Since Sahara Knax was captured in a failed attack on a military base in Northwestern Oregon, a series of mysterious technical glitches have prevented me from posting to this blog. I'm back now, and here's a few of the news stories I'm tracking as the mystical outbreak continues--

• In the weeks since Knax's arrest, there have been several major clashes between Alchemites, various police forces, the National Guard, and the actual Army. The skirmishes have taken place across the country. A half-dozen Alchemites have been captured in these clashes; over thirty police officers and soldiers are rumored to be MIA, but the government has declined to confirm this.
• Those same missing soldiers, it is rumored, have turned up in the dreams of their friends and loved ones, apparently safe and sound. (No official confirmation on that either, but the phenomenon's pretty widespread.)
  
• In the absence of Sahara Knax, the leader of the Alchemites still at large seems to be a woman known as Passion. Little is known about Passion, but a two million dollar reward for information leading to her arrest has nevertheless been posted.
• As even the mainstream media has reported, the mystical contamination in Oregon has spread radically, and three more towns in the Indigo Springs / Great Blue Reservoir region have been evacuated.
• The mystical celebrity known as Patience has not been seen since Sahara Knax was arrested. It has been rumored that Patience may have left government custody, and that perhaps Astrid Lethewood has escaped, too. Again, nobody in a position of authority seems willing to confirm or deny this.
• What the government is willing to tell us is that Sahara Knax will be facing charges of terrorism, assault and treason in Federal Court as soon as a facility can be secured in which to hold a trial.