He was known for coming up with all kinds of conspiracy theories.
So, it wasn’t unusual for his friend to get a phone call one evening telling him how he had unearthed yet another plot. They had known each other since school and the conspiracy theorist had been full of ideas about what was really going on in the world even back then. The only difference between this call and all the other claims was that he said he had proof, actual, real, hard physical evidence that something really dodgy was going on. He was extremely excited and wanted to come round straight away with the evidence. Although he didn’t always agree with his friends ideas, he was always happy to listen to them. Although this particular request to visit out of the blue was unexpected, he agreed.
His eyes were blazing with excitement when he arrived. Without wasting time, he held up a small thumb drive and asked, “Can I use the computer?”
The other said, “Sure, go ahead.”
He plugged it in, saying, “A friend of mine took this a couple of weeks ago.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll see.”
A video started to play. Staring at the screen, he asked, “What am I looking at here?”
“In short, Landfill Pit 9B.”
“I don’t see…”
“Just watch,” the theorist interrupted, “it only goes for a couple of minutes. Watch it first.” When it ended, he turned to his friend. “Did you see that? Did you see what was being tipped into the pit?”
The other just shrugged. “Well, rubbish, I suppose. That’s what rubbish tips are for, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not rubbish!”
“It isn’t?”
“No, my friend. That’s recycling material. You know, the stuff that’s put into special bins. It’s meant to be kept separate, of course. Let me show you.”
He ran it again, but stopped it at the point where it was cascading out of the back of the truck. “There!” he cried, pointing to the screen. See that? That’s not rubbish. These are items that have been saved for recycling. Look, paper, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, bottles, jars, milk cartons, aluminium cans, aerosol cans and other stuff. All items that people have gone to the trouble of separating!”
His friend was impressed with what he saw. With a questioning look, he said, “And your friend, what does he have to say about all this?”
‘Nothing, I’m afraid.”
“He must be a fellow conspiracy theorist like yourself.”
“He was.”
“What do you mean, he was?”
“Ah! He hasn’t been heard of for a while.”
“What do you mean? Where is he?”
“Officially, he’s listed as a missing person.”
“And unofficially?”
“Unofficially, Pit 9B.”