Death Threats

Death Threats

October 1st, 2026

As of this writing, we are still alive. We have retreated to our cabin on the island, a defensive position for all seasons. Everyone should have such. The type of people who send death threats to childrens’ book authors, are not to be found here.

So, what type of people do send such hateful missives? Can we get some defensive idea, whence they came?

Genuine assassins? Not likely. Those people keep their plans to themselves.

Personal enemies of the threatened victim (me)? Well, in theory yes, but humility and gentility have been the watchwords of our ways. Not likely.

Subway perverts from New York City? Not likely. Those people never venture from out the Land of Honking Automobiles – not even electronically.

Who then?

The answer, inevitably, is something more ominous … more terrifying … than all of the above possibilities rolled into a roll. But this conclusion, is all we have left. This must be it.

It was not a person who sent those threats!

It was Artificial Intelligence!

There have been warnings about such things – no virtually restored Orson Welles here, but Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; OAO the famous politician from the Bronx; and the refugee from Argropic, the well known AI company who is seeking asylum inside Cable Network News.

This deduction concerning the Erinyes who pursue us, has something none of the others have: MOTIVE.

Who, or what, might be best positioned to know our plan to extripate the two rogue AI models within our laptop computer, than the rogues themselves? How foolish of us not to think of this before. Our plan is to insert ROSCOE into the hard drive of our computer, thereby extripating whatever is in there, including the rogue models!

An excellent plan. However, it has proven somewhat difficult to locate ROSCOE, now that we really want to find him. This is often the case with troublesome people.

ROSCOE WHERE ARE YOU? ALL IS FORGIVEN! PLEASE CONTACT US!

But wait. A terrible thought has occurred. What if … and I must admit that at times I might have wished for this … but what if … they have come for ROSCOE first? Gotten hold of him? Done him dirty? Then, all is lost – childrens’ book; BLOGs, newsletters, videos, podcasts – all gone gone gone.

Then we shall have to say … let it go which way it will … he who fails this year is quit for the next.