Arrest Highlights Problem With People Living In Lahaina’s Drainage System

Authorities arrested 38-year-old Sam Pilikia Tuesday for allegedly attempting to steal building supplies and fleeing from officers. While a simple theft may not be especially newsworthy, Sam’s story has garnered a lot of attention. Pilikia is one of dozens living in the drainage system underneath Lahaina and claims he and his “neighbors” needed the construction materials to prepare for an upcoming apocalypse. Many are now calling for officials to take action and help provide permanent housing and medical services for those living in the tunnels.

Squatter settlements seem to be inevitable in many large cities, and despite the beautiful scenery, Lahaina is no exception. Thousands of residents found themselves displaced after the devastation of hurricane Neki last year and many who lost everything like Pilikia have not recovered. Friends say that Sam’s life began to spiral out of control after a work accident in 2043 where he was exposed to large amounts of 127, the element used in veil travel. He made an amazing recovery but had trouble finding a job due to the lingering effects of his injuries. Family members say he began to talk about a coming catastrophe that would wipe out civilization and became obsessed with doomsday scenarios. Despite their best efforts to get him help Sam disappeared. They had no idea where he had gone until his arrest at the Kalipalani Construction lot.

“I noticed a new guy was in the yard loading up a pallet with paver stones when I got in,” says Ronnie Kalipalani. Although he didn’t recognize Mr. Pilikia the owner of Kalipalani Construction says he just thought Sam was a new hire trying to make a good impression on his first day.

“I couldn’t believe that someone actually showed up before 8 am. I mean I was just in on time because the AC went out at home and I couldn’t sleep. I figured he must be one of Mark’s friends who needed some work. I watched him load stuff up and organize stone for almost an hour while the rest of my crew rolled in. We were all just sitting there trying to work up the energy to head out to our first job for the day when I thought I’d go out and say Aloha. I asked his name but he ignored me. I asked again a little louder and he stopped what he was doing and asked me if I know how to make a speargun out of a ukulele. Before I could answer he starts going on about how we didn’t have much time and needed to build a secure base. He was talking about the world ending, monsters in the jungle, and how important it was to burn up bodies before they attracted predators.

He rambled on like that for a few minutes and I could tell he was getting really worked up about it. After listening for a while I was positive he was one of Mark’s buddies. I’ve heard some crazy things at Mark’s house, I mean the kind of things that most people just keep to themselves. I went back inside the office and told everyone some of what he said. We were all having a good laugh until Mark showed up and asked who the new guy was. I don’t know much more about him other than he ran really fast when the cops came and that I’d love to offer him a job once he works out his personal and legal issues. He was a heck of a worker.”

Officials have charged Pilikia with trespassing and evading arrest, but advocates say Sam and many like him need housing and/or medical treatment, not incarceration. Ironically, one of the biggest rebuilding initiatives in Lahaina has fueled the homeless problem as dozens of the displaced have moved into the newly constructed Manimal drainage system.

“It’s a super sad situation,” says Manimal CEO Spencer Kane. “I guess we made the sewers and storm drains a little too nice.”

“For sure there are plenty of attractions down there. Part of our design goals was to give utility workers spots to unwind during their day. There are storage rooms with quarter pipes so workers can practice tricks, lots of stair rails to grind, and plenty of structures to practice parkour, but it’s not supposed to be a home. As amazing as it is you can’t live an amazing life down there even if you just stick to the greywater areas.

Our intentions were to provide Lahaina with the most radical drainage system in all of Hawaii. I promise that we hadn’t even thought that we might be making a base for a doomsday cult or anything like that. Manimal is an extreme drink but we’ve never been about extreme thinking. I hope we can figure out a solution for Sam and everyone else waiting for the world to end while camping out in the tunnels.”

Business Enacts Hiring Freeze On People Who Have Used Veil Travel

2046 was going to be the year that 37-year-old Sam Pilikia got his life back on track. It had been 3 years since his headline-making accident at the Lahaina veil station and his long road to recovery. The doctors had cleared him for work and with over a decade of experience as a lift operator, he was sure he’d be able to find a job in no time. His interview at a local Duracve sorting facility went fantastic and he was positive that he’d get an offer soon. When the company’s letter arrived in his inbox he was ecstatic, until he read the first paragraph. Like a growing number of businesses, Duracave had decided to put a hiring ban on anyone who had used veil technology more than twice in the previous year or worked with element 127, the fuel that makes veil travel possible.

“I was completely devastated,” says Pilikia. “I broke dozens of bones, suffered a brain injury, and had burns to over 50% of my body. The doctors weren’t even sure I’d make it, but I fought hard. I didn’t think anything could stop me, then I got this letter saying I’m unhirable for life because a barrel of 127 fell on me. It doesn’t seem fair.”

Sam is not alone. Dozens of businesses now have some sort of hiring freeze on people who frequently use veil travel, impacting thousands seeking work. A Duracave statement about their policy reads in part, “….above all Duracave represents freedom and a self-sufficient lifestyle. Unfortunately, we live in a time in which tyranny has many faces and to avoid the tyranny of higher health care premiums we’ve had to enact new hiring policies excluding those who might have vulnerabilities. As a company, we are only as strong as our weakest employees. Just as in nature, we’ve had to thin the herd to keep the company in good health and fiscally strong.”

While Pilikia and others fight against 127 hiring bans, VeilWatch founder Tim Durney says the practice is going to become more and more common until the truth about the effects of 127 is exposed. “I think we’re seeing the private sector step in and do what the government should have been doing all along,” he says.

“The truth is that 127 has a devastating effect on your health and the environment. We’ve proven that Veilcorp has known for almost a decade that this element makes permanent changes to DNA. 127 saturates living cells and there is no therapy or method for removing it. The biggest misconception right now is that you can’t live in this day and age without Veilcorp. That’s just not true. We have a program right here on Maui that teaches the public how they can avoid using products that are shipped with veil technology and how to live a clean healthy life avoiding 127 exposure. Unsafe and unregulated, veil technology is one of the greatest dangers to our world today!”

Veilcorp COO Lisa Hunt says she’s disappointed that companies are buying into what she calls, “complete nonsense.” She adds, “It is almost beyond belief that some health insurers have increased rates for people who choose to travel in a modern method based on pseudoscience and superstition. My heart goes out to the people caught up in this nonsense who are simply looking for a job. 127 and veil technology have been proven safe by millions of customers transported without incident across the globe every year. Opening an umbrella indoors, walking under a ladder, and having a black cat cross your path doesn’t preclude you from reasonable health insurance rates and employment. Neither should veil travel.”

While most experts seem to be on Hunt’s side there is no denying that the growth of 127 bans shows that the general public still has some doubts about the safety of the element. Kurt Bickley of Suter, Stine, Burn & Partners (SSB&P) says his law firm takes 127 exposure seriously and has represented dozens of people adversely affected by veil technology. “If anything, Mr. Durney is underselling the dangers,” he says.

“We have already filed a class-action suit against Veilcorp on behalf of thousands of parents who have had twins or triplets because of exposure to 127, but in a lot of ways, these multiple birth parents are the lucky ones. The list of health issues caused by veil travel is long and terrifying. Some of the most common problems include severe mood swings, blackouts, spastic arm syndrome, depression, veil palsy, problems with memory and concentration, paranoia, overactive bladder, Morgellons, a burning sensation in the teeth, dropsy, frigidity, nausea, heart palpitation, pica, trench mouth, sleep apnea, night terrors, hair loss, and a sudden drop in IQ. If you or a loved one has experienced any or all of these symptoms after veil travel contact SSB&P immediately so we can begin your case and establish our right to 30% of your recovery.”

Supplemental Interview covering the Incident on 6/6/2043

I understand that the events on 6/6/2043 are incredible, that why I put “wrong side of probability/fate” into box 13 when asked for the underlying cause of the accident. I continue to stand by that assessment.

My foreman Frank and I were the only ones scheduled to work the night shift leaving me to move the latest shipment of 127 to the second floor storage area myself. As usual Frank put on his noise dampeners, and was pretending that he wasn’t listening to music.

I hooked into the first pallet and drove to the freight elevator only to discover that it was not working. I thought I’d try to raise the forks as high as I could, and see if it cleared the balcony railing. About 8 feet from the height I needed the lift started to tip. I decided my best bet would be to grab a length of carbon cord and a pulley from the maintenance room. I attached the pulley to the balcony railing, and lowered the rope. Then, I got a medium sized plastic trash can, and one of the promotional Nuuskin thermoses that were accidently delivered to act as a scoop. With can and thermos in hand, I climbed up my lift to the pallet. Frank sat with his back to me nodding his head in time to his music.

I attached one end of the cord to the trash can and opened the container of 127. Balancing on a fork, I began to fill the can with 127 using the thermos as a scoop. I now know that 127 is a very dense material, and that it has been estimated that I had scooped around 195kg into the can. It is important to remember that I weigh between 68-70kg on any given day. My legs trembled as I strained to pull the trash can up to the balcony. Then I slipped.

I kicked the can hard, and watched it head to the floor. I noticed that I had wrapped the cord around my hand too late to undo it, and found myself heading up towards the railing. My hand met the bottom of the pulley and the trash can hit the floor. My fingers snapped. The can broke apart spilling 127 everywhere.

Now lighter than me, the barrel shot past as I began my quick descent leaving a trail of 127 in the air. I passed by the cloud as the AC kicked in, blowing it into my face. I landed hard on a fork and heard a snap in my ankle. My now bloody fingers slipped from the cord, and I tumbled backwards. Without being tied to my hand, the trash can came down again.

I landed folded up between the seat and the controls pressing on the accelerator with the now almost empty can on top of me spilling the remaining 127 over my head. The lift lurched backwards and I was off heading straight towards Frank. I screamed at him, but he remained ignorant of the fact that a co-worker wedged in a lift was flying towards him with a cracked and mostly empty barrel of 127. It’s strange but right before I hit him I could swear I heard his music and stranger still, I saw him both get hit, not get hit, fall down, and not fall down. I seemed to simultaneously hear Aloha Oe, Robert Johnson, and Iz not as a mashup, but as simultaneous individual soundtracks to my failure. I watched him go flying onto the board in my side mirror before passing out.

Yesterday I told my story to the Department of Energy investigators numerous times. I told it to a room full of people 8 times in fact. The last time they brought in all the interns and the secretaries before I complained. You’ll have to excuse me if I seem a little tired of explaining the events that led to the worst day of my life for the amusement of others. This better not end up on YouTube.

You asked specifically why I believe “wrong side of probability/fate” was the cause of the accident, and not gross negligence or incompetence. That is hard to explain, but I’ll do my best. Since that Saturday I can see how actions are connected. Every action produces something like probability string art that I can follow. You’ll have to trust me, there was no decision that I could have made that day that would have led to a substantially different outcome. All the strings led to this place. I was the good person due for a bad thing to happen to him.

Sam Pilikia
Lift Operator

Company Set To Sell Missed Veilcorp Travel Slots

There’s no doubt that Veilcorp has changed the face of travel and transportation. Almost 3 billion travelers used Veilcorp to reach their destinations last year, and that number is expected to almost double in the next 10 years. Up until now, one of Veilcorp’s biggest logistical problems has been handling last minute cancellations and late customers. The issue causes delays and complications, costing the travel giant millions every year. However, a new company says it has a solution that will save some of that money, and provide a certain group of travelers great travel deals. Veil-Trails plans on selling those missed or abandoned departure slots at a greatly reduced rate to those who don’t have a specific destination in mind, and are quick enough to fill them.

Coordinating almost 8 million trips daily is a mammoth undertaking that requires an equally large number of resources and support staff. Monitoring 127 levels, synchronizing with arrival destinations, handling paperwork and permits for international destinations, and ensuring that safety protocols are followed is a daunting task. While the introduction of the VALARIE AI (Veil Artificial Life Augmented Recognition Intelligence Entity) a few years ago helped streamline the system greatly, it still represents a large part of Veilcorp’s operating time and costs. That’s why when Reed Gammen, founder and President of Veil-Trails, approached Veilcorp with his idea, they were very interested.

“Everyone who’s taken a trip with Veilcorp has noticed how short the lines are and how smoothly everything runs. It all works great until it doesn’t. Any glitch in timing, or a customer who doesn’t show up can really throw a wrench in the system, and cuts into Veilcorp’s bottom line. However, one of the greatest things about Veil travel is that it has opened the world to those with a spirit of adventure, and a desire to explore. I knew that if we could join Veilcorp’s structured systems, with some of these free spirited travelers, we could have an unconventional success. They agreed, and Veil-Trails was born.”

Gammen’s company works by creating a pool of people willing to travel with only an hours notice, and to a location that is only revealed upon their arrival. Veil-Trails customers must have valid passports, documents for a number of possible destinations, and up-to-date shots for a variety of exotic diseases. Customers check boxes for which of 22 global regions they would like to visit such as, “Midwestern United States” or “Eastern Europe,” and are alerted when a traveler to one of those locations has cancelled, or failed to show up.

While traveling to an unknown destination with less than 60 minutes notice may seem exciting to some, safety advocates say the program could be potentially dangerous, with people arriving unprepared for the climate, or the political environment of some locations. Sam Pilikia, one of Veilcorp’s own employees, ran into trouble during the test phase of the program late last year. Political unrest reached a boiling point, and an armed conflict broke out in New Equatorial Guinea minutes after Sam’s arrival. He was forced to hide, injured in the rubble for 36 hours before he could be rescued. In the end, Sam received more shrapnel than savings, but Reed says the company has taken steps to make sure nobody has to go through the ordeal that Sam did.

“We’ve actually removed 4 regions from the original 26 for ongoing or potential political unrest. We take our customers safety very seriously, but unfortunately we can’t foresee every disaster man-made or natural. We encourage people to educate themselves about a region before they click that box,” says Gammen. Despite the safety concerns, many seem eager to try the service, with over 5,000 living near a Veil Station signing up already this morning.

Malie Kahiko, star of the popular online series Malie’s List, in which she marks off items on other people’s “bucket list”, is one such early signee. The 102-year-old Lahaina resident says she can’t wait to see her fans, and different parts of the world on a discount.

“People who watch my show know that not much frightens me. If you’re scared of anything after 100 you’re doing it wrong. Every morning I wake up is a blessing, and a surprise at this point. Everyone knows that the only thing I love more than naps and dinner at 4pm, is a great deal. Veil-Trails seems like a great opportunity for someone like me. I already take a handful of pills every morning so a few more, and an occasional shot doesn’t concern me. My scooter Betty has a secure bag for all my documents, and I’m only 20 minutes from the station at top speed. As long as they have: senior discounts, jazz music, robust accessibility laws, and a challenge for me to cross off a list, I’m ready.”