NF

I havn't enclosed photos of the shops due to the shops
being large and easily locatable. I enclose a map of
each location for reference.

I trust this assignment has completed to Neurocam's
satisfaction and await your response.

Yours, XXXX

REPORT ON NCI-2332/02

CHRIS TITAN

04/11/05

Eureka operations required three missions to accomplish this assignment. As follows:

04/05/05 Borders Books, Bayshore Mall. For this mission I used the help of a friend who only knew that he was to take a picture of me and the book "Lot 49". To evade security we just acted openly, and made some commotion to each other about he right shot.

04/08/05 No copies of "Lot 49' could be found in Downtown Eureka at the Booklegger and Eureka Books.

04/10/05 Arcata Plaza. (7 miles north of Eureka, home of Humboldt State University) Northtown Books did not have a copy of 'Lot 49". Tin Can Mail Man had several copies. I placed one tag into each of the books and bought a copy for myself.

Additional Work: I posted several links to my BLOG concerning the special dynamics literature such as "Lot 49".

In my personal mythology, "Lot 49" had been an oral tradition that I got from a friend who had read the book. I decided to hack into it's reality one time when I had an offer from the Mystic Stamp company the same week as I heard the story. I had a few strange experiences with some of the stamps I did receive but it never went further.

Having "Lot 49" interesect with Neurocam has been very enlightening.

Chris Titan, Junior Agent
Neurocam International

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Dear Mr. Hastings:

As soon as I found this assignment in my mailbox on the night of Monday,
March 21, I printed out the cards on my HP DeskJet 952C. I regret not having
access to a higher-quality printer, but the cards came out pretty good,
because I printed them on a higher-quality paper than I usually use. I cut
the cards apart using a pair of scissors and the utmost care.

On Tuesday, March 22, 2005, I endeavored to begin the first leg of this
assignment. At approximately 12:30PM, I finished my lunch at Jim's SteakOut
on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York, and decided to walk across the
street to Talking Leaves Bookstore (951 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY, 14222). I
stood outside pretending to talk on my cellular telephone and snapped a
picture (Crying Picture 01.jpg). I then proceeded to walk into the store and
head for the fiction section. As I am familiar with the store, it didn't
take long for me to find "The Crying Of Lot 49." I took it down off the
shelf, and sat down in a nearby chair, pretending to peruse the novel. I
pulled one of the Neurocam cards out of my pocket and slipped it into the
novel at page 59, then browsed the book a little longer, and replaced it on
the shelf. I grabbed a copy of J.D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey" and read
that for 20 minutes or so, then proceeded to leave the store.

The next bookstore I was able to visit was Books-A-Million, 90 N Nova Rd,
Daytona Beach, FL, 32114. This did not occur until Tuesday, March 26, 2005,
as I had left for vacation and hadn't opportunity to visit other stores
until then. I walked over while my family was eating lunch at a nearby Steak
N' Shake, with the purported intent of purchasing a magazine. As I was on
vacation, I had never been to this store before. I walked in, located the
fiction section and "The Crying Of Lot 49" without a problem, and inserted
the card (Crying Picture 02.jpg). I then proceeded to the magazine section,
where I took the latest issue of Sports Illustrated off the shelf. I paid
for my magazine and left the store without further issue.

On Monday, March 28, 2005, I visited my third store: The University of Miami
Bookstore, 1200 Campo Sano Ave, Miami, FL, 33133. As I was touring the
campus, I had my Canon A80, so although it was awkward to take a picture of
the bookstore entrance, I managed to get one, albeit a lousy one (Crying
Picture 03.jpg). I entered the bookstore, and although it had Miami
Hurricanes paraphernalia and a very limited fiction section, it actually did
have "The Crying of Lot 49." I inserted a card in the book and browsed for a
few minutes before walking out without receiving any suspicious looks at
all.

I did not visit any other bookstores before returning home on Monday, April
4th. In fact, the next time I visited a store was 3:30pm on Wednesday, April
13th. After school, I took the bus downtown to Rust Belt Books, 202 Allen
St, Buffalo, NY 14201. I'd never been there before, and it was a small but
surprisingly organized used bookstore. I walked in, located the fiction
section and found Pynchon, and they had two copies of "The Crying of Lot
49." (Crying Picture 04.jpg) I took one off the shelf, and flipped to page
59. To my surprise, it already had a Neurocard in it -- another operative
had hit the store before I got there. I took the other book off the shelf,
and it did not have a card in it, so I placed my card and walked out.

I took the bus back uptown to the Abbey Grange bookstore, 239 Lexington Ave,
Buffalo, NY 14222. (Crying Picture 05.jpg) This was another small used
bookstore, and when I walked in I seemed to disturb a group of regulars who
were all conversing around a table near the front. I inquired as to where
the fiction section was, located the book, and exited. I stood in front of
the store and called a friend that lived nearby to come pick me up. As I was
waiting in front of the store, in an unfamiliar neighborhood, an
acquaintance from school that lived around there rode by on his bike, and
doubled back to ask me what was up. It was awkward as I was totally
surprised at seeing him, and I was talking on the phone at the same time,
but I passed it off by saying I had to get a book from the bookstore and was
waiting for a ride.

The final store I visited was Borders at 2015 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga, NY
14225. All went well. Walked in, located the book, planted the card (Crying
Picture 06.jpg), and walked out. It's a fairly big place so I wasn't noticed
at all.

I had a pleasure doing this assignment. While it took effort to go out of
the way from my usual routine to find bookstores around here, it was still
worthwhile. I look forward to any and all future assignments that come my
way.

Thank you,
XXXX
Operative
Neurocam International
pummer15@hotmail.com

END NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Dear Charles,

An interesting assignment this was. I'll be honest, it's been a rough
week. My car was dented by the incompetent mechanics at Jiffy Lube
when I brought her in for routine maintenance. My cell fell out of my
hands and, oddly enough, smashed into a million and a half pieces
after falling a modest 3 feet. My boss was gone on my second week of
work, and I was thrown to the proverbial wolves. So, I must pass
along a bit of thanks. This was a fun diversion to look forward to
while taking care of the nonsense that plagued me this week.

I hit the latter part of Route 9 in Chestnut Hill on Tuesday night. I
needed to see about replacing my phone, and I remembered a Border's
Books and a Barnes and Noble being close to my cellular provider. I
hit the phone store, only to find that I needed to deal with the
insurance company directly... and so it was, I was phoneless for the
first time in 7 years. I hit Border's first. 3 people working front
and 2 stacking. The Literature section was deserted, in fact the
store was fairly empty, and the few customers that were there occupied
the stackers' attention. I found the book quite easily, placed the
cardstock printout on the page and returned it to the stack. I hung
out and skimmed through a few books in other sections before heading
back to my vehicle.

On to Barnes and Noble... 1 person up front, 1 greeter, 2 stackers
doing anything but their job, and plenty of easy-going rich folk
digging through the stacks. Right to the book, right to the page,
right to the chase. I noticed a few words that stood out in light of
recent posts on the various blogs related to Neurocam. I checked to
see if they had a copy of a particular book I'd been looking for, but
I left empty handed.

The following night, I had to pick my cell up at the DHL depot and
migrate my contacts from the broken phone to the new one. So, I hit
Rt. 9 in Natick and took care of that. I hit the Barnes and Noble
first, and after perusing a book about Rennes le Chateau that was
oddly placed among many other books in an "Easter" display, I found my
way to Lot 49 and inserted the card. 4 people up front and a bunch of
stackers roaming around, but I passed unnoticed again due to the heavy
traffic. I took a quick peek in the Graphic Novel section for the
Lone Wolf and Cub series, but once again, I left empty handed.

The mighty competitor, Border's, was right down the street from the
B&N, so I hit there as well. I'd have tried for the Corporate U.S.
Bookstore trifecta, but I couldn't find a Waldenbooks that was
conveniently located. The store was dead, with 4 or 5 people milling
about and 2 clerks talking amongst themselves. The book was located
in a far corner. As with the previous drops, I had the card hidden
just up the sleeve of my sweater, so I opened to page 59 and let it
slide into place. Once again, they did not have the book I was
looking for, but I have plenty on my plate as it is.

It being Easter weekend, myself and my ladyfriend went down to Rhode
Island to visit my parents and help them move into their new house.
We woke on Easter Sunday after a long night of cocktail parties and
loud rock music. After a bit of brunch and helping my parents, we
departed and headed out to her mother's house for Easter dinner.
Along the way, I saw a Waldenbooks that happened to be open stil in
Newport, RIl. Not one to miss an opportunity, I pulled into the
parking lot and explained to my girl that I was looking for a
particular book. The store was dead, with one person manning the
register. I sent her over to inquire if they had a particular
cyberpunk book that I wanted, while I searched for Lot 49. I found
the book, planted the card, and went to see if the book she was
inquiring about was in stock. It was not.

We continued the journey out to her mother's, and found a Barnes and
Nobles in Middletown, RI that also was opened. The store was packed,
and was one of the largest ones I've ever been in. There were 2
clerks manning registers, 3 floaters, 2 in the music section, and at
least 2 that I noticed at the "in-house" coffee bar. I set out to
search for the book while my girl looked for a book on photography
portfolios. I found the P section in literature, only to find someone
in front of the stack I needed to get at. I pulled a few books off
the shelf that seemed interesting, and looked over at what the woman
was reading... and sure enough it was Pynchon, though not Crying of
Lot 49. I got a kick out of that. She left the vicinity and after a
quick glance around, planted my sixth and final card. I took a look
for the book I had inquired about earlier, and after finding my girl,
I walked out with a copy of Jeff Noon's Vurt.

So ends my briefing of NCI-2332/02. I await further assignments with
anticipation.

Warm regards,

XXXX

 

Please find my report for this mission.

I successfully deposited the 6 cards to the following bookstores:

Waterstones, Kensington High St., London
Borders, Oxford St., London
Waterstones, Meadows Shopping Centre, Chelmsford
Borders, Charing Cross Road, London
Blackwells, Charing Cross Road, London
Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London

For future reference I also attempted:
Ottakars, Chelmsford
Books Etc., Cheapside, London

Neither of these have any copies of 'The Crying of Lot 49' in stock.
Perhaps informing other operatives of the lack of stock will save some
time in future operations

XXXX

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Mission Completed.

The following bookstores in the city of Sheffield were
targeted:

Blackwells, Waterstone's.

Ottakar's, in Huddersfield.

In Manchester, Waterstone's and Blackwells.

In Liverpool, Blackwells.

Owing to the lack of a digital camera, I was not able
to provide photographic evidence.

Regards,

C.

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Neurocam Operations,

Regarding NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Due to extenuating circumstances I was only able to locate 3 bookstore within a reasonable distance. Charles Hastings said that, given my situation, three bookstores were acceptable.

In all three cases the approach to inserting the slip was the same. I would begin by locating, and casually walking a perimeter around the section the book was in. While I did this I was looking for store staff and cameras. If any staff approached me I was prepared to simply tell them I didn't need any help. When I was satisfied I would search for the book, occasionally stopping to open up other books along the way to read a few pages. If any store staff approached me at this point I was prepared to tell them I was looking at books on a recommended reading list for a class, and that I didn't need any help. When I found the book I would insert the slip and promptly put it back (I put the slip up the sleeve of my hoodie before entering the store, making it that much less conspicuous). I would then look at a couple more books before leaving.

The three stores were as follows:

B. Dalton Booksellers
NW Arkansas Mall
4201 N. Shiloh Dr.
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Barnes and Noble Booksellers
Northwest Village Shopping Center
4144 North College Avenue
Fayetteville, AR 72703

Barnes and Noble Booksellers
Scottsdale Center
261 N. 46th Street
Rogers, AR 72756

As a note, the Barnes and Noble at the NW Village Shopping Center was the only store that I had any contact with staff in. A sales associate approached me during my perimeter walk and I simply told them I didn't need any help. This concludes my report.

Sincerely,
XXXX



NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Dear Charles,

I received the mission instructions and promptly printed and cut our
the cards. I put them in my wallet so that I'd always have them handy
when I was in any given mall or shop. On three successive weekends I
searched all of my favourite bookstores and even some I'd never heard
of before, but I couldn't find a copy of the The Crying of Lot 49
anywhere. The biggest chain we have here in SA is "Exclusive Books".
They have several branches in my area and I visited each and every one
of them (Claremont, Tygervalley, Paarl, Canal Walk), but none of them
carried the book in question. I tried lesuire books and several other
smaller stores, all to no avail. Over easter weekend we travelled up
the coast on holiday and I even tried the bookstores there, but again
- no one carried the book in question.

I am sorry to report my failure in this task, but I felt honesty was
better than attempting to fool Neurocam into believing that I had
completed the mission successfully.

Operative XXXX

Begin forwarded message:

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Unfortunately, I don't have access to a digital camera or a scanner,
so I was unable to attach any pictures to this report. Also, I believe
the fact that I don't have a car added to the difficulty of this
assignment.
On Friday March 25th, the week I received this assignment, I went to
Talking Leaves Books (3158 Main St. Buffalo, NY) and was happy to
discover a copy of The Crying of Lot 49 in their fiction section.
There were no noticeable security cameras, so I looked through the
shelves until no one was around and then slipped the card into the
book. Then I headed home, which is about an hour's drive east of
Buffalo, to visit my parents. While I was in the area, I visited a
small bookstore nearby, Liftbridge Bookshop (45 Main Street, Brockport
NY) about 5 minutes before they closed for the evening that Saturday.
I had been there before, so I hurried downstairs to the fiction
section and found the book. Again, I noticed no cameras, and the
shelves in that area cut it off fairly well from the rest of the room,
so I had no trouble placing the card in the book. I didn't have time
to visit any other bookstores in the area. If I had it would've saved
me a little trouble later.
I returned to Buffalo on Sunday, and had a busy week. It snowed near
the end of the week, which was odd for April. Sunday the third, I
visited the University Bookstore (UB North Campus, 200 Lee Entrance,
Amherst NY). I did notice security cameras there, but I was able to
get the shelves between me and them. I read a bit of the book that
time, and it sounds interesting.
That Saturday, the 10th of April, I tried to go to the mall, but
unfortunately the bus was pretty far off schedule. Some people waiting
for it with me joked about stealing a car from the parking lot. I
eventually gave up, but went to South Campus the next day to see if
the other bookstores on Main Street would work. One had moved and the
other was closed. It seemed to just sell textbooks anyway.
Walking back to the campus, I noticed the street the mall was on, and
decided to go to the Waldenbooks there. About halfway through my walk
I realized I could have taken a bus, but it wasn't that far.
After navigating the mall's parking lot, I made my way to the
Waldenbooks, only to discover they didn't carry any books by Pynchon.
I knew there was a Barnes and Nobles just down the street, so I made
my way over there. Unfortunately, another Operative from Buffalo had
already carded the book.
Since I hadn't been having much luck finding bookstores, not to
mention ones carrying The Crying of Lot 49, and since I knew there are
at least 3 other Operatives in the Buffalo area, I decided to take a
bus to Rochester NY and look for bookstores there. I did this on
Tuesday, April 12th.
Since I would be walking around the city, I printed out a list of
bookstores within a mile of the city center, which was close to the
bus station. After a bit of wandering with an inferior map, I
discovered one, which turned out to be an adult bookstore. Another had
a broken window and was closed. According to my list, another was in
an old office building. When I arrived, I was glad to see cars in the
parking lot and people walking in. The directory listed the store as
being in Suite 201. I walked up the stairs and wandered around the
second floor, noting the worn look of the place and the floor that
looked almost unsafe in places. When I found Suite 201, the door was
locked and there was no sign nearby. Mystified, I left.
I went into a mall near the bus station, and found a store called
Jeff's Books (200 Midtown Plaza, Rochester NY). I didn't find the book
in the fiction section, but luckily I spotted it on one of the
discount racks. I'm not sure whether they get rid of the books that
don't sell eventually, but I didn't see any security cameras or anyone
watching me, so I slipped a card in the book.
By now I had exhausted my list, and still needed to add cards to two
more books. I did remember walking past a library, so I decided to go
there and check for Pynchon's books. I walked through a metal detector
by the door, and quickly found the fiction section. No cameras were
visible, and no one else was around. I slipped the card by page 59 and
again read a few pages. As I left, I noticed a few TV screens by the
security guard; none of them were showing the shelves. Outside, I
noted it was the Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave, Rochester
NY). I ate dinner and read while I waited for my bus back to
Rochester. I had been hoping to find something else to do in the city,
but the area I was in didn't seem to offer much. At least I'd brought
a good book.
The next day, I went to the Undergraduate Library (Capen Hall, UB
North Campus, Amherst NY) in between classes. After figuring out where
The Crying of Lot 49 is under the Dewey Decimal System (but not
understanding it), I checked for security cameras and nearby people.
Since there were none, I put my last card in at page 59 and went off
to class.

Operative XXXX

Begin forwarded message:

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Dear Mr. Hastings,

I apologize greatly for sending this in at the last possible minute,
but due to the size and location of my town it has been exceedingly
hard to find 6 bookstores that actually have a copy of "The Crying Of
Lot 49" in stock.
None the less though, with a fair amount of patience and hunting
through many second hand bookstores, the operation has been completed
successfully.

Book Store One :
- Name : Second Page
- Area : Downtown
- Location : 363 Water Street

Book Store Two :
- Name : Chapters
- Area : West End
- Location : 70 Kenmount Road

Book Store Three :
- Name : Coles (The Book People)
- Area : Central
- Location : Avalon Mall Shopping Center

Book Store Four :
- Name : Word Play
- Area : Downtown
- Location : 211 Duckworth Street

Book Store Five :
- Name : Afterwords Bookstore
- Area : Downtown
- Location : 245 Duckworth Street

Book Store Six : Books-R-Us-Plus - 13 Commonwealth Avenue
- Name : Books-R-Us-Plus
- Area : Mount Pearl
- Location : 13 Commonwealth Avenue

For security on this mission,t here is no need to worry about staff or
security cameras spotting me as I did not proceed until I was certain
it was safe to continue.

I apologize as well about not being able to provide photographic
evidence of the locations.
But the most important thought on my mind was to get this done
whenever I could, and most times I ended up at one of these stores it
was in between other business and though I had the cards on me I
lacked a camera.

If there is anymore information you need from me due not be hesitant
in asking. I do my best to serve Neurocam in anyway possible and I
look forward to our prosperous future.

Cheers,
-Agent XXXX

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

Procedure:
To aviod looking suspicious during this sneaky assignment, Operative XXXX took the following
steps in completeing the mission.
1. Walk in casually, carrying scrap of paper(scribbled on), Neurocam image (folded in half),
pen(black) in pocket.
2. Search store for proper area (Fiction and Liturature).
3. Snoop around in section looking at unrelated books. Gradually make way to the "P" authors.
4. Search for target book and remove from shelf when found.
5. Read cover then flip through book, appearing to be searching for a specific page.
6. Once on page 59, pull out both pieces of paper and pen, expectantly.
8. Read halfway down the page, frown, refer to scribbled on page. Act as though the page had been
remembered incorrectly and search through book again, leaving both papers at page 59.
9. Find a new page, read halfway down, smack seemingly important word with finger, remove
scribbled on paper and write something down.
10. Finish reading page, check back to scribble paper, look satisfied, replace image-infected
book. 11. Browse a little more before leaving (without buying anything).
12. If any curious book store patron or employee asks what you are doing, respond that your crazy
uncle sent you on a book scavenger hunt to find your birthday present. (Operative Whitelie did not
encounter any such obstacles during this assignment.)

Carried out at:
1.Barnes & Noble
1875 S. Bascom Avenue
Campbell, CA 95008

2.Barnes & Noble
5353 Almaden Expressway
San Jose, CA 95118

3.Barnes & Noble
1600 Saratoga Avenue
San Jose, CA 95129

4.Barnes & Noble
3600 Stevens Creek Blvd
San Jose, CA 95117

5.Borders
356 Santana Row
San Jose, CA 95128

6.Borders
925 Blossom Hill Road
San Jose, CA 95123

No photographic evidence to report.

 

NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02 REPORT
BY OPERATIVE CRONIN

NOTE: This is the third time I am sending my report! Gmail is sending
me errors: "operations@neurocam.com is unreachable!" I believe you
might be having trouble with your mail server! This is the complete
report. Full text and 11 attached pictures. -END NOTE-

March 25, 2005

Realizing that I owned relatively primitive tools for the assignment,
I decided to take advantage of my school's color printer and
paper-cutter. I arrived at school during after-hours, the school was
open with several janitors sweeping through the halls of the building.
All the instructors and student's had left. I entered through the back
parking-lot entrance, one of the few entrances without cameras, and
walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Once on the second floor, I located the Copy Room. The door was open
and the lights were on, nobody was inside. There were rows of printers
and copy machines directly ahead of me. To my left was a single
computer desk and next to it was a paper-cutter. Casually, I walked
over to the computer desk and logged in with a generic school
newspaper user name. I accessed an anonymous FTP site which contained
the image "cards.jpg" which I had uploaded before from an insecure
wireless connection. I downloaded and printed the file, after which I
deleted the file from the FTP site and the computer. Using the
paper-cutter, I separated the images I had printed out as directed. I
walked out of the school without being seen.

Please refer to attached image "nc21.jpg"

March 29, 2005

I arrived at,

Oracle Junction Bookstore
2964 Delaware Ave
Buffalo, NY 14217

I had been in here many times before, a rather small used bookstore.
As I walked in, the owner recognized me and we exchanged our hellos. I
walked into the back room, a cold dark place with stone floor. They
had a very unorganized fiction section, after about 20 minutes of
searching I located a used copy of Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying Of Lot
49." I turned to page 59, slipped in the card, placed the book back on
the shelf, walked to the front of the store, purchased a bookmark, and
left the bookshop.

Please refer to the following attached images,

"nc22.jpg" and "nc23.jpg"

April 6th, 2005

I arrived at,

Rust Belt Books
202 Allen St.
Buffalo, NY 14202

I walked in, located The Crying Of Lot 49, inserted the card, and
walked out. No conversation and no complication.

Please refer to the attached image "nc24.jpg"

April 10th, 2005

I arrived at,

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
1565 Niagara Falls Blvd, Suite 1
Amherst, NY 14228

I walked into the store greeted by calm music mixed with chatter, it
was crowded. Already familiar with the store, I made my way to the
fiction section which was organized alphabetically by the author's
last name. After locating "P" I found Thomas Pynchon. Among other
books I found "The Crying of Lot 49" on the bottom shelf.

Please refer to the following attached images,

"nc25.jpg" and "nc26.jpg"

After taking the pictures, not wanting to stay in one position for
very long, I decided to make my way to the store cafe. On the way, the
Computer Networking section caught my eye. (I had been planning on
purchasing a study guide for my CCNA (CISCO Certified Network
Associate) Exam.) I entered the Computer Networking section. I vaguely
notice a girl enter the isle a few moments later while looking at
books near the top of the shelf.

"Hi" I heard a soft voice to my left, it seemed to come from the girl
next to me. I looked over, but she was looking at the books in front
of her... she was smiling. Not a smile someone would have while
looking at Computer Networking books. She was a little shorter than I,
with shoulder length dark brown hair, tanned skin, and red glasses.
Quickly, I squatted to look at the books in front of me towards the
bottom of the shelf. I looked back towards my left to find the girl
giggling at me. I stood up. I was sure she was the one who said hi to
me. I didn't recognize her, she couldn't have known me. It now seemed
like the girl was searching for a specific book on the shelf. I turned
to her and said

"You know, I don't work here. I wasn't sure if you were trying to ask
for help or what." As soon as I finished my sentence the soothing
music ended, and then came in blaring, obnoxious Irish dancing music.

"Oh..." She replied.
"Well... yeah I was, are you into Computer Networking? I may actually
need your help in a minute."
".... Ah!" she shouted out.

She held a book entitled "Networking for Dummies" in her hands.

"Well..." she looked right into my eyes, presenting a calm sense of
being. This presented mood did not go along with the Irish music in
the background. (Which seemed to be getting louder).

"Here it is! ... Networking For Dummies, I was looking for it... Yep,
here it it.... I found it!.... Right there."

I laughed as she kept making these remarks while holding the book out
for me to see. She was obviously very nervous... now presented a
paranoid mood rather than calm.
She then peered into my hands to see what I was holding. I had a CCNA
book on the bottom and The Crying of Lot 49 on the top. I eased the
books up at an angle towards my chest so she could not see what was on
top. While looking at the book on the bottom, she read out loud,
"C-C-N-A..." "It's a Computer Networking Exam Study Guide" I
interrupted her. "Oh!" she said. "Good for you! ... I studied
communications in college, but I dropped out. I'm 27 now and I figure
it's time for me to get back into school and study." She was 27. I was
dumbfounded, she did not look a day over 18... and I bet she didn't
think I was 18. Sure enough that was confirmed when she asked me, "So,
what did you get your degree in?"

"Well.." I stammered "I'm 18 and a freshmen in college"

"Oh My God!!" she shouted... everybody around could hear her. "Wow!"
She stood there with her mouth open for several seconds, then added
"Well what are you studying?"

"Political Science" I replied. "I want to run for public office,
eventually become a Senator or something."

"No no no no..." she interrupted. "Don't become a Senator...
especially in the south!" I had a hard time trying to figure out where
she was going with this. She kept moving her hands around erratically
and started talking gibberish as if she were drunk.

"You should become President! Of course Presidents have a lot of
problems... strokes, heart attacks, oh my god so many problems...
but.... but I won't cry! Oh my god. Your going to die sometime you
know? Your always going to die... everyone dies. Oh I'm rambling on
again, everyone can hear me!"

I stood there smiling at her, half in shock... I wasn't sure how to
respond. A few seconds passed. I replied, "Well I think public office
is the right decision for me, whether as a Senator or President." I
then was going to end the conversation by wishing her luck in her
education but she blurted out... "You know... I like to sleep around a
lot." She stood there smiling at me. I was defiantly not interested in
a 27 year old, even though she was very pretty. Before I could respond
she then shouted a quick "Goodbye!" and ran off. That was quite the
odd occurrence of the day.

I left the Computer Networking Section, entered the cafe, and sat down
on a couch. I then pulled out The Crying Of Lot 49 and slipped in the
card.

Please refer to attached image "nc27.jpg"

I sat and read the CCNA book for awhile, returned to the fiction
section, put The Crying Of Lot 49 back on the bookshelf, purchased the
CCNA book, and left the store. Nobody any the wiser of my activities.

(After a long drive) I arrived at,

Paperback Trading Post
2292 Seneca St.
Buffalo, NY 14214

I walked in, located The Crying Of Lot 49, inserted the card, and
walked out. No conversation and no complication.

Please refer to the attached image "nc28.jpg"

April 12, 2005

I arrived at,

Talking Leaves Books
3158 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14214

I walked into the store, with my backpack in hand. I had never been in
there before. The first thing I noticed was all the colors, it looked
like a USA 1960s dope trading post. I walked strait ahead towards the
back of the store where I noticed the Fiction section was. As I walked
by the Front counter, on my left, I noticed a young woman writing and
an older man sitting back glaring at me. After I had passed them I
heard the older man whisper "What are you doing? Pay attention! Catch
that young man!" A couple seconds later I heard the female call to me.
"Sir!" I turned around. "Sir, I need to take your backpack before you
can browse through the store!" I smiled at her. "No problem" I said. I
handed her my backpack... with the camera inside. Luckily, however, I
had the cards in my pocket.

I went to the fiction section, located The Crying of Lot 49, and
slipped in a card. I finished that task within just a few minutes. I
didn't want to leave yet because I had just turned my backpack in. If
I walked out without buying anything they would have assumed I wanted
to steal something in the first place with my backpack. I don't like
leaving that impression on people. So, I walked up near the front
counter, whipped out my cellphone and called my trusted friend.

"Hey Cronin What's up?" I heard him say on the other line.
"Hey, I'm here at Talking Leaves" I said loudly so the people at the
counter could here me.
"Huh?" He replied?
"Didn't Rob call you?" I said. My trusted friend knew this saying, it
was a code phrase for "I'm in a tough situation, play along." With the
kind of business we do together, we always have to have code phrases
so we always know what is going on at any moment without ever giving
anything away.
"Ohhh" said my friend. "Yeah he sounded a little sick."
"Are you still meeting me at Talking Leaves?" I asked.
"No man I'll be by later" my friend said.
"Oh, okay... well I'll catch you later" I said.

I hung up the phone, went up to the counter, asked for my backpack
back, and left the store.

Please refer to the attached image "nc29.jpg"

While walking home from "The Talking Leaves" bookstore, I noticed
another bookstore on the same street.

I arrived at,

Greeks & Sneaks
3230 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14214

I walked in, located The Crying Of Lot 49, inserted the card, and
walked out. No conversation and no complication.

Please reger to the following attached images,

"nc291.jpg and nc292.jpg"

In conclusion, I would like to say that I found this assignment
enjoyable. However, it was extremley hard to locate 6 bookstores in my
area that held copies of "The Crying of Lot 49." I had to travel a
great distance away from my home in order to complete this assignment.
Local bookstores just didn't cut it. Anyway, thanks for a great time.
I look forward to my next assignment.

END NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02 REPORT
BY OPERATIVE XXXX




Report - NEUROCAM ASSIGNMENT NCI-2332/02

This is the report for the completion of Assignment NCI-2332/02.

Please understand that living in Montreal, majority of our bookstores
are bilingual, or completely french, and did not carry The Crying of
Lot 49. No excuses though, after many hours of driving, I was able to
find copies in the following places.

I started on Wednesday, March 23rd, and visited a number of locations.
Chapters in Pte-Claire had two copies of the aforementioned book, I
proceeded into the store, quickly located the book, inserted the
picture and left. attachment 01.jpg is this location.

Shortly after I found a second hand bookstore with one copy located on
St-Charles, attachment 02.jpg is of the outside of this location.

On Thursday, March 24th, I changed my hunting to libraries due to a
lack of bookstores. Attachment 03.jpg is the inside of the John Abbott
College library located in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.

Attachment 05.jpg is of the outside of the library situated on
St-Johns, apologies for the poor quality. In an attempt to lay low, I
turned off the flash. I was unable to use my camera inside the
building because of close proximity of the book to the reception desk.

Attachments 06.jpg, 07.jpg, 08.jpg, are from the library on
Pierrefonds Blvd. This is a translated copy of the book in french:
"Vente à la criée du lot 49". Although two of these pictures take
place inside the location, I was very careful not to be noticed. There
was no one around, and no security cameras.

Unfortunately the rest of my search turned up nothing. I have
literally been around the whole town in search of this book. I must
admit that other titles by this author were more readily available.
Nonetheless, please understand my situation and the lack of completing
the assignment completely. For that, I offer my apologies.

Regards,
XXXX