[Fiction] A Readout of Sensitive Internet Activity

Read the third place entry for our week of June 8 contest, Found Document

A Readout of Sensitive Internet Activity
by Lukas Hager

5/12 - 7:14 AM: Center for Disease Control - “About Prion Diseases”
	Prion diseases are rare medical conditions caused by the misfolding of naturally occurring proteins, often within the brain. Sickness may be caused by genetic factors or by exposure to misfolded proteins through environmental causes, such as contaminated meat. Most known forms of prion illness are caused by errors in the structure of the Major Prion Protein (PRNP).

5/12 - 7:25 AM: Google Search
➔	‘how many species have prion protein’
➔	‘biological purpose of prion protein’
➔	‘how old is the prion protein’
➔	‘why do so many species share a harmful and mostly useless gene like PRNP’

5/15 - 6:02 PM: Reddit - “Ask Science”
●	User NeuroNerd486: “Why do humans still have the Major Prion Protein if it can cause so many different diseases?
○	User 77builtinaday: “Great question OP! Prion diseases are very interesting and can be quite terrifying to learn about. Thankfully, they are incredibly rare unless you happen to be eating cow brains. About your question, though, we don’t really know! There is some evidence to suggest it plays a role in cell signaling and neuroprotection. However, mice with PRNP removed actually turn out to be surprisingly healthy!”
■	User NeuroNerd486: “So deleting part of the protein creates an incurable sickness, but deleting the whole gene is fine? That sounds like an evolutionary trap”
○	User brong343434: “Prions don’t ‘exist,’ they persist. Like guilt. Like stories.”
●	[This post has been removed by moderators]

5/15 - 8:11 PM: Google Search
➔	“mouse prion removal experiment”
➔	“how old are prions?”
➔	“what do all creatures with prions have in common”
➔	“first vertebrate to live in large groups together”
➔	“earliest cannibalism in evolution”
➔	“earliest gift-giving in evolution”
➔	“why do squirrels leave most of their nuts buried”
➔	“how to get rid of obsessive thoughts when falling asleep”


5/16 - 2:20 AM: Spotify
Radiohead – “Everything In Its Right Place”
Taylor Swift – “Out of the Woods”

5/16 - 12:03 PM: Google Maps
Directions from Home to Colorado State University, Prion Research Center

5/16 - 7:23 PM: Research Gate 
[Excerpt from archived article, dated 1/24/2011, written by DELETED USER]: 

Our research suggests that Prion Diseases arise when hydrophobic lobes within the PRNP protein become misaligned and violate the minimal entropic configuration of the protein.

When these lobes are aligned, their structure follows an ordered binary pattern. Preliminary outputs match ASCII encoding. One partial fragment reads: ‘What you hoard...’ 

5/17 - 7:55 AM: Google Search
➔	“hidden messages in genetic codes” 
➔	“python data analysis tutorial”
➔	“python data analysis tutorial beginner”
➔	“PRNP full gene text file download” 
➔	“english words embedded in proteins examples”

5/18 - 1:46 AM: Local File Opened - “translated_message.txt”
What you hoard will consume you
What you give will become you
That which exists must also persist
That which takes must eventually desist

5/18 - 3:33 AM: Google Search
➔	“is time travel possible”
➔	“how to forget things you’ve learned”
➔	“nearest forest trail”
➔	“does woodland park have cameras”

A Note From Our Guest Judge,

Erica Stern

I loved the strangeness of this piece, which uses scientific language to great effect. It conjures up the way obsession works, and is aided and abetted by the internet and access to endless amounts of information.

About Lukas Hager

Lukas Hager has never really written anything before, at least not publicly. He is young, works a job which gives him too much free time, and worst of all, he has many thoughts on life, a burden which falls mostly upon his loved ones and closest friends.

This piece was written in response to the prompt Found Document.