—much of it contradictory—for every theory, and it’s doubtful we’ll ever be satisfied with any single answer.
15. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man are a pair of individuals present at Dealey Plaza who figure prominently in some of the JFK conspiracy theories. Umbrella Man, so named because he was carrying an umbrella on a sunny morning (although it had been raining earlier in the day) can be seen in various photographs and the Zapruder film opening his umbrella right after Oswald fired the first of his three shots; conspiracy theorists see this as a signal to Oswald that he had missed and needed to fire again. Dark-Complected man, seated near Umbrella Man, can be seen carrying a dark rectangular object that some conspiracy theorists believe to be a walkie-talkie, with which he is communicating with other conspirators. Neither man’s real name has ever been confirmed.
16. MK-ULTRA. A top secret program of the CIA, along with Projects Bluebird, Chatter, and Artichoke, which researched brainwashing, mind-control, and interrogation, including the use of drugs and other techniques to influence human behavior. At its most basic level, MK-ULTRA investigated drugs such as Sodium Pentothol, MDSM, LSD, and BZ for use as incapacitants and truth serums; at its most far-fetched, the program seriously investigated various forms of ESP, including telepathy and remote viewing, and possible ways to create these abilities.
17. Joseph Scheider. The real name of Sidney Gottlieb, the leader of the chemical division of the CIA’s Technical Services Section. Scheider, aka Gottlieb, was the head of MK-ULTRA and also worked on various poisons and poison-delivery systems in the CIA’s decades-long plot to assassinate or otherwise remove Fidel Castro from power, including a plan to spray his shoes with thallium so that his beard would fall out—Gottlieb seeming to believe that Castro’s power, like Samson’s, was vested in his hair.
18. LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide was synthesized in a Swiss laboratory in 1938 as a potential treatment for heart problems. At the time, it was by far the most powerful hallucinogen that had ever been discovered, and concomitant with its extreme power came extreme claims about its potential: from cures for schizophrenia to a life-empowerment tool to a means for creating new mental states and even abilities, LSD was a compound of intense scientific and social scrutiny.
19. The Truman Doctrine. Harry Truman’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that it was necessary for the United States to do everything within its power economically and militarily to prevent countries from “going Red,” be it voluntarily or as a result of Soviet aggression. As part of the U.S. policy of containment, the most famous applications of the doctrine were, first, in Korea and, later, in Vietnam. Although the Korean and Vietnam wars failed to save either country from partial or total Communist victory, Cold War historians believe that the expense of these and other wars contributed to the economic fragility of the Soviet Union, which led to its collapse in 1989.
20. The Daylight Test. A catchphrase in the espionage community, the Daylight Test refers to the criterion by a particular intelligence operation is judged—that is, would you perform the same action in broad daylight that you would under cover of darkness? Although idealists see it as a moral yardstick prohibiting actions that wouldn’t stand up to direct scrutiny, pragmatists see it instead as an admonition to prepare for eventual discovery and have strategies for disavowal or plausible deniability ready to hand.
Background reading:
John Armstrong.
Erik Hedegaard. “The Last Confession of E. Howard Hunt.”
John Clellon Holmes. “This Is the Beat Generation.”
George Kennan. The “Long Telegram,” http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/documents/episode- 1/kennan.htm.
Norman Mailer. “The White Negro.”
About the Authors
TIM KRING is one of the creative community’s original transmedia storytellers using film, TV, broadband, computers, mobile devices, and the printed page to engage audiences around the world in narrative and immersive story arcs. Internationally, 76 million fans know Tim’s work as the creator and executive producer of
Kring has written numerous feature films, series pilots, and television movies. Before creating
Kring studied film at Allan Hancock Junior College and then the University of Southern California’s renowned film school. After graduation he worked his way up in production as a grip, a gaffer, and on camera crews.
Kring resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lisa, a social worker, and their two children. In his spare time, he enjoys photography and collecting acoustic guitars.
DALE PECK is the author of nine books, including, most recently,
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Tim Kring
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
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CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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