prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Le Rêve was created by the director behind what Cirque du Soleil production from 1998 onward?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
Carolina Moraes
Carolina Moraes (born 5 April 1980) is a former synchronized swimmer from Brazil  She competed in the women's duet competition with her twin sister, Isabela Moraes, at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics  Both also competed for Ohio State University, winning 11 national championships, including the team routine title in 2000, and four straight titles in duet and trio routines between 1999 and 2002  Following the Olympics, Carolina and Isabela retired and joined Cirque du Soleil, with their first performance being as part of the 2005 World Aquatics Championships opening ceremony  Both have been  part of the cast of Le Rêve, a show presented in Las Vegas since 2007, though Carolina is less frequent as she travels with her husband, part of Cirque du Soleil's technical team 
Passage 2:
Isabela Moraes
Isabela Moraes (born 5 April 1980) is a former synchronized swimmer from Brazil  She competed in the women's duet competition with her twin sister, Carolina Moraes, at both the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics   Both also competed for Ohio State University, winning 11 national championships, including the team routine title in 2000, and four straight titles in duet and trio routines between 1999 and 2002  Following the Olympics, Carolina and Isabela retired and joined Cirque du Soleil, with their first performance being as part of the 2005 World Aquatics Championships opening ceremony  Isabela has been since 2007 part of Le Rêve, a show presented in Las Vegas 
Passage 3:
Zumanity
Zumanity (zoo-manity)  was a resident cabaret-style show by Cirque du Soleil at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, placed into the theatre previously occupied by Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance (musical)  The production was unveiled on September 20, 2003 (previews started on August 14, 2003) and had its last performance on March 14, 2020  It was announced on November 16, 2020 that the show would be closing permanently  It is the first "adult-themed" Cirque du Soleil show, billed as "the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil" or "another side of Cirque du Soleil"  Created by René Richard Cyr and Dominic Champagne, Zumanity is a departure from the standard Cirque format  Intended to be for mature adult audiences only, this show is centered on erotic song, dance, acrobatics, and comedy The inspiration to create Zumanity  came from multiple sources  Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté had been offered the chance to create two new shows in Las Vegas, and wanted something completely new and original rather than multiple similar shows that would cannibalize off of each other's sales and audiences  Another reason was that the New York-New York Hotel and Casino wanted to make their entertainment appear more "trendy " The hotel liked the concept of a more adult Cirque du Soleil performance Laliberté admits that the biggest reason to produce this show was the chance to create something with riskier subject matter  He was interested in the idea of creating a show that explored human sexuality, something that was at complete odds with the other, more family-oriented Cirque du Soleil shows  "Our previous shows have all been family-oriented and politically correct, which is great," Laliberté said, "but we're human beings, we won't hide it  We're a bunch of happy campers  We like to live new experiences  Zumanity deals with some of those experiences "On February 22, 2022, Cirque du Soleil announced that a new show, "Mad Apple," would replace the Zumanity show at New York-New York Hotel and Casino, which opened on May 26, 2022 

Costumes
Thierry Mugler designed the costumes for Zumanity; he created the costumes to enhance the sensual atmosphere and heightened sexuality of the production   Many of the costumes are highly colorful, yet some are minimal to an exaggerated extreme  Fur, feathers, leather, lace, fishnet stockings, velvet dresses, tiny corsets, cone bras, and plastic accessories were primary materials utilized to create the costumes' provocative appeal  Jonel's costume, for example, is made of stretch vinyl and is airbrushed to create a semi-nude effect; her bright red wig is made of expanded foam  Faun has fur on his pants which is made from toothbrush bristles, human hair, and yak fur  Molinier's long velvet dress was created by using a stencil and net onto which black silicone was applied  Though some characters are made to look entirely nude, the sex organs are fake pieces  Zumanity had Cirque's most expensive and elaborate costumes, the Rose Boy's g-string alone costing $75,000 
For a great selection of character costumes and concept art, see Le Grand Chapiteau - Zumanity - Personages

The Human Zoo
The lobby was created in European style, with an emphasis on curves  A long lighting fixture on the ceiling looked to be made of many strips of golden silk  One of the walls was lined with what looked to be a burgundy, padded headboard  Along the headboard, there were peepholes that originally were conceived to show clips of erotic, vintage films, but eventually showed promotional posters of the show  There was a large window filled with blue swirls, and a glowing, golden fixture in the wall that seemed to resemble a labia  Another window with a frame that looked like branches or vines showcased the "Amsterdam Room," which had one of the performers in it, dancing and teasing the guests in the lobby  You could talk to the performer through a phone built into the wall  The lamps were elegant and attached to the wall by arms that looked porous  There was a small nook with a couch you could lay on, usually with one of the performers  The grand staircase leading to the balconies also looked to be made of vines, or even nerves possibly symbolizing the sense of touch 
The theatre had 3 bars, the Eroticafés: two on the ground floor and one upstairs  They served sushi and various drinks, the highlight being the Zumanitini  The Zumanitini was 1 oz  Vodka Citron, 1/2 oz  Cherry Pucker, and a splash of Triple Sec, Sweet and Sour, and cranberry  Next to one of the bars was a small stage that looked like someone's bedroom  You would always find one of the cast members beckoning to the guests from the bed  The restrooms were unique in that you would hear whispering and teasing at each station  Different from the other shows, Zumanity had multiple performers roaming the lobby, always ready to playfully flirt and take photos 
Entering the theatre itself, you'd find yourself in a cabaret, smaller and more intimate than the other resident Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas shows  The stage looked to be a marble parquet, with elegant, red curtains and two spiral staircases on either side  Above the stage was a bridge that the band played from, which could move up and down  Many chandeliers hung around the stage  The walls were lined with very dimly lit lamps  The carpet featured naked women in a style that looked similar to a Renaissance or Baroque painting  Around the back sides of the stage were barstools, and around the front circle of the stage were loveseats - special options on top of the normal theatre seating 
When the curtains opened, a giant structure called "The Wave" was exposed  These were two massive, wavey screens that images could be projected on  The screens could be moved into different positions 
The shop contained all sorts of novelties, from Zumanitini glasses to chocolate soap bars  Naturally, one could also find various adult-themed items 

The Show: 2003 - 2005
Animation
"Through a series of scene transitions, this comedic quartet supplies the counterpoint to all that is erotic and provocative about ZUMANITY  In a show filled with serious sexual tension, Spymonkey is a reminder of the importance of having a laugh at ourselves and having fun in the bedroom!"Spymonkey was composed of Toby Park, Petra Massey, Aitor Basauri Barruetabena, and Stephan Kreiss
Eliot Douglass plays a jazzy cabaret tune on the piano as the Molinier stands by with a cigarette  Zumans descend the spiral staircases to walk among the audience, with some stripping on stage  Luciene and Licemar Medeiros, twin sisters in showy French maid outfits, brush up against audience members in the aisles as they feed them strawberries  Antonio Drija, Zumanity's resident Gigolo, flirts with audience members, passes out calling cards, and takes polaroids  The Puritans, Spymonkey dressed up as Quakers, take to the stage protesting the show's obscenities, while ironically being a bit sexual themselves Welcome, "Hello boys, hello girls"
"Half-lit cigarette, empty martini glass, all these chicks lined up in a row on a street with no name in a city that never sleeps "
The Puritans are booted off stage  Joey Arias, our "Mistress of Seduction" madame, emcee and drag artist, sings a jazzy tune in her sensuous, smokey voice reminiscent of Billie Holiday  She then welcomes and warms the audience up for the coming show with laughs and very personal questions for the guests Warnings, "Rules of the House"
Lonnie Gordon, acclaimed dance, pop, and R&B singer, takes the stage, singing a song that highlights some things about the effects of the show that may surprise audiences, and what is prohibited  Eventually, Corinne Zarzour, Zumanity's rock diva, would join her Extravaganza
“Blaring horns and hammering drums announce the beginning of the fanfare  One by one the cast makes its fashionable entrance, parading down the catwalk in costumes every bit as vibrant, bold, and diverse as their spectrum of talents and personalities  It’s an incandescent introduction to the colorful cast of performers who will guide the audience on their journey into the world of ZUMANITY ”Wind and Wassa
"We summon the spirits of passion and hope "
"All at once a storm sweeps over the stage as Marcela [de la Vega Luna], Queen of the Wind, summons the spirits in a fevered flamenco dance  With smoldering intensity, her hypnotic trance stirs the soul, arouses the imagination and prepares the senses for an uninhibited transformation "
"Marcela awakens the unbridled passion in Wassa [Coulibaly]  Exploding into a vigorous African dance, her arms, legs and torso take on a primal energy of their own, flying erratically and erotically in rhythm to the intoxicating tribal pulse "Water Bowl
"Do you remember that first hint of something delicious and strange? Of water on parched lips? Or that very first glass of champagne? Do you remember how, in one magical moment, everything changed?"
"Abandoning their innocence, contortionists Gyula [Gyulnara Karaeva] and Bolormaa [Zorigtkhuyag] bathe in inhibition and taste love for the first time  Fluidly they glide through the water striking a sensual array of inconceivable poses to explore the limits of physicality, sexuality and creativity all at once "
Cirque's Amaluna would also showcase a water bowl act years later in 2012 Hoops
"Oh, innocence: so fleeting, so fragile  One day the sweet young thing, the next thing you know, you're soaking wet and lying naked in a hotel room in Vegas  Story of my life: 'what goes around, comes around '"
"Julia [Kolosova] brings to life the school girl fantasy  She gyrates and swivels as she guides her hoops up and down her lithe frame, ultimately engulfing her body  Then, without warning, the dream takes flight as she soars through the air performing daring feats of aerial choreography "
Julia hula hooped in midair while swinging around the theatre The Rose Boy
"I've been looking at all these beautiful, sexy, wonderful women up on stage tonight, and I know some of you are wondering, 'Where's the beef?' Does anybody want some roses?"
"Alex [Castro] peels away the tough exterior to expose his weakness    for the ladies  He tantalizes and teases the audience by revealing his chiseled body bit by bit in a sinfully seductive striptease "Pom Poms
Spymonkey comes out entirely nude (the privates were prosthetics) and teases the audience by covering themselves only by pom poms, which they remove to give quick flashes of their bodies  At one point, one of the members crawls over the audience's seats with his privates getting entangled in guests' hair Body2Body
"These days I live for the elicit tingle of skin on skin, the taste of sweat, and the pungent scent of passion  How about you? Are there parts of your lover's body you've left unexplored, untouched, untasted? Well, my only question is, "What are you waiting for?'"
"Sara [Joel] and Stéphan [Choinière] entwine in a tantric, hand-balancing duet that underscores the beauty of sex  Featuring a breath-taking array of Kama Sutra-inspired maneuvers, their act portrays the discovery of a lover’s body with dramatic strength, flexibility and trust "
The artists maneuver their bodies into various shapes, making living, human sculptures  Body2Body can be related to hand-2-hand, although it is done quite differently  The performers use their entire bodies to lift each other, and the act has high emphasis on choreography Expressions and Dislocation
Expressions: Interlude into Dislocation where the Fauna [Jesse Villa] breakdances on the stage 
Dislocation: "Limber Lothario, Moukhtar [Gusengadzhiev], performs on command for his sadomasochistic sirens, who derive pleasure from watching him squirm  Redefining flexibility, his elastic body bends, twists, and contorts into nature-defying positions that inspire both 'awes' and 'ows '"Dance on TV
"Gorgeous good girl, Elena [Gatilova], breaks out of her shell to grab her lover’s attention  Turning up the heat on love gone flat, she ignites the scene with her feminine wiles, sultry gymnastics and dance to rekindle the flame and make her lover see her again as if for the very first time "
This act features a television set in the middle of the stage, with multiple men watching the sports game playing on the set  Elena dances on the TV, trying to get their attention  Eventually she succeeds and the sports game turns to static  Zumanity's other female dances take the stage, and they all remove their tops and dance on chairs for the men 2Men
"Tumultuous lovers Patrick [King] and Johan [King Silverhult] tango in the throes of passion  Through their fierce choreography unfolds a love story between two deities, Love and War  Again and again they attract and repel in intense conflict until the magnetic energy between them becomes more than they can bear "
Patrick and Johan perform a violent dance in a cage, symbolizing fighting  They are sparring over Marcela, who dances in the background in a flamenco dress, egging them on  As the fight goes on, it becomes softer and more sensual, and the brilliant red light behind Marcela starts to grow smaller  The fighters eventually lose all focus on Marcela, give one big, passionate kiss, and walk off the stage together, to Marcela's great dismay Revenge of the Doll
Spymonkey reappears to shed their sexual inhibitions  One of them carries a sex doll onto the stage, preparing to have fun with it  He is chased by a few of the others dressed as policemen  When he comes back out, the doll comes to life to hump the audience members and the cast  Originally, there was also a segment where Spymonkey used gags to mock some of the previous acts, much like in Cirque's Dralion Savage Love, Market, Fire, and Aerial Straps
"Are you still hiding from monsters under your bed? Skeletons in your closet? Follow me to a place where rules are broken and pleasure dances with pain  Just be careful what you ask for    you might just get exactly what you deserve "
Market, part 1: First, arabesque music plays as the Boteros juggle dildos, Zumans flail in chains, and Jonel Earl dances with a whip  The interlude resembles a sadomasochistic circus  This act originally contained 2 pythons, Adam and Yves, some of Cirque's only animals ever used in its shows  This interlude would remain in the show until its closing 
Fire: Fire was only in the show for a few weeks, but it featured Heidi Good and Jila Alaghamandan in very showy S&M leather outfits as they performed a fire dance  Androgynous Cape ["Almukatab" Jacobo Espina] also danced with one of the snakes  This act was removed from the show because Guy Laliberté, Cirque's founder, did not want a fire act in the show  The smoke left in the air after the act also made it difficult for the Straps artist to perform 
Savage Love: It is unknown when exactly this act was in the show, but it is believed to be either the replacement for Fire or a back-up act  This act featured Vanessa Convery and Ugo Mazin violently dancing in the 2Men cage  See reference for a video of the act 
Market, part 2 (also called Inferno in press releases): "Pleasure dances with pain as ZUMANITY’s resident gigolo, Antonio [Drija], feels the wrath of the women [Jonel Earl, Laetitia Ray, Vanessa Convery, Sophie Ayache, and Agnès Roux] he has scorned  Captured by a militia of vixens in a barred prison cell he finds himself caught in the middle of rough-and-tumble romantic revenge "This act replaced either Fire or Savage Love, and was in the show until around 2005  There was also a version of it that used 7 men and 1 woman 
Straps: "Laurence [Jardin], alone on stage in fragile silence, is bound by her straps  An exercise in self-inflicted pleasure and pain, she uses the leather contraption to tease and torture herself  All the while she watches her bonds ease into auto-erotic aerial maneuvers  Scored by heavy breathing, gentle moans of ecstasy and the friction of her straps, Laurence’s self-satisfying bondage flight draws to a climactic finale "From 2005 and onwards, Market, referred to above as "part 1," would lead directly into straps S&M Hoedown
Spymonkey comes onstage dressed in S&M leather with various pain-inducing items  They do a hoedown dance while inflicting pain on themselves as a sexual stimulant Sheets and Tissus
Sheets: An opening interlude to Tissus," this is a short ballet where the dancers had silken, white sheets on their hands that they danced with 
Tissus: "Though he desperately tries to catch her attention, Alan [Jones Silva] passes unnoticed by the glamorous goddess Olga [Vershinina]  Finally, the once unattainable object of his affection is within arms reach as their two worlds entwine mid-flight in mesmerizing aerial dance "Midnight Bath
"Let your imagination have free reign  Let your fantasies take you to unexpected places "
"With the suggestion that you can’t keep love locked up in a bedroom, Vanessa [Convery] and Ugo [Mazin] give imagination free reign and let fantasy take them to unexpected places  Using milk as their medium they caress each other’s flesh in this luscious lactic sexual experiment "As the name suggests, this act was performed in a bathtub in the middle of the stage  The act was opened by another jazz number from Joey Arias: "Touch me, hold me, never let me go "Orgy, has been referred to in the show as Lazy Susan of Sex, Sex Station 69, Garden of Delights, and Zumanitarium
"The cast emerges from every orifice of the theatre in search of hedonistic prey  In duos, trios (and some flying solo), they assume a smörgåsbord of sexual positions on the Lazy Susan of Sex, where they touch, stroke, moan and embrace until the tension builds to an orgasmic conclusion "This is an audience participation segment  Antonio would lead two members of the audience onto the stage, usually one male and one female  Each would be given to a few of the cast members that would try to arouse them based on their sexual orientation  Antonio usually caressed and rubbed up against the female as the emcee would ask personal questions and make sexual innuendos  The emcee would then move on to the male and try to arouse him  If he was okay with it, his shirt and pants would be removed by the time the emcee got to him  Joey Arias would stick her microphone into his underwear and speak into it Pacemakers and Finale
"Bringing the show full circle, senior-most members of the cast, Birgit and Fleming [Thomsen], surprise the audience with an astonishing hand balancing adagio  Together they defy time and gravity with physical feats of strength, flexibility and control  This real life couple, married for over 48 years, is a testament to the enduring, everlasting nature of true love "
Birgit and Fleming were sitting in the audience and brought on stage as "guests," when in reality they were cast members and would break into acrobatics 

The Show: 2005 - 2015
There were various changes throughout 2005, from acts to costumes  The Body2Body artists left the show and the act was replaced by Hand-to-Hand  Spymonkey also left and the "Sexperts," Dick and Izzy, replaced them for the remainder of Zumanity's run  While Pom Poms stayed in the show through 2014 (and would feature Dick, Izzy, and the Boteros), all of the other clown acts were new  Pacemakers and Extravaganza would also be changed around 2006, when Extravaganza was moved to the end of the show and Pacemakers left permanently 

Dick and Izzy: "Zumanity’s resident sex therapists, Dick [Nicky Dewhurst] and Izzy [Shannan Calcutt] aim to please with their sexy and silly methods engaging the audience in a hilarious round of not-so-innocent repartee  The sexual tension runs high as Dick, a French sex merchant, peddles his wares, while Izzy, his wife!, searches the audience night after night for a boyfriend "Animation: Instead of the Puritans, Dick and Izzy come out dressed in 1950s-esque prom outfits  Both hit on various members of the audience and try to swing with the couples  They make sexual innuendos with bananas and fence with dildos 
Scotch Baggies!: Izzy pitches her new business - little plastic sandwich baggies that she fills with scotch (in reality, tea) to use instead of breast implants  She removes her top and has one of the male members from the audience hold the baggies to her breasts as she tapes them to herself  "You are not going to see this at the Celine Dion show "
Knives (possibly called Sex Toys): Volunteers from the audience is strapped to a board and blindfolded while tricked into thinking knives are being thrown at them 
Vegas Hook-Up (also referred to as Express Dating): Audience members are once again brought on stage  Dick and Izzy explain that it's better to forget all of the normal wooing on a first date and go straight for the bedroom  They teach the audience members how to turn each other on  Then, they make them get onto a bed and ride each other as they sink into the stage and silly string shoots up Hand-2-Hand
"In an aggressive but intimate hand-balancing duet, [Joanie Leroux-Côté] and [Nicolas Alain Michel Besnard] entwine in a powerful act with breathtaking acrobatic-inspired manoeuvres  Their flawless movements thrust the two kindred spirits into a provocative tale of lust "I Like It
Back-up act where Joey Arias would sing another jazz song 
"Oh, What a Feelin" may have also been sung more than during Joey's final performance Mistress of Sensuality, Edie
"Part showgirl, part cabaret queen, Mistress of Sensuality Edie [Christopher Kenney] plays hostess to your every fantasy  As the sun sets and desires come alive, Edie uses her signature blend of sass and sensuality to guide the audience through the erotic escapades that make up the world of Zumanity "
Joey Arias left the show at the end of 2007, and Edie became Zumanity's main emcee for the rest of the run Roue Cyr (Cyr Wheel)
"Jonas [Woolverton] is brought to the stage on his knees   A slave to love and forced to perform for his Mistress, he spins and turns inside his wheel while she cracks her whip  He is eager to please, even donning a blindfold for some of his tricks  One can only hope the pleasure is worth the pain he receives   "Handbalancing
"Dima ["Shine" Bulkin] is alone, going in circles around his pole  He has just about given up on love when he meets a lovely contortionist who seems to fit into his world  She brings him back to earth in this beautiful act "Chains
"Brandon [Pereyda] brings fantasies to life  He flies and defies gravity on his chains  Dreams take flight as he soars through the air, performing daring feats of aerial athleticism choreography and strength "
Though this act is associated with the refresh in 2015, Zumanity's 2012 b-roll shows this act being used  It was most likely a back-up or rotational act until it was made a main act in 2015 

The Refresh: 2015 - 2020
On January 20, 2015, a refresh of the show was introduced to the public in which roughly 30% of the show was changed from its original concept  Certain acts, including Hoops, Dance on TV, Pom Poms and  Tissus (in its original form) were retired  Entirely new acts included chains, Aerial Dream, and Perfect Jam  Tissus was changed into a solo act and the Rose Boy evolved into Magnum, mostly the same routine but the dancer became a secret agent  Yanis Marshall choreographed new dance segments throughout the show, and there are multiple acts in which men dance in high heels (including Wind, Perfect Jam and for a short amount of time, the 2Men act)  The show also features new and updated music, costumes, comedic acts, characters and artists 

Come Together
"All at once, a storm sweeps over the stage as three characters, Spirits of the Wind [Marie Ndutiye, Tiffany de Alba, Arnaud Boursain], summon passion, desire and lust in a fevered dance  With smouldering intensity, their hypnotic dance stirs the soul, arouses the imagination and prepares the senses for an uninhibited transformation "Magnum
"Look out, ladies, 'cuz here comes Magnum  He's an undercover agent, and it's no secret he's on a mission  Who's gonna share that special bond? Is it you? Catch him if you can "
"Magnum [Willie Hulett], our very special secret agent, peels away his tough exterior in a sensual mission for the ladies  He tantalizes and teases the audience by revealing his chiseled body bit by bit before showing off his secret weapon "Perfect Jam
"Let me entice you to unlock and unleash your inner diva "
"Gorgeous, and powerful, the dancers [Tiffany de Alba, Anouck Margueritte, Briana McKee, Marie Ndutiye, Kaitlyn Reese Davin, Leah Sykes-Hodgson, Monteece Taylor, Arnaud Boursain, Pepe Muñoz Martinez] invade the space to express and celebrate their female and male energy and unleash their inner diva  Turning up the heat, they ignite the stage performing a sultry and dynamic dance that will entice the imagination "Aerial Dream (also called M&M)
"Is there someone in your life that you lust for, long for, but the only safe place to rendezvous is in your dreams? You fall asleep and hope he's there again tonight  The best part? Nobody needs to know, not even the person right next to you, shhh   "
"One woman and one man [Marina Tomanova and Michael McNamara]  One bed  One airborne fantasy  She dreams about him, the intense secret object of her desires  They will meet and experience a magnificent, sensual and passionate performance  Dream or reality?"2Men
"2 men in a cage [Arnaud Boursain, Pepe Muñoz Martinez]  Through their fierce choreography, a passionate story of impossible love and anger unfolds  Again and again, they attract and repel in intense conflict until the magnetic energy between them becomes more than they can bear "As previously stated, the big thing that changed about this act was that the men danced in bright red heels and in an entirely new form of dance 
This was eventually changed into a wushu (sport) act with ninjas [Philip Sahagun and Wes Scarpias] Tissus 2 0
"Though he desperately tries to catch her attention, Alan [Jones Silva] remains unnoticed by Mariko [Muranaka], the musical muse whose beauty propels him to soar to new heights  Finally, the once-unattainable object of his affection is within arms’ reach, and their two worlds come together at the finale of this mesmerizing aerial dance "Body2Body 2 0
Used as a back-up for hand-2-hand, Stéphan Choinière returned to the show in 2017 and performed a new version of Body2Body with Tsvetelina Tabakova Solo Strap
A solo strap back-up act that was performed by Tsvetelina Tabakova from 2019 onwards Light
A comedic act with Dick and Izzy as they rave on the stage with one of the audience members Trapeze
Halfway around the world, his loved one is away  It's raining, and descending in his thoughts are the warmth of her love, the softness of her lips, the caress of her touch    It’s late, he’s restless and alone again tonight, and not knowing when they’ll be together again sends his emotions flying "
Arthur Morel van Hyfte's act in 2017  This used the bed and music from Aerial Dream and replaced the act for awhile 

Emcees
Main emcees
Mistress of Seduction, Joey Arias: August 14, 2003 to December 31, 2007
Raven O: August 14, 2003 to December 31, 2006
Mistress of Sensuality, Edie [Christopher Kenney]: Jan 1, 2008 to March 14, 2020Understudy emcees
Queen of Québec, Vanessa Convery: back-up for an unknown time, but she was in the show from August 14, 2003 to January 3, 2014
Señorita Extravaganza, Antonio Drija: back-up for an unknown time, but he was in the show from August 14, 2003 to January 3, 2014
AXLE Beaurouge [Brandon Pereyda]: May 1, 2017 to March 14, 2020
Pepe Muñoz Martinez: roughly 2014 to 2016
Pulga, Alan Jones Silva: July 18, 2016 to March 14, 2020Guest emcee
NeNe Leakes: June 27, 2014 to July 01, 2014

Characters
Mistress of Seduction/Mitzi la Bouche/Mitzi la Gaine/Mistress of Ceremonies - Joey Arias
Mistress of Sensuality, Edie - Christopher Kenney
Pulga - Alan Jones Silva as emcee
AXLE Beaurouge - Brandon Pereyda as emcee
Queen of Québec - Vanessa Convery as emcee
Señorita Extravaganza - Antonio Drija as emcee
Wind/La Muerte - Marcela de la Vega Luna
Dick and Izzy/The Sexperts - Nicky Dewhurst and Shannan Calcutt
Afrique/African Queen - Wassa Coulibaly
Ginger - Shereen Hickman as clown understudy to Izzy
Jane - clown understudy to Izzy
Jessica - Laetitia Dewhurst as clown understudy to Izzy
Rose Boy - Alex Castro
Spider Shadow - Dima "Shine" Bulkin
Magnum - Willie Hulett
Blue Robotica - Mariko Muranaka
Biker - Brandon Pereyda
Fauna - Jesus Villa
Athon and Arno Extravaganza/The Gods of Love and War - Patrick King (Athon) and Johan King-Silverhult (Arno)
Molinier (see Pierre Molinier) - Jonel Earl
Botero Sisters - Licemar and Luciene Medeiros
Casanova/Gigolo/El Siete - Antonio Drija
Miss Salsa - Agnès Roux
Mec Branché - Ugo Mazin
Mademoiselle Loup/Blue Blade - Laurence Jardin
Dominatrix - Jonel Earl
Ballerine - Sophie Ayache
Comet - Stéphan Choinière (originally called Ultraman during creation, after the Japanese super hero)
Romantique/Vixen Vanessa/Diamond Girl - Vanessa Convery
Scottish Fantasy - Alex Stabler
Tissu Star - Olga Vershinina
Airman - Nicolas Alain Michel Besnard
Androgynous Cape - "Almukatab" Jacobo Espina
Carol/La Catin - Elena Gatilova
Valentino
Bunny Girl
Lothario - Moukhtar Gusengadzhiev
Roadrunner - Jerónimo Garcia-Cabral Medina
Illusia and Illaria
Queen of Barbare - seems to be Jila Alaghamandan

Music
The studio album for Zumanity was released on March 22, 2005, under Cirque du Soleil's music label  This is an "inspired by" album containing music that was not actually used in the show and was very loosely based on the live music  This is similar to the songs If I Could Reach Your Heart, We've Been Waiting So Long, and Reach for Me Now on the KÀ album  The CD does not feature Zumanity's musicians, although it does contain the voice of Joey Arias and that of Anna Liani, who worked with Zumanity's composer, Simon Carpentier, on the show's music and wrote the lyrics to Mio Bello, Bello Amore  She also sings Mio Bello, Bello Amore on Cirque's Midnight Sun DVD  The music on the album is mainly a collaboration between Simon Carpentier, Robbi Finkel, and Robbie Dillon 
A promotional album entitled Foreplay was included with the original program  It was released on July 31, 2003, and contains select work-in-progress songs from the show's creation period  The program was last sold around 2005, and this album is now considered a collector's item  Four other work-in-progress songs were released on Zumanity's website in 2003, all completely different from anything used in the show, although one of them was quite clearly an early version of Wind 

Names for live music:

Zumanity Tango (2Men, 2003-2020)
Sex Is Beautiful (Body2Body, 2003-2005; Body2Body 2 0, 2017-2020; Hand-2-Hand, 2005-2020)
Love Myself (possible name for Straps, 2003-2020)
Girl Attitude (Cyr Wheel, ?-2018)
Libera me (Hoops, 2003-2015; Aerial Dream, 2015-2020; Trapeze, 2017)
The tune to this song was changed from 2015 onwards 
I Like It (Rotational act sung by Joey Arias and possibly Raven O, 2005(?)-2007)
What a Feelin’ (Act sung by Joey Arias during her final performance on December 31, 2007)
The Rose Boy (Rose Boy, 2003-2015; Magnum, 2015-2020)
My Erotic Lounge (Scotch Baggies!, 2005-2020)
Major-Minor (Welcome, 2003-2007)
Wind (Wind, 2003-2015; Come Together, 2015-2020)
Mio Bello, Bello Amore (Pacemakers, 2003-2006(?); Handbalancing, 2010-2018; Solo Strap, 2019-2020)
Disco Alan (Tissus 2 0, 2015-2020)
The opening of this song contains an instrumental medley of Wind and Mio Bello, Bello Amore 
Into Me (Chains, 2012(?)-2020)
Water Bowl (Water Bowl, 2003-2020)
Perfect Jam (Perfect Jam, 2015-2020)
First Taste (Water Bowl opening, 2003-2020)

Vocalists
Emcee
See the Emcee section above for a list of the hosts of the show  The emcee sang Major-Minor for Welcome, Midnight Bath, Sex Is Beautiful, the Rose Boy, and I Like It from August 14, 2003 to December 31, 2007  From 2008 onwards, the emcee only sang during the Rose Boy and Sex Is Beautiful  The songs sung by the emcee are mainly in the jazz/cabaret genre Hip Hop Singer
Kinnie Starr: August 14, 2003 to September 2003
Little is known about this period in Zumanity's history, but Kinnie may have sung some of the rock singer's songs for acts like Dance on TV and Water Bowl R&B/Soul Singer
Lonnie Gordon: August 13, 2003 to December 31, 2006
Debbie "Divine" Davis: January 2007 to December 31, 2007
Paris Red: January 1, 2008 to March 14, 2020
Cassiopée: August 2017 to December 2017
Cassiopée also sang as a back-up for both the R&B and rock roles, depending on which one was needed, during 2016 to 2020 Rock Singer
Corinne Zarzour: October 3, 2003 to January 2004; September 2004 to March 14, 2020
Nathalie Noël: January 2004 to September 2004
Laur Fugère: 2004; 2006Backing Singer
Geneviève Dubé: August 14, 2003 to March 14, 2020
Melle Vasquez: August 14, 2003 to March 14, 2020
Anne Charbonneau: August 14, 2003 to December 2008

Original Musicians
Anne Charbonneau (bandleader/accordion/keyboards/keyboard programming) - August 14, 2003 to December 2008
Jean-François "Djeff" Houle (assistant bandleader/bass/programming/laptop fx) - August 14, 2003 to 2006(?)
Jean-François Blais (clarinet/flute/soprano and tenor saxophone/percussion) - August 14, 2003 to March 14, 2020
Jean-François Thibeault (trombone/percussion) - August 14, 2003 to June 2009
Larry Aberman (drums/percussion/programming) - August 14, 2003 to October 31, 2019
Melle Vasquez (guitar/percussion/banjo) - August 14, 2003 to March 14, 2020
Geneviève Dubé (vibraphone/violin) - August 14, 2003 to March 14, 2020
Eliot Douglass (piano) - August 14, 2003 to October 31, 2019
Lonnie Gordon (percussion) - August 14, 2003 to December 31, 2006
Sébastien Jean (flügelhorn/trumpet) - August 14, 2003 to October 31, 2019
Passage 4:
Mystère (Cirque du Soleil)
Mystère (French: [mis tɛʁ], mee-STAIR, "mystery") is one of six resident Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, Nevada  Held in a custom theatre at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, the show was first performed on 25 December 1993, making it the company's longest running show  As with many Cirque du Soleil productions, Mystère features a mixture of circus skills, dance, elaborate sets, opera, worldbeat music, and street theatre-style comedy  Featuring a musical score composed by René Dupéré and Benoît Jutras, the show was created under the direction of Franco Dragone 

History
The idea for Mystère started around 1990  It was originally planned for Caesars Palace with a theme based on Greek and Roman mythology  The plan, however, was scrapped by the casino executives, who thought the project would be too financially risky  Mystère was very different from the typical material they were used to in a Las Vegas show  According to Mystère set designer Michel Crête, "Vegas    was still very influenced by Folies Bergère, with the scarves, feather boas, etc  There was a European culture already in place, oddly enough, not an American one  The people who opened the door for something new were Siegfried and Roy  They were the first to move away from the Folies Bergère thing "
Treasure Island picked up the show three years later  Mystère was their first show that would have its own theater, rather than touring with a circus tent   Mystère would have a permanent base in Las Vegas  They worked with Mirage Casino-Hotel to produce a show 
Recent milestones Mystère has achieved include:

Mystère celebrated their 20th anniversary on 25 December 2013  
Mystère celebrated their 10,000th show on 27 December 2014 
Mystère celebrated their 11,111th show on 17 May 2017 

Set and technical information
The theater is a unique theater built in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino specifically for the show  The design of the theater was created by Michel Crête and that of Montreal-based team of Scéno Plus  This theater seats 1,541 audience members  The stage measures 120 feet by 70 feet deep and covers approximately 10,032 square feet  The stage floor is made of a layer of Base Mat, which is rubber made from recycled old tires and sneakers  This helps give the stage some bounce for tumbling  This is held together by polyurethane adhesive and covered with thousands of gallons of liquid that dries onto the surface  The Downstage D Lift is 36 feet in diameter and includes a 28-foot revolving stage  The revolving stage rotates up to 10 revolutions per minute  Props, equipment, and performers are elevated to stage level from the basement or trap by four moving lifts  These moving lifts were constructed in Montreal and then assembled in Las Vegas, NV The snail seen growing larger throughout the show is called Alice  By the end of the show, she is a giant inflatable puppet controlled by four puppeteers from the inside  The puppeteers move her around by following markings on the floor, since they can not see outside the puppet  They also control her eyes, torso, and tail The taiko drums in Mystère are created by the Japanese company Asano Taiko, located in Mattō, Ishikawa Prefecture  The largest drum in Mystère is the ōdaiko, which is 6 feet (1 8 m) in diameter and 15 feet (4 6 m) in length, and weighs half a ton  Due to the large size of the drum, it had to be brought into the theatre during construction  Since the completion of the theatre the drum can not be removed, as no door is large enough to accommodate it 

Characters
The cast of Mystère comprises a myriad of fantastic and mysterious characters  All this information was confirmed by Mystère's artistic director from 1995 to 2001: Pavel Brun 
Inti X & Y (Spermatos/Spermatites): A comic chorus representing the seeds of life 
Red Bird: Convinced he can fly  According to Pavel Brun, he is the main character in the entire narrative of Mystère's universe 
Les Laquais: The "lackeys" of Mystère who serve and support others  They perform in the Korean plank act 
Brian Le Petit: A troublemaker who steals people's popcorn and causes chaos both onstage and off  (2000–present)
Chanteuses Plumes: A duo of muses who sing the emotion of all humans 
The Firebirds: Along with the Double Faces, they perform the Chinese pole act 
Les Bébés: Two enormous babies on a quest for nourishment  There's Big Baby (also known as Bébé François) and the Baby Girl  There was a third baby for a short period, similar to Francois, who was a part of the original 1993 cast, until his eventual removal in Mid-1994 
Egon Egli: A strange, lanky, bespectacled youth who rides across the stage on his bicycle  No longer in the show 
La Vache à lait: Protector of youth and a symbol of fertility  When he sounds his horn, it heralds a new beginning 
Moha-Samedi: A man in pink, named after the first day of the new millennium  He is the narrator no one listens to, he was originally portrayed by Canadian actor Paul Ahmarani and later by Lorenzo Pisoni 
La Belle: Afraid of ugliness, she seeks to avoid pain at all costs 
Black Widow: The antithesis of La Belle  She represents a praying mantis who destroys the illusions and dreams of her victims  Originally portrayed by Katie Renauld
Birds of Prey: These unpredictable birds soar and fly throughout the world of Mystère  They are graceful, yet aggressive when hungry  Originally portrayed by Lejdka Zievert and Mark Ward
The Frog: Creepy characters witness to the strength of birth and time 
The Green Lizards: Mischievous and skittish chameleons  There is the Male Chameleon and the Female Chameleon (who are not present in the show anymore)  The Male Chameleon was originally portrayed by Karl Baumann
Double Faces: These two-faced creatures perform in the Chinese pole act 
Les Palmiers: Out of a purple-blue mist, these tropical ladies float by 
Deus ex machina: The machine that regulates the existence of everything 
The Tribe (Les Pagnes): The primitive, tragic ghosts of modern humanity  They descend from the skies to provide the earthly beat of our journey  They welcome us, and they bid us farewell  They perform in Taïko
Monarch Bird: A male bird introduced in 2022 as backup dancing character 
The Prince of the Darkness: The prince of the dark side of Mystère, performed by Miguel Godreau from 1993 to 1994; he left the show for health reasons and is no longer in the show  Left before the premiere due to complications from HIV  He was originally part of the group of dancers containing La Belle, Birds Of Prey, Green Lizard and Black Widow 
La Banane: A yellow creature with a large, bulbous head that performed with some artists from 1993 to 1995; no longer in the show  originally appeared on the Net-Up set, before Flying Trapeze 
The Shaman: A mysterious man who creates the sounds of the world; no longer in the show  Originally portrayed by Luis Perez
Bungee Warrior: A duo of muscle men able to fly in the air 
The Jugglers: A trio of jugglers that performed the Manipulation act from 1993 to 1995; no longer in the show 
The Cube Man: Exhibiting great strength and courage, he captures the attention of young souls in search of wonder ; no longer in the show  Originally played by Mikhail "Misha" Matorin, and later Paul Bowler
The Mountain Man: An archangel who is ready to sacrifice everything  Originally known as Gabriel reffereing his archangel statut 
Mephisto and Vénus: Part of the Giants race, they are thwarted, twisted creatures  Their presence wreaks havoc in any domain  Together they want to create chaos and destroy the balance that exists within the world of Mystère 
The Giants: A gentle race with feathers and long legs  There's the happy-go-lucky Pumpkin Giant, the grumpy Fly Giant, the magnificent Giraffe Giant, the rare Plume Giant (no longer in the show) and the Egg Giant, a delicate interior inside a protective shell 
Stas Greyner: a kind of playful dwarf  Performs handbalancing since 1998 
The Medusa: A long-appendaged creature that was part of the original cast between 1993 and 1995; no longer in the show  Appeared among the smoke and disappeared among the shadows, performed during the Net-Set Up 
The Wheel Rider: A slightly tattered man who performed the German Wheel act from 1995 to 1997; no longer in the show  Originally played by Wolfgang Bientzle
The Green Man: A curly-horned creature similar to a Satyr that was part of the cast from a short period in 1997, no longer in the show  Originally portrayed by Guennadi Tchijov 
Tony: A living doll that was part of the original cast between 1993 and 1995, Originally portrayed by Tony Manducas; no longer in the show 
 The Zucchinis: Two inflatable marionettes only used in the Net Set-up for the original trapeze act; no longer in the show 
The Egg: An egg-like creature who appeared sometimes during the Overture and Bungee acts from 1993 to 1995; no longer in the show 
Alice the Escargot: An enormous snail  Born from a spring rain, carrier of the souls of the ancestors and herald of the future 
The Bungees: Like majestic birds in flight, the Bungees dive fearlessly through the air, creating images of unison and separation 
Benny Le Grand: Mystère's original clown, a mad professor-esque character who was more dark and bitter  He would often cause mischief either by whacking one of the Spermatos with a drumstick, throwing a loaf of bread at the red bird, drenching people with bottled water, interrupting the show as an impromptu tour guide, throwing around silver dollars, popcorn, and women's purses, harassing ticket holders, discouraging guests from seeing the show, or kidnapping an audience member and driving them around in a golf cart  (1993 - 1995, 1996 - 2000)
Alex El Sobrino: Benny Le Grand's Spanish nephew, who was slightly more refined in personality  (1998 - 2000)
Alfredo et Adrenaline: A comedic duo of clowns who had previously appeared in Le Cirque Reinventé's European tour, and the special Zirkus Knie show  They often bickered with each other while trying to entertain the audience, from Alfredo trying to perform as a mime, to the two of them throwing paint at each other while trying to perform a song, but they soon literally kissed and made up  (1995 - 1996)

Acts
Mystère features several acrobatic acts, supplemented by clown acts and transitional scenes that advance the storyline 
Aerial Straps Duo (2017 – present): A pair of aerialists performs twists and turns as they fly over the stage 
Chinese Poles and Hand Balancing (2012–present): A group of acrobats climb up, jump between, and slide down four adjacent metal poles while an acrobat contorts into poses on two balancing canes on a platform above the Chinese poles 
Hand-to-Hand (1993 – present): Two artists perform an exhibition of strength and stamina on a rotating dome 
Bungee (1993 – present): A group of artists bounce and swing from the ceiling to the ground and back on bungees 
Teeterboard and Power Track (2017–present): Artists perform a combination of these two skills 
Taiko (1993 – present): A group of artists perform powerful rhythms on Japanese taiko drums 
Flying trapeze (2012 – present): Unlike the original version where two separate trapeze towers were surrounded by a platform on one side and an aerial cradle on the other, the current version has a platform on either side  Each trapeze tower now has two trapeze bars swinging beside each other  The act and music were originally from Zed (a resident show at Tokyo Disney Resort) which closed in 2011 

Reserve acts
Aerial Straps (1994, 2002 – present)On reserve for the aerial straps duo; features a single artist on straps with the Black Widow or La Belle performing choreography on stage 

Retired acts
Manipulation (1993 - 1995)
Flying Trapeze (1993 - 1995)
German Wheel (1995 - 1997)
Dual High Bar (1996 - 2012)
Flying Man in Silk (1997)
Aerial Cube (1996, 1998 – 2015)
Chinese Poles (1993 - 2011)
Trampoline, Fast Track, and Korean plank/Teeterboard (1993 - 2017)
Aerial Straps and Cube (2016 – 2017)
Aerial Silk (2012 – 2017)

Acts used in the film Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man (2000)
Taiko
Aerial cube
Aerial straps

Acts used in the film Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012)
Aerial cube

Costumes
Dominique Lemieux took inspiration from nature to create the colorful costumes of Mystère  One such costume is the Firebird, which has red feathers and accents that give the impression of embers flying through the air  The odd-looking Spermatos and Spermatites are dressed in elongated costumes which bulge in the center and have a tendril-like feature on the head  To give the characters an organic nature, spandex/lycra was used in conjunction with fringes and borders 

Music
The original score of Mystère was composed by René Dupéré, who had composed all of Cirque du Soleil's earlier shows, including Nouvelle Expérience and Saltimbanco  In 1994 the show's music was released as a studio album featuring the vocals of Canadian singers Élise Gouin (now known as Élise Velle) and Nathalie Gauvin 
In 1995 the show underwent an artistic overhaul, including changes in the lineup of acts  The "Manipulation" act was replaced by the "Aerial Cube", the Flying Trapeze act by the Aerial High Bars (the Flying Trapeze returned in 2012), and the Acro Net setup dance act was excluded from the show  At the same time the musical score was renovated with assistance from Benoît Jutras, a longtime music director and arranger for Cirque who later went on to compose for Quidam and other Cirque shows  The result, captured in the album Mystère: Live in Las Vegas, was a score that reflects the diverse compositional styles of both composers   Mystère: Live in Las Vegas is a live, in-house recording of the new score, featuring Nathalie Gauvin and Wendy Talley on vocals; the album was released on November 12, 1996  After the release of the live album, the music was rearranged and altered once again  While the album resembles the current live music closely, it is not identical  For the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the show in 2018, a vinyl album specifically dedicated to the employees was created in limited quantities, just as it was done for the show Alegria in 1994 and Saltimbanco in 1997 
Below are the track lists for the 1994, 1996 and 2018 Mystère soundtrack albums  Acts are listed next to the songs they have accompanied in the show 

Songs not appearing on either album:

Alice (Ending, 1993 - 1995  Updated version of song right after "Finale," 1995 - present)
Benny (Clown act, 1996 – present)
Mime (Clown act, 1995 - 1996)
Bolero (Clown act, 1995 - 1996)
Benny Le Grand (Clown act, 1993 - 1995)
Cercles (German Wheel, 1995 - 1997)
High Bar II (Dual high bar, 2010 - 2012)
Avos (Bungee, 2022 - Present)
Hell/Angel (Dei ex machina, 1993 – present)
Rampant (Chineses poles Exit)
Nouvel Envol (Aerial cube, 2015 - 2017) (Solo Aerial Straps, 2015–present) (Duo Aerial Straps, 2017 - 2018)
Love Over (Duo Aerial Straps, 2018 - present)Vocalists
Singer 1

Nathalie Gauvin: Dec 1993 - Dec 2005
Jeannette D' Armand: 2000 (temporarily replaced Nathalie Gauvin)
Mirjana Milovanovic: Jan 2006 - Jul 2007
Sarah Boucher: Jul 2007 - Sep 2009
Silje Marie Norderhaugh: Sep 2009 - Jan 2013
Anna Bille: Jan 2013 - Dec 2014, Oct 2017
Kailee Ann: Dec 2014 - Aug 2017
Mackenzie Thomas: April 2018 - PresentSinger 2

Elise "Gouin" Velle: Dec 1993 - Sep 1994
Wendy Talley: Sep 1994 - Dec 1997, 1998 (temporarily replaced Chantal Hamel)
Chantal Hamel: Dec 1997 - Jul 1999
Stacey Beth Sanford: Jul 1999 - Dec 2000
Dina Emerson: Jan 2001 - Jan 2002, Apr 2007 - Jun 2017
Rochelle Collins: Jan 2002 - Jul 2003, Oct 2003 - May 2007
Briana Rossi: Jun 2017 - July 2021
Brittany Mae: July 2021 - PresentSinger 3

Luis Perez: Dec 1993 - Jul 1996

In popular culture
Mystère was a featured guest performance on Lopez Tonight, airing December 20, 2010  The featured acts included the hand-to-hand and aerial cube acts 
In the film Knocked Up, the main characters watched Mystère 
In the webseries Dorm Life, the character Courtney Cloverlock, a huge Cirque du Soleil fan, has posters of both Mystère and Love by her bed 
Yuji Naka, creator of the video game Nights into Dreams…, has cited Mystère as an inspiration for the game 
Mystère did a performance collaboration with alternative rock band Imagine Dragons for the Life is Beautiful Festival 
Passage 5:
O (Cirque du Soleil)
O is a water-themed stage production by Cirque du Soleil, a Canadian circus and entertainment company  The show has been in permanent residence at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, since October 1998  O, whose name is pronounced the same way as eau, the French word for "water", takes place around and above a 1 5-million-US-gallon (5,700 m3) pool of water  It features water acts such as synchronized swimming as well as aerial and ground acts   The O theatre, which is designed to resemble a 14th-century European opera house, has 1,800 seats, thus allowing the performance to be watched by 3,600 people a night since the performance usually plays twice in a given day, also designed to meet the special demands of the show O was inspired by the "infinity and elegance of water's pure form," which pays tribute to the beauty of the theatre  A group of 150 stage technicians assist in the production of the show, the cast of which is 85 performers: international acrobats, synchronized swimmers, and divers  Some of them are former Olympic athletes 

History
Since late October 2010, Cirque du Soleil has offered backstage tours of the O theatre  The experience allows visitors to see the backstage wings, training rooms, costume workshop, break area, underwater lighting area, and go up to a catwalk into the sound and lighting booths   Not every experience 
will be the same as the tour is conducted around a "regular day", so performers may or may not be training, rehearsing, or even working out As of early 2011, O has grossed over a billion dollars since the show opened in 1998 O has received many awards, including the following:

Entertainment Design Award, best production show, 1998
Las Vegas Review-Journal, best production show, 1999–2006
THEA, live show category, 1999
Prix Italia, creativity in high definition, 2009, for the documentary FlowO had its 10,000th performance on 1 September 2019 

Set and technical information
The show has a cast of 85 acrobats, synchronized swimmers and divers performing in and above a 1 5 million-gallon pool  When maintenance needs to be performed, the pool is drained in about 12 hours to the Bellagio Lake, causing the lake's water level to rise 1 inch (25 mm)  The pool is kept at 88 °F (31 °C) and has an underwater speaker system and regulators that allow performers to breathe underwater  Every member of the cast is scuba-certified 
The underwater stage lift was produced by Handling Specialty   In order for the platform stage to rise and fall in the water without a wake, the rubber surface of the stage is perforated Cold air vents under each seat help control the theatre temperature for the audience  The goal is to maintain two temperature zones in the theatre: the stage is kept at a higher temperature of 84 °F (29 °C), while the audience area is kept at a lower temperature of 72 °F (22 °C)  A mesh false ceiling allows warm moist air to escape out of the top of the theatre To minimize damage to the musical instruments, the musicians play from glass enclosures in the theatre  Some of the musical instruments used in the show are more than 100 years old  The unique string instrument heard in the soundtrack of O is an erhu, a traditional Chinese bowed string instrument 
To maintain a fresh look on the performers, some performers have multiple sets of costumes so they may reappear dry despite having been in the water   Some of the costumes only have a lifespan of approximately 20 shows due to the bromide and chlorine in the water Additional facts about the show:

Some of the props function as boats, like the umbrella that Le Vieux rides on the water 
There are 15 technicians underwater during the show, performing various tasks such as artist handling and props manipulation 
The horses that the Comets ride in the show weigh 900 pounds (410 kg) 
The clown house weighs over 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) 
Hanging 49 feet above the stage, the carousel and téléphérique (a conveyor system) carry tons of equipment as well as performers during the show 
Most of the props that are used during the show are actually driven by the Performers who ride them   For instance, the carousel horses have a small propeller underneath their tails; they are controlled by a joystick located on the back of the horse 

Costumes
Costumes for O drew inspiration from many sources: commedia dell'arte, the Baroque, India, the Arabian Nights, as well as Venetian courtly fashions   The costumes' silhouettes are defined by the design and are accentuated by the transparency of the selected materials and fabrics   Many costumes' base design are leotards which are then expounded upon: this includes the Zebras and Flayed Ones, among others   The Flayed Ones' leotards, for example, originally had hand-painted muscles on them, as digital screen-printing was inaccessible at the time of creation   Another special attribute critical to costumes in O is their treatment to help withstand the water and chemicals in it   To achieve this feat, roughly 40% of the costumes have been applied with a specific type of silicon sizing   In addition, the materials chosen are more durable and had to be able to both mould to the performer's body and dry quickly  Over the years the best fabric found for the costumes has been nylon mesh, which performs well either wet or dry Additional facts regarding the costumes:
A separate room was built with timed heaters and fans to air-dry many of the costumes which cannot be tumble-dried 
Sixty loads of laundry are done nightly to wash the costumes which can be machine washed 
The swimmers' costumes are replaced every 3 months 
The Comets' costumes last for a full year 
All wigs and headpieces had to have chinstraps added 

Music
The music of O was composed by Benoit Jutras and features a mix of classical Western and world instrumentation, including Chinese violin (erhu), bagpipes, African guitar and harp (kora), Colombian guitar, cello, ancient woodwinds and a wide variety of percussion instruments  During the show, the score is performed by a live band situated behind glass walls above and to the side of the stage  The glass protects the musicians' equipment from moisture damage 
O's music was recorded at the Bellagio and released on November 24, 1998  (ASIN B00000FDJZ) The album was re-released on September 6, 2005  (ASIN B000A2H9WU) The songs are listed below with their corresponding act in parentheses Album track list (and acts in the show accompanied by each song):

Jeux d'Eau (Solo and duo trapeze)
Mer Noire (Barge)
Tzelma (Interlude from bateau)
Africa (Interlude from clown act 1)
Remous (Bateau)
Svecounia (Interlude from contortion, cerceaux)
Nostalgie (Intro to russian swings)
Simcha (Character parade, Russian swings)
Gamelan (Contortion)
Ephra (Flying man and cadre)
Désert (Opening, nage, solo and duo trapeze)
Terre Aride (Fire)
O (Finale)Additional songs in the show not included on the album:

Danse (Clown act 2) (2001-present)
Debbie (Journey of Man) (Washington/solo trapeze)
Festival (Interlude from Fire)
Sur Terre (Clown act 2) (1998-2000)
Plouf (High dive)
La Glace (Clown act 1) (1998-2000)
Reda Ver 1 (Opening) (1998-2000)
Reda Ver 2 (Opening) (2001-present)
Confluence (Interlude from Cerceaux)
Merou (Washington trapeze) (1998 only)
Nenuphar (Intro to contortion)
Robinet (Clown act 1) (2001–present)
Humoresque No  7 Opus 101 (Opening Interlude) (1998-2000)
Aurora (Opening Interlude) (2001–present)

Filmography
In 2007, Cirque du Soleil released the film Flow (A Tribute to the Artists of "O")   The documentary was filmed in the O theatre and by the Colorado River   The film shows certain artists performing out around the river as well as on stage and provides information on the necessary technical equipment used to produce the performance   Bonus features of Flow include: performance clips, Russian swing act, technical information and film below the surface of the O pool, and information about the creation of O itself In 2009, Flow won the Prix Italia award for the category of Creativity in High Definition The following acts were used in Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away:

Synchronised swimming
Bateau
Fire
Duo trapeze
Contortion
Aerial hoops
Passage 6:
Le Rêve (show)
Le Rêve ("The Dream") was a stage production in residence at the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort  It was the only Las Vegas show set in an aquatic theater-in-the-round stage (>1 million US gallon (water capacity)  The show featured diving and feats of strength with special effects, including fire effects  No seat is more than 40 feet (12 m) from the stage   The production was originally created by Franco Dragone but has been substantially revised over time  The show featured more than 90 performers and 250 cast and crew members Each member of the cast must become SCUBA-certified before performing in the theater  In January 2018, Le Rêve completed a two-year reimagination of the production  The show now features all-new costumes designed by Suzy Benzinger, choreography by Marguerite Derricks, music by Benoit Jutras and lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer  In April 2019, the show was voted “Best Production Show” by the Southern Nevada Hotel Concierge Association for the ninth consecutive year 

Show
While the show is continually revised over time, the central theme includes a female lead who see-saws back and forth between her dueling desires for love and passion, mind or body, as she finds herself attracted to two men  Put into a dream world to help her decide between the two suitors, she embarks on a mystical journey  The show concludes with what the production calls "a graceful and inspirational scene "The show includes dancing, swimming, gymnastics, diving and stunt performances, aerial performance and trained dove flights  During the production run, two of the athletes playing romantic leads fell in love themselves  Olympic athletes and notable gymnasts have joined the cast over the years 

History
The show had its world premiere on May 6, 2005 All rights to the show are owned by Wynn Las Vegas, so the resort is able to adapt the show at will  Le Rêve celebrated its 3,000th performance in January 2012   The show celebrated its 12th anniversary in the summer of 2017 and has performed approximately 5,700 shows  Le Rêve celebrated its 6,000th performance in May 2018 
The House of Dancing Water, has some similarities to Le Rêve and O by Cirque du Soleil The cast and crew of “Le Reve,” the signature production at Wynn Las Vegas since the hotel opened in 2005, were placed on furlough May 28, 2020  The first large-scale Las Vegas production show to permanently close due to the coronavirus pandemic is one of the most acclaimed performances to ever hit the Strip  Wynn Las Vegas confirmed “Le Rêve” has shuttered for good after more than 6,000 shows over the last 15 years 

Honors and awards
Media history
Six performers from Le Rêve were the models for the season finale of Face Off, aired on SyFy on March 26, 2013   They also performed an act in the make-up, complete with full immersion and dives into the water 
Le Rêve was featured on an episode of the Fine Living series What Makes it Tick, produced by NorthSouth Productions 
Cast members from the show performed on a results episode of NBC's summer hit America's Got Talent in 2010 
Cast members were also featured in the music video for the single "Only the Young", by Brandon Flowers 
32 performers from Le Rêve staged a "surreal, elaborate montage of scenes" from the show as part of the 2010 Latin Grammys at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas  The event was broadcast live on Univision 
Cast members and the show were featured on the first episode of Somebody's Gotta Do It with Mike Rowe on CNN 

Theater and Facilities
The show take places in a unique aquatic theater-in-the-round  The swimming pool has a capacity of more than 1 million US gallons with its deepest point at 27 feet  Performers climb to heights of more than 80 feet above the water before diving straight down  Public estimates of the cost of the theater itself were up to $75 million for the original construction, not including later renovations such as 180-speaker surround sound Two significant curtain effects have been used, including a 24-panel canopy that takes more than an hour to reset for the next show In 2008, a VIP seating area was added to the theater   In 2015, an additional 172 fountains, 120 LED lighting fixtures, and 16 fire-shooting devices were added by WET Design   Current capacity is 1,600 per show, not including an underwater SCUBA viewing area that is sometimes available for VIP guests 
Context 2: Passage 1:
Red Branch (novel)
Red Branch (ISBN 080410591X, 1989), by the Irish-American author Morgan Llywelyn, is a novel about the life of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn   Red Branch novelizes several stories from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, including the well-known Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley) and Deirdre (of the Sorrows) 
Passage 2:
Robert Jordan
James Oliver Rigney Jr  (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan, was an American author of epic fantasy  He is known best for his series  The Wheel of Time (finished by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death) which comprises 14 books and a prequel novel  He is one of several writers to have written original Conan the Barbarian novels; his are considered by fans to be some of the best of the non-Robert E  Howard efforts  Jordan also published historical fiction using the pseudonym Reagan O'Neal, a western as Jackson O'Reilly, and dance criticism as Chang Lung  Jordan claimed to have ghostwritten an "international thriller" that is still believed to have been written by someone else 

Early life
Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina  He went to Clemson University after high school, but dropped out after one year and enlisted in the U S  Army  He served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a helicopter gunner  He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm After returning from Vietnam in 1970, Jordan studied physics at The Citadel  He graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree and began working for the U S  Navy as a nuclear engineer  He began writing in 1977 

Personal life
Robert Jordan was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe-collecting  He described himself as a "High church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week  Politically, he described himself as a "libertarian monarchist"  He lived with his wife, Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797  He listed John D  MacDonald, Jane Austen, Louis L'Amour, Charles Dickens, Robert A  Heinlein, Mark Twain and Montaigne as his favorite authors 

Illness and death
On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis and that, with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years  In a separate weblog post, he encouraged his fans not to worry about him and stated that he intended to have a long and creative life He began chemotherapy at Mayo Clinic during early April 2006  He participated in a study of the drug Revlimid, which had been approved recently for multiple myeloma but not yet tested for primary amyloidosis Jordan died on September 16, 2007, from complications stemming from Multiple Myeloma  His funeral service was on September 19, 2007  He was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St  James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston, South Carolina Jordan's papers can be found in the special collections of the College of Charleston 

Selected works
The Wheel of Time
Jordan published 11 books of 14 in the main sequence of the Wheel of Time series  Reviewers and fans of the earlier books noted a slowing of the pace of events in the last few installments written solely by Jordan owing to the expansion of the scale of the series as a whole  Because of his health problems, Jordan did not work at full force on the final installment A Memory of Light (later split into three volumes beginning with The Gathering Storm), but blog entries confirmed that he continued work on it until his death, and he shared all of the significant plot details with his family not long before he died  He maintained that in doing so the book would get published even if "the worst actually happens"  On December 7, 2007, Tor Books announced that Brandon Sanderson had been chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series  Harriet McDougal, Jordan's widow, chose him after reading Mistborn: The Final Empire 
All paperback (PB) page totals given are for the most widely available mass-market paperback editions  The page count for the hardback (HB) editions does not include glossary or appendix page counts 
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is an encyclopedia for the series about the unnamed world where the plot takes place, which is often referred to by fans of the series as the World of the Wheel  It is published in the United States by Tor Books and in the United Kingdom by Orbit Books  The bulk of the text was written by Teresa Patterson based on notes and information provided by Jordan, who also served as the overall editor on the project  While the information in the guide is broadly canonical, the book is deliberately written with vague, biased, or even downright false (or guessed) information in places, as Patterson felt this would reflect a key theme of the series (the mutability of knowledge across time and distance) 

Conan the Barbarian
Jordan was one of several writers who has written Conan the Barbarian stories  When Tom Doherty obtained the rights, he needed a novel very quickly, so Jordan's wife Harriet McDougal recommended him because she knew he had written his first novel, Warriors of the Altaii, in thirteen days 

So he thought I could write something fast, and he was right, and I liked it  It was fun writing something completely over the top, full of purple prose, and in a weak moment I agreed to do five more and the novelization of the second Conan movie  I've decided that those things were very good discipline for me  I had to work with a character and a world that had already been created and yet find a way to say something new about the character and the world  That was a very good exercise 
Conan the Invincible (1982)
Conan the Defender (1982)
Conan the Unconquered (1983)
Conan the Triumphant (1983)
Conan the Magnificent (1984)
Conan the Destroyer (1984) (adaptation of the movie of the same title)
Conan the Victorious (1984)They were packed into two separate volumes par Conan the Destroyer:

The Conan Chronicles
The Further Chronicles of Conan (The Conan Chronicles II in the UK, different contents)Jordan also compiled a well-known Conan Chronology 
Passage 3:
Lion of Ireland
Lion of Ireland, by the American-Irish author Morgan Llywelyn, is a novel about the life of the Irish hero and High King Brian Boru 

Plot summary
The story begins with Brian as a child of around 8 or 9 and it ends with him as an 88-year-old man  The book shows his rise to power and his struggle to maintain it  His personal life is an important part of the plot, because Brian's war against Máel Mórda (leader of the Leinstermen) and Sihtric (king of Dublin) was to be inextricably connected with his complicated marital relations, in particular his marriage to Gormlaith, Máel Mórda's sister and Sihtric's mother, who had been in turn the wife of Amlaíb Cuarán, king of Dublin and York, then of Máel Sechnaill  Even though the book is based on a historical figure, most of it is fiction 

Film adaptation
In 2003, Ireland based RiverFilms proposed a film adaptation of the book as Braveheart and El Cid meet The Vikings On March 4, 2019, it was announced in Deadline that a new movie adaptation was in the works  The series would be created by Irish author Michael Scott  The article was subsequently picked up the Sunday Times, and Irish Central who listed both Scott and BCDF Pictures as producers 
Passage 4:
List of locations in The Wheel of Time
The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels  Originally planned as a six-book series at its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time came to span 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and two companion books  Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the final volume in the series  He prepared extensive notes which enabled fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson to complete the final book, which grew into three volumes: The Gathering Storm (2009), Towers of Midnight (2010), and A Memory of Light (2013) 
The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism; the metaphysical concepts of balance, duality, and a respect for nature found in Taoism; the Abrahamic concepts of God and Satan; and Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace The Wheel of Time is notable for its length, detailed imaginary world, and magic system, and its large cast of characters  The eighth through fourteenth books each reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller list  After its completion, the series was nominated for a Hugo Award  As of 2021, the series has sold over 90 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling epic fantasy series since The Lord of the Rings  Its popularity has spawned a collectible card game, a video game, a roleplaying game, and a soundtrack album  A TV series adaptation produced by Sony Pictures and Amazon Studios premiered in 2021 

Setting
The series is set in a future unnamed world and that, due to the cyclical nature of time as depicted in the series, is simultaneously the distant past and the distant future Earth  Fans have come to refer to this world as Randland (from the name of the central character) or the World of the Wheel (cf  a section of the companion book The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time) 

Premise
At the dawn of time, a deity known as the Creator forged the universe and the Wheel of Time, which spins the Pattern of the Ages using the lives of men and women as its threads  The Wheel has seven spokes, each representing an age, and it is rotated by the One Power, which flows from the True Source  The One Power is divided into male and female halves, saidin and saidar, which work in opposition and in unison to drive the Wheel  Humans who can use its power are known as channelers; their principal organization is called the Aes Sedai or "Servants of All" in the Old Tongue 
The Creator imprisoned its antithesis, "Shai'tan", the Dark One, at the moment of creation, sealing him away from the Wheel  However, in a time called the Age of Legends, an Aes Sedai experiment inadvertently breached the Dark One's prison, allowing his influence to seep back into the world  He rallied the proud, the corrupt, and the ambitious to his cause and these servants began an effort to fully free the Dark One from his prison, so he might remake time and reality in his own image  In response to this threat, the Wheel spun out the Dragon, a channeler of immense power, to be a champion for the Light  In the Age of Legends, the Dragon was a man named Lews Therin Telamon, who eventually rose to command the Aes Sedai and their allies in the struggle against the Dark One's forces  After a grueling 10-year war, Lews Therin led his forces to victory in a daring assault on the volcano of Shayol Ghul (the site of the earthly link to the Dark One's prison) and was able to reseal the prison  However, at the moment of victory, the Dark One was able to taint saidin, driving male channelers of the One Power insane  Lews Therin killed his friends and family and then, by intentionally overloading himself with the One Power, killed himself  The other male channelers devastated the world with the One Power, unleashing earthquakes and tidal waves that reshaped the world  Eventually, the last male channeler was killed or cut off from the One Power, leaving the human race all but destroyed and only women able to wield the One Power safely  The Aes Sedai reconstituted and guided humanity out of this dark time  Mankind now lived under the shadow of a prophecy that the Dark One would break free from his prison and the Dragon would be reborn to fight him once more, and although he is humanity's only hope against the Dark One, he would devastate the world a second time in the process 
After a span of three thousand years, the human race has rebuilt a level of technology roughly comparable to that of the Late Middle Ages or Early Modern Era, though with a higher level of general education and understanding of hygiene and anatomy, but nevertheless an almost complete lack of formal science, industrial production, and academic institutions  This can be traced to the post-apocalyptic nature of the world, where much knowledge has survived, but the structures and institutions that made that knowledge possible were destroyed  One major difference from our history is that women enjoy full equality with men in most societies, and are superior in some  This is attributed to the power and prestige of the female-only Aes Sedai influencing the larger society 
Several major wars have ravaged the main continent since the defeat of the Dark One, such as the Trolloc Wars, when the surviving servants of the Dark One tried to destroy civilization once more but were defeated by an alliance of nations led by the Aes Sedai; and the War of the Hundred Years, a devastating civil war that followed the fall of a continent-spanning empire ruled by the high king, Artur Hawkwing  These wars have prevented the human race from regaining the power and high technology of the Age of Legends and also left humanity divided  Even the prestige of the Aes Sedai has fallen, with their shrinking numbers and the emergence of rival organizations such as the Children of the Light, a military order who believe that all who channel the One Power are servants of the Shadow  The nations of the modern era are able to unite in defense against the warrior-clans of the Aiel, who cross into the western kingdoms on a mission of vengeance after they suffer a grievous insult, but are too divided to work effectively together in other areas 

Plot summary
The prequel novel, New Spring, takes place during the Aiel War and chronicles the end of the conflict  The Aes Sedai discover that the Prophecies of the Dragon have been fulfilled and the Dragon has been Reborn  Aes Sedai agents are dispatched to try to find the newborn child before servants of the Shadow can do the same 
The series proper commences almost 20 years later in the Two Rivers district of the kingdom of Andor, a near-forgotten backwater place  A young sheep herder named Rand al’Thor (the series protagonist) and his father Tam al’Thor travel to the nearby town of Emond's Field to deliver cider  Rand, keen to further explore his romance with the mayor's daughter, Egwene al’Vere, becomes caught up with an Aes Sedai called Moiraine Damodred, and her Warder, Lan, after his father sustains a serious wound  Rand and his friends, Matrim "Mat" Cauthon and Perrin Aybara discover from Moiraine that servants of the Dark One are searching for one particular young man living in the area  Unfortunately, Moiraine is unable to determine which of three men it is: Rand himself, Mat, or Perrin, and so takes all three of them out of the Two Rivers district along with his romantic interest Egwene (whom Moiraine has determined can channel the One Power and would teach to be Aes Sedai) and the village "Wisdom" (a local healer) Nynaeve al'Meara after a terrible battle with creatures created by The Dark One  The first novel depicts their flight from various agents of the Shadow and their attempts to escape to the Aes Sedai city of Tar Valon 
From then, the story expands and protagonist Rand, as well as the other characters, are frequently split into different groups, pursuing different missions or agendas aimed at furthering the cause of the Dragon Reborn, sometimes thousands of miles apart  Broadly speaking, the original group of characters from the Two Rivers make new allies, gain experience, and become figures of some influence and authority  As they struggle to unite the western kingdoms against the Dark One's forces, their task is complicated by rulers of the nations who refuse to give up their authority and by factions such as the Children of the Light, who do not believe in the prophecies, and the Seanchan, the people of a long-lost colony of Artur Hawkwing's empire across the western ocean who have returned, believing it is their destiny to conquer the world  The Aes Sedai also become divided between those who believe the Dragon Reborn should be strictly controlled and those who believe he must lead them into battle as he did in the earlier war  As the story expands, new characters representing different factions are introduced; although this expansion of the narrative allows the sheer scale of the growing struggle to be effectively depicted, it has been criticized for slowing the pace of the novels and sometimes reducing the appearances of the original or main cast to extended cameos 
By the sixth novel, it has become clear that the Last Battle, caused when the Dark One is able to exert its influence directly on the world once more, is imminent, as only three Seals (keys to the Dark One's prison) are intact  Once the remaining Seals break, the Dark One will be free to touch the world  The Last Battle, Tarmon Gai'don, is depicted in the fourteenth and final novel in the series, A Memory of Light 

Books in the series
All paperback (PB) page totals given are for the most widely available mass-market paperback editions  The page count for the hardback (HB) editions does not include a glossary or appendix, page counts 
In 2002 the first book, The Eye of the World, was repackaged as two volumes with new illustrations for younger readers: From the Two Rivers, including an extra chapter (Ravens) before the existing prologue, and To the Blight with an expanded glossary  In 2004 the same was done with The Great Hunt, with the two parts being The Hunt Begins and New Threads in the Pattern 

Prologue eBooks
On several occasions, chapters from various books in the series were released several months in advance of publication  These were released in eBook format as promotional tools for the then-upcoming release 
The prologue eBook releases included:

Snow: The Prologue to Winter's Heart (September 2000)
Glimmers: The Prologue to Crossroads of Twilight (July 17, 2002)
Embers Falling on Dry Grass: The Prologue to Knife of Dreams (July 22, 2005) 
What the Storm Means: The Prologue to The Gathering Storm (September 17, 2009) 
Chapter 1 of The Gathering Storm, Tears from Steel, was released free on Friday September 4, 2009 on Tor com
Chapter 2 of The Gathering Storm, The Nature of Pain, was released in Audio form free on Thursday September 24, 2009 on Tor com
Distinctions: The Prologue to Towers of Midnight (Tuesday September 21, 2010) 
Chapter 1 of Towers of Midnight, Apples First, was released free on Friday October 1, 2010 on Tor com
Chapter 2 of Towers of Midnight, Questions of Leadership was released in Audio form free on Tuesday October 19, 2010
Chapter 8 of Towers of Midnight, The Seven-Striped Lass (on September 16, 2010, Chapter 8, The Seven-Striped Lass, was revealed as part of The Great Hunt scavenger hunt setup by Brandon on his website beginning August 30, 2010 in relation to his new book: The Way of Kings) 
By Grace And Banners Fallen: The Prologue to A Memory Of Light (Wednesday September 19, 2012) 
A segment of chapter 1 of A Memory Of Light was released in mid-2012 on Dragonmount com
A segment of chapter 11 of A Memory Of Light was similarly released publicly in mid-2012 on Dragonmount com

Short stories
Jordan wrote two short stories within the franchise in the late 1990s  The first, The Strike at Shayol Ghul, predates the main series by several thousand years  It was made available on the Internet and was later published in The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time  Jordan also wrote a short story entitled New Spring, for the 1998 Legends anthology edited by Robert Silverberg  Jordan later expanded this into the stand-alone novel New Spring that was published in January 2004 
During Brandon Sanderson's work on A Memory of Light, two sections of the book were cut and later published as short stories in anthologies  The first, River of Souls, was published in Unfettered: Tales by Masters of Fantasy (2013)  The second, A Fire Within the Ways was published in Unfettered III in 2019  Unlike "River of Souls", "A Fire Within the Ways" is not considered canon 

Encyclopedic works
Tor Books published a companion book to the series, entitled The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, in November 1997, which contains much hitherto unrevealed background information about the series including the first maps of the entire world and the Seanchan home continent  Jordan co-authored the book with Teresa Patterson  Jordan ruled the book broadly canonical but stated that it was written from the perspective of an historian within The Wheel of Time universe and was prone to errors of bias and guesswork On November 3, 2015, The Wheel of Time Companion: The People, Places, and History of the Bestselling Series was released in hardback format, written by Harriet McDougal, Alan Romanczuk, and Maria Simons from Tor Books  Alan Romanczuk and Maria Simons were Robert Jordan's editorial assistants  The book is an encapsulating glossary of the entire series  The authors began compiling material for the volume as early as 2005, and the final book was released after the series' conclusion Origins of The Wheel of Time by Michael Livingston was released on November 8, 2022 

Development
Writing and conception
The novel proved extremely difficult to write because characters and storylines changed considerably during the writing process  The series was originally centered on an older man who discovered relatively late in life that he was the 'chosen one' who had to save the world  However, Jordan deliberately decided to move closer to the tone and style of J  R  R  Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring and made the characters younger and less experienced  Once this decision had been made, writing proceeded much more easily and Jordan completed the second volume, The Great Hunt, at roughly the same time the first book was published Jordan wrote full-time at breakneck speed for the next several years until he completed the seventh volume, A Crown of Swords, at which point he slowed down, delivering a book every two years  Fans objected when he took some time off to expand a short story into a prequel novel called New Spring, so he decided to shelve his plans for additional prequels in favor of finishing off the last two volumes in the series  He rejected criticisms of the later volumes of the series slowing down in pace in order to concentrate on minor secondary characters at the expense of the main characters from the opening volumes but acknowledged that his structure for the tenth volume, Crossroads of Twilight (where he showed a major scene from the prior book, Winter's Heart, from the perspective of the main characters that were not involved in the scene), had not worked out as he had planned  Knife of Dreams, the eleventh volume, had a much more positive reception from critics and fans alike and Jordan announced the twelfth volume, which he had previously announced would have the working title A Memory of Light, would conclude the series  According to Forbes, Jordan had intended for it to be the final book "even if it reaches 2,000 pages "

Jordan's death, and completion by Sanderson
Jordan was diagnosed with the terminal heart disease primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy in December 2005, and while he intended to finish at least A Memory of Light even if the "worse comes to worst," he made preparations in case he was not able to complete the book: "I'm getting out notes, so if the worst actually happens, someone could finish A Memory of Light and have it end the way I want it to end "With Jordan's death on September 16, 2007, the conclusion of the series was in question  On December 7, of that year the publisher Tor Books announced that fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was to finish A Memory of Light  Sanderson, a longtime fan of the series, was chosen by Jordan's widow Harriet McDougal partly because she liked Sanderson's novels and partly because of a eulogy he had written for Jordan On March 30, 2009, Tor Books announced that A Memory of Light would be split into three volumes, with Brandon Sanderson citing timing and continuity reasons  By his estimate in early 2009, the book would have taken several years to write and would have reached 800,000 words  McDougal doubted that Jordan could have concluded it in a single volume  The three volumes were published from 2009 to 2013,  as The Gathering Storm, Towers of Midnight, and A Memory of Light, with the last book using Jordan's title 

After A Memory of Light
Prior to his death, Jordan had often discussed adding an additional two prequels and an 'outrigger' sequel trilogy  In a Q&A following the release of A Memory of Light, Sanderson ruled out the completion of these works; Jordan had left very little in the way of notes for these additional novels – only two sentences in the case of the sequel trilogy Sanderson went on to release two cut portions of A Memory of Light as short stories  These were released in Unfettered anthologies, part of a charitable endeavour to support authors and artists with medical debt
Context 3: Passage 1:
Mikkeli hostage crisis
The Mikkeli hostage crisis, or Jakomäki bank robbery took place on 8–9 August 1986, which ended in Mikkeli, South Savo, Finland, outside of the Mikkeli County Government House on Maaherrankatu  The crisis began when the perpetrator, Jorma Kalevi Takala (born July 11, 1950) took three hostages in Helsinki in a bank robbery, with whom he traveled by car to Mikkeli  The event ended when Takala blew up his car, killing himself and hostage Jukka Häkkinen (born May 13, 1961)  In the aftermath of the incident, the Finnish police were subjected to harsh criticism 

Events
The events began on 8 August 1986, when Jorma Takala, armed with a sawed-off shotgun and an explosive charge, entered the Kansallis-Osake-Pankki bank in Jakomäki, Helsinki  Takala took twelve people inside the bank as his hostages  After receiving 2 5  million Finnish marks and a getaway car in exchange for most of the hostages, he left the bank with three remaining hostages, two female and one male  Takala forced the male hostage to drive the car, following Highway 4 and later Highway 5  
The party arrived in Mikkeli on 9 August, where they parked in front of the Mikkeli County Government House  Finnish police surrounded the vehicle and tried to negotiate with Takala  When he threatened to blow up the car if he was not allowed to continue his journey, the police advised the hostages to leave the vehicle  Both female hostages complied, after which the police started to shoot at the car  In response, Takala detonated the charge and destroyed the vehicle, killing both himself and the male hostage  Nine police officers were injured in the explosion 

Aftermath
The police received much criticism for its handling of the crisis  Nobody knew who gave the order to shoot at the car and initially none of the police commanders took the responsibility for the operation  After an investigation by the NBI, Chancellor of Justice Jorma S  Aalto decided not to prosecute the police officers for the events  In 1993, the Supreme Court of Finland convicted the police commissioner who led the operation of involuntary manslaughter and negligence and fined him 6,000 mk 
Passage 2:
Graham Perkin
Edwin Graham Perkin (16 December 1929 – 16 October 1975) was an Australian journalist and newspaper editor 

Early life
Perkin was born at Hopetoun, Victoria, elder son of Herbert Edwin Perkin, baker, and his wife Iris Lily, née Graham, both Victorian born  Graham grew up at Warracknabeal and was educated at the local high school  In 1948 he began to study law at the University of Melbourne, but abandoned his course in the following year when he obtained a cadetship with The Age  At the Methodist Church, St Kilda, on 6 September 1952 he married Peggy Lorraine Corrie 

Career
As a young reporter, Perkin rapidly acquired a reputation for enthusiasm and restless energy  In 1955 he won a Kemsley scholarship in journalism which took him to London  Returning to Australia as a feature writer, he shared the Walkley Award for journalism in 1959 for an article on pioneering heart surgery  His rise in the newspaper hierarchy was rapid: he became deputy news editor in 1959, news editor in 1963, assistant-editor in 1964 and editor (at the age of 36) in 1966  He was appointed to the additional post of editor-in-chief in 1973 
Perkin turned The Age into a more interventionist and campaigning newspaper  It exposed financial scandals in State governments and corruption in the police force, and attacked Federal governments for suppressing information  In the process, it attracted critics who thought it too 'leftist'  In 1972 The Age, which had traditionally supported Coalition governments, advocated the election of Gough Whitlam's Australian Labor Party  When that government was forced to an early election in 1974, Perkin wanted to support Whitlam again  His stand led to a conflict with the board of David Syme & Co  Ltd, owner and publisher of The Age  A compromise, supported by the managing director Ranald Macdonald, narrowly averted Perkin's resignation  It also reinforced his insistence on editorial independence, subject to the management's right to dismiss an editor in whom it had lost confidence 
However, Perkin turned violently on Whitlam a year later when he published details of a murky land deal involving Phillip Cairns, the son of Deputy Prime Minister Jim Cairns, and Rex Connor, the Minister for Minerals and Energy  Perkin had won a bidding war for the information, setting aside his normal opposition to buying stories because he felt the story was one of overwhelming importance  Perkin's editorials grew more and more critical of Whitlam, culminating in the elemental editorial "Go now, go decently" in which he called for the government to step down  It began with the words 'We will say it straight, and clear, and at once  The Whitlam Government has run its course ' Perkin died of a heart attack on 16 October 1975 at his Sandringham home at the age of 45 
The Age became a more substantial, wider ranging, better written and significantly more influential newspaper  Perkin's reforms and his willingness to speak out strongly in defence of the paper's policies boosted circulation from a stagnant 180,000 in 1965 to a solid 222,000 ten years later  The company's revenues rose correspondingly  Perkin was also director (from 1966) of Australian Associated Press, its chairman in 1970-72, and a director of Reuters Ltd, London, in 1971-74 

Personal life
His wife, their son Steve, and their daughter Corrie – both journalists – survived him  Peggy later remarried, and died in 2012, aged 81 

Graham Perkin Journalism Award
The Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award, an annual prize, was established in 1976 

Bibliography
Hills, Ben, Breaking News: The Golden Age of Graham Perkin, Scribe, 2010  ISBN 978-1-921640-37-7
Passage 3:
1991 Sacramento hostage crisis
On April 4, 1991, 41 employees and customers were taken hostage and held at a Good Guys! electronics store at the corner of 65th Street and Stockton Boulevard in Florin, California, near the Florin Mall (now Florin Towne Centre) for approximately eight hours by four gunmen  Near the end of the hostage crisis, six were killed: three hostages and three of the four hostage-takers  The fourth hostage-taker was captured by authorities, and an additional 14 hostages were injured during the crisis  To this day, the hostage crisis remains the largest hostage rescue operation in US history, with over 40 hostages having been held at gunpoint 

Event
Background
The four gunmen were all Vietnamese immigrants: brothers Loi Khac Nguyen, 21; Pham Khac Nguyen, 19; and Long Khac Nguyen, 17; and their friend, Cuong Tran, 17  The Nguyens had fled Vietnam as a family of eight in 1979 at the start of the second wave of Vietnamese refugees, first sailing to Malaysia and remaining anchored there for the first seven months, then waiting for four more months in an Indonesian refugee camp before they arrived in California in 1980  The entire family lived in a two-bedroom apartment 1⁄2 mile (0 80 km) from the Good Guys! store  Cuong Tran had moved with his parents into a new home in Elk Grove 15 months before the hostage crisis Tran and Long Nguyen were friends and classmates at Florin High School; both had been expelled in March 1991 after stealing athletic equipment and attempting to set fire to the building  Loi Nguyen had attended Valley High School but dropped out during his senior year  Pham Nguyen was attending William Daylor High School (a continuation school) after having transferred from Valley following attendance issues On the day of the hostage crisis, Pham Nguyen briefly came to school and asked to be excused with a toothache  The Nguyen brothers told their parents they were going fishing at the Sacramento River 

Start of the siege
At approximately 1:00 p m , on April 4, 1991, the four young gunmen drove into the parking lot of the Good Guys! electronics store, in the South Area of Sacramento County  The group left their vehicle, a 1982 Toyota Corolla, and entered the store armed with three pistols and a shotgun  They had purchased the guns legally at a local sporting goods store the prior week, following a background check and waiting period  Although reported, the gunmen were not members of the Oriental Boys gang, and the hostage-taking and subsequent crisis were not considered to be gang-related They herded customers and staff into a group, including a shoplifter attempting to leave the store, and began shooting at the ceiling of the store  One employee escaped after being ordered to lock the doors  Although initial reports indicated they had taken the hostages after a failed robbery attempt, subsequent statements to hostages and negotiators instead proved "they were attempting to gain notoriety," according to Sacramento County Sheriff Glen Craig  They were frustrated with their lives in the United States since it was difficult to find good jobs and expressed a desire to travel to Thailand and fight the Viet Cong, according to two of the hostages 

Law enforcement and media response
When the 9-1-1 call came in at 1:33 p m , the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Detail (SED) was already in the process of gearing up in anticipation of executing a previously planned drug raid  They immediately paged off-duty team members and began preparations to rush to the scene along with the Department's Critical Incident Negotiations Team (CINT) and other local and state law enforcement agencies 
As the situation developed, the local media descended on the area in force, broadcasting the unfolding incident  They were able to get footage of the event because of the store's huge glass front doors, which allowed video crews to see into the store where the hostage-takers lined up some of the hostages in front of the entrance as human shields 

Surveillance and negotiation
Following the standard operating procedure, the team obtained a floor plan of the building, which was copied and distributed to team members  The SED team was told that there was only one entrance to the store that was not alarmed: a freight entrance located at the rear of the store  Their only option would be to enter the store's showroom, where the hostages were being held, through a fabrics store on the north side of the building  The entry team gained entrance to the fabric store and slowly moved into position  The criminals apparently heard movement by the police amid shouts of "stay away from the door" coming from inside the store itself 
One of the entry team members removed a ceiling panel in the hallway between the two buildings and inserted a pole-mounted mirror  He was able to observe the subjects directing hostages to place large boxes against the back door to block entry  Once the door was barricaded, the area was abandoned  A fisheye camera was installed by the team but was of limited use because of the design of the store, showing only a portion of the showroom near the door  By this time, the hostages had been tied up with speaker wire and had been arranged inside the store's glass front entrance doors in standing and kneeling positions 
For more than two hours, the department's CINT tried to end the incident peacefully by negotiating with the hostage-takers  Negotiations were initially conducted from police headquarters, and a special negotiation team took over on-site after a few hours from a bank that had been evacuated  The hostage-takers demanded $4 million, forty 1,000-year-old ginseng roots, four bulletproof vests, a 50-troop military helicopter, and transportation for everyone to Thailand after a refueling stop in Alaska  Throughout the incident, the hostage-takers did not present a consistent set of demands to the negotiators One demand that remained constant was for bulletproof vests  During early negotiations, one of the requested vests was exchanged for what was to be the release of nine hostages, although only three were released initially; the police officer who took the first vest to them stripped to his underwear to prove he was unarmed  Loi Nguyen sent a woman to retrieve the vest and threatened to shoot her children if she did not return; after she retrieved the vest, they were the first three hostages to be released  In addition to the hostage exchange, another benefit was that it allowed police to gain information on the current situation in the store  One of the released hostages revealed that the shots heard earlier had been the hostage-takers shooting at the store's security cameras and that none of the hostages had been harmed up to this point  Soon thereafter, more shots were heard, but this was the hostage-takers testing the vest  Approximately an hour later, another woman and her three children were released; an eighth hostage was released at 8:20 p m , bearing a message that they would start to shoot the other hostages shortly At one point during the negotiations, the leader of the hostage-takers, who called himself "Thai" (later shown to be Loi Nguyen), agreed to surrender to the police but only if they were allowed to retain their bulletproof vests and weapons while in prison  The police negotiator informed Loi Nguyen that he would have a short sentence and his vest and guns would be returned upon his release  He set down the phone and began to discuss the situation with his partners  At that point, many of the officers involved felt the exchanges might lead to a negotiated settlement; when he returned to the phone, Loi Nguyen stated that while he accepted those terms, his partners did not  Suddenly, the phone went dead, and the CINT immediately tried to re-establish contact with the store  On the first attempt, the phone was busy, and on the second attempt, a suspect calling himself "Number One" (later shown to be Long Nguyen) answered the phone, informing everyone that he was now in control  From that point on, the situation began to rapidly deteriorate  Shots were once again fired at the store's security cameras 

Entry
At approximately 9 p m , Long Nguyen shot a twenty-year-old male hostage named Sean McIntyre in the leg and then released McIntyre as the ninth and final hostage to be released with the instruction to deliver their message and plight to the local media  They claimed they were trying to draw attention to the troubles of their home country and that they were on a suicide mission  At that point, the police attempted to distract the gunmen by putting the hostage on the news, which would also move them to the television area of the store, but this tactic did not work  The police team was finally given the "green light" to enter the store  Sniper Jeffrey Boyes would issue the signal to execute the assault  Boyes had received permission to fire on any subject on whom he could obtain a clear line of sight 
After McIntyre was shot and released, another hostage was shot just before 10 p m ; the gunmen had told the hostages to select the next victim from among themselves, causing an elderly hostage, Harold Brooks, to faint  According to Sheriff Craig, the gunmen joked "he just decided he was going to be our next person shot " Long Nguyen attempted to shoot Brooks, but his gun misfired, and Loi Nguyen shot Brooks in the leg  The surviving hostages stated the gunmen divided them into two groups and had begun flipping a coin to decide their fates  Guns were placed to the hostages' heads  Several hostages were placed on the phone, and they informed the police the gunmen were going to begin executing hostages 

A second bulletproof vest was delivered to the front door shortly after Brooks was shot, which was to be exchanged for nine more hostages, but no one was released  Another hostage, Priscilla Alvarez, was sent out to recover the second vest with her wrists tied behind her and harnessed with more speaker cord  As the door was opened and Alvarez was halfway down the path to retrieve the vest, Boyes took a shot at one of the gunmen, but the sniper's bullet was deflected by the glass door as it swung shut, and it hit the target's ear Immediately, the hostage-takers ran back and forth, and Long Nguyen started to shoot the seated hostages who were tied down in a row behind the glass door, in full view of the news cameras broadcasting the event live  At the same time, Boyes radioed "Go", and the SED entry team immediately hit the door at 9:51 p m  A stun grenade was tossed into the store from outside, and Curt Warburton, one of the Good Guys employees, managed to scramble to safety through the now shattered glass door  "Number One" (Long Nguyen), now stunned and disoriented, managed to stagger out of Boyes's sights and take cover behind a large pillar  He then immediately began firing his weapon at more bound hostages 
It took the seven-person entry team two to three seconds to get through the back doors from where they had been hiding (a storage space in the rear of the store) because of the "barricades" erected earlier  They then had to contend with the 100-foot (30 m) distance to the front of the store  The team was armed with a variety of weapons for the entry  Sergeants Don Devlin, Charles Price, and Gordon Smith were armed with SiGARMS Sig P220 pistols, Sergeant Bill Kelly carried a laser-sighted HK MP5, investigators Mike Hammel and Greg Peterson carried H&K MP5SD3 submachine guns, and investigator Roger Stanfill was still armed with his AR-15 
Hammel and Price cleared the west side of the store, Peterson and Kelly the east side, and Devlin and Smith went straight up the middle  Stanfill took up a rearguard position  As the team began its movement toward the front of the store, the remaining hostage-takers immediately began to fire on the entry team and hostages  Peterson stepped on the wire that had been used to tether the female hostage sent out to recover the second vest  At that moment, she was snatched to safety by officers outside the store, causing Peterson's feet to fly out from under him, forcing him to fall backward, just as a shotgun blast immediately blew through the area where he was standing  His fellow team members mistakenly believed he had been struck in the face by the blast  As Peterson began to rise to his feet, Devlin and Kelly tried to flank the shotgun-wielding suspect, who fired on them once again, before being taken under fire by the team 

Suspects shot
Simultaneously, on the west side of the store, the team shot one of the suspects (Cuong Tran) before he could react  Then they spotted a second armed suspect (Pham Nguyen) and fired on him, but he disappeared into the chaos of the screaming and panicking crowd of hostages  Then, "Number One" (Long Nguyen) was shot 
At this point, the team could only account for three of the suspects and immediately began a systematic search for the fourth  Price and Hammel discovered an unarmed Asian male (Loi Nguyen) lying on the floor, wearing the sole bulletproof vest that had been provided earlier  Once he was rolled over, they discovered he had a  223 caliber entrance wound, accounting for all four suspects 
It took only 30 seconds from the initial police entry until the gunfire ceased, bringing an end to the hostage crisis 

Aftermath
Casualties
During the assault, the suspects wounded eleven hostages and killed three  Of the eleven wounded, ten were shot, and one suffered a miscarriage  Others shot at were Bret Soren, Chris Lauretzen, Curt Warburton, and many others who suffered both physical and extreme emotional consequences including brutal bodily injuries, trauma, and severe ongoing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)  Of the four suspects, three were killed by the entry team and one, "Thai" (Loi), was wounded  None of the SED entry team was wounded  The hostages killed were store employees Kris Edward Sohne and John Lee Fritz and customer Fernando Gutierrez Gutierrez's two nieces were also hostages  One of the nieces, Lisa Joseph, later wrote the book Heads or Tails: A True Hostage Story of Terror, Torture and Ultimate Survival about her ordeal  Two employees hid in a computer closet during the hostage crisis The Good Guys! announced they would set up trust funds for the two slain employees and would pay for the funerals of all three murder victims 

Trial and prosecution
Loi Nguyen was arraigned from his hospital bed shortly after the crisis ended and charged with 54 felonies, including murder  Nguyen's attorney, Sacramento public defender Linda Parisi, argued that Loi Nguyen was trying to make peace, based on witness testimony and recorded audio, and did not deserve the death penalty; she pointed to Long Nguyen as the leader  However, Rebecca Moore, a sheriff's detective, pointed out that Loi Nguyen had purchased the guns, driven the group to the store, and handled most of the negotiations: "In my opinion he is the most responsible party for this thing going down " Because of pre-trial publicity, the trial was moved to San Francisco  He was convicted on February 8, 1995, on 51 felony counts: three for murder, eight for attempted murder, two for assault with a firearm, and 38 for kidnapping, after two days of jury deliberation  On March 28, the jury recommended a life sentence in prison rather than the death penalty, after four more hours of deliberation At the sentencing hearing in Sacramento, Judge W J  Harpham said, "It's hard to find the adjectives for the terror the defendant put these hostages through " He sentenced Loi Khac Nguyen to 49 life terms in prison, 41 to be served consecutively without the chance of parole  Information that surfaced at Nguyen's trial revealed the men's motivation for committing the crime was that they were frustrated by their inability to learn English and find jobs  Nguyen initially served his sentence at the California State Prison, Lancaster  he was later transferred to California State Prison, Centinela, and has since been transferred to California State Prison, Solano where he is currently serving his term  His CDCR number is J69791 The former Good Guys! building later became a Dollar Tree store, which was modified to move the main entry doors from the front (south facade) to the side of the building (east facade)  This Dollar Tree still stands and remains in business 

In popular culture
In 2000, a play titled The Good Guys: An American Tragedy was created by Michael Edo Keane and Miko Lee and presented by Theater of Yugen, a theatre group that presents work relating to the Pan Asian Diaspora, at the Theater Artaud in San Francisco, California 
The hostage crisis was examined in detail in the first season of the documentary series Shootout!, aired on the History Channel, for the first time in September 2005 
Footage of the event was featured in World's Scariest Police Shootouts in 1997 
In March 2015, the crisis was the focus of an episode of ABC's In an Instant 
In 2019 a movie called A Clear Shot, based on the incident, was released  It starred Hao Do as Loi, Kevin Bach as Pham, Tony Dew as Long, and Dang Tran as Cuong 

See also
List of homicides in California
1996 Honolulu hostage crisis
Passage 4:
Chris Reason
Chris Reason (born 1 October 1965) is a senior reporter and presenter for Seven News in Sydney, Australia  He was awarded the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award for his coverage of the Lindt Cafe siege in December 2014 

Career
Reason's career began in 1990, when during his first year at Seven News he unwittingly covered a segment now infamously known as the Democracy Manifest video, which became an Internet viral video years later  In 2019, The Guardian called it "perhaps the pre-eminent Australian meme of the past 10 years" In 2002, he was announced as co-host of the re-launched national breakfast program Sunrise alongside Melissa Doyle  But in September, Reason was diagnosed with cancer and forced to retire from the program while he underwent six months of chemotherapy, surgery and recovery care  He was replaced by David Koch  The cancer was an abdominal metastasis of the testicular cancer he had fought four years earlier  Reason had missed a critical health check-up in 2001 while covering the September 11 terror attacks in the United States, and he says it almost cost him his life  In multiple interviews since, he has warned young men to never miss a health check-up In 2003, after his recovery, Reason had multiple roles—first as presenter of Seven Morning News, and then presenter of Sunday Sunrise in 2004  In 2005, he was named co-host of Weekend Sunrise alongside Lisa Wilkinson, but he was later replaced by Deal or No Deal host Andrew O'Keefe  Reason returned to full-time reporting as Senior Network Correspondent In 2015, he won the Graham Perkin Award for his coverage of the Lindt Cafe siege  He has won a Walkley Award and two Logie Awards for News Reporting 
Reason is a back-up presenter for most of the Seven News programs, including Seven Morning News, Seven Afternoon News and Seven News Sydney  He also intermittently fills in for either David Koch or Matt Doran on Sunrise and Weekend Sunrise respectively, and appears on the former show during the week as one of the News Feed panelists 

Personal life
His father died from brain cancer in 2006  He attended Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo and the University of Queensland (BA)  Reason married journalist Kathryn Robinson in 2005  They became parents to twins in 2007 
Passage 5:
Les Carlyon
Leslie Allen Carlyon  (10 June 1942 – 4 March 2019) was an Australian writer and newspaper editor 

Early life
Carlyon began his career in journalism with The Herald and Weekly Times as a cadet on the Sun News-Pictorial (now the Herald Sun) in 1960  In 1963, he moved to The Age working successively as leader writer, finance editor, news editor, assistant editor and, in 1975 aged 33, editor, following the sudden death of the previous editor, Graham Perkin  Carlyon had to resign for health reasons in 1976 after just one year in the position



ground_truth: O

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who was born first,  Morgan Llywelyn or Robert Jordan?

The following are given passages.
Context 2:  River of Souls, a canonical segment removed from the published book due to pacing, was released in the first volume in 2013  A Fire in the Ways, a non-canon alternate sequence of events around the climax of the final book, was included in the third volume in 2019  A glossary to the series, The Wheel of Time Companion was released in 2015 

Themes and influences
The Wheel of Time is a novel from the modern fantasy genre, specifically high fantasy  The book is set in a world that is simultaneously the distant past and distant future of the real world, as a result of time being cyclical rather than linear  The opening of the first book establishes the concept:

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend  Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again  In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose   Jordan acknowledged the influence of J  R  R  Tolkien, including deliberately modelling the setting of the first chapters on the Shire in The Lord of the Rings  Concepts drawn from Abrahamic religions include the duality between good and evil and between "Creator" (Light) and Shai'tan, "The Dark One" (Shaitan is an Arabic word that, in Islamic contexts, is used as a name for the Devil or Satan)  Other influences include Arthurian legends, Norse mythology and Irish mythology, as well as real life history In addition, Jordan also drew influences from Eastern mythology, which was rare for a Western fantasy series  The concept of a wheel of time was drawn from Hinduism  Versions of the concept include the Yuga cycle in Hinduism and Kalachakra in Buddhism  The series was also influenced by the concepts of reincarnation and balance, and the symbol of the Aes Sedai resembles the yin and yang 
Fate is an important theme to the series  The series explores in great detail the implications of a common fantasy premise, in which an ordinary boy on the verge of adulthood discovers he is fated to lead a major struggle  It also deals with the divide between fate and free will  Some major characters are ta'veren, who have exceptional abilities to influence the course of history in a tumultuous period, but even they can only go so far as permitted by "The Pattern" that is being set by the Wheel of Time 
The series also featured alternative portrayals of the role of gender in society  The nature of magic in its world means that only women can safely use it  This disparity influences the power dynamics at multiple levels of its societies, including familial, communal and political levels; many of its societies are ruled by women 

Adaptations
Comic books
In 2004, Jordan sold the film, television, video game, and comic rights to the series to production company Red Eagle Entertainment  Dabel Brothers began adapting the series in comic book form, starting with the prequel New Spring in July 2005  The series initially ran on a monthly schedule, but then went on a three-year hiatus after the fifth issue  Red Eagle cited delays and changes to the creative team on the DB Pro end  The final three issues were ultimately completed and published in 2009–10 
In 2009 Dabel moved on to their adaptation of the first book of the series proper, The Eye of the World  On March 17, 2009, they showcased ten pages of art from the prelude to the series "The Wheel of Time: Eye of the World #0 – Dragonmount" on their website  Dynamite Entertainment published 35 issues of Robert Jordon's The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World comic book series, which concluded in March 2013 When asked in a 2013 interview about whether the comics would continue their run, Harriet McDougal replied "Well, eventually, [we'll] do the whole thing, unless it stops selling in a dreadful way  In other words, I don't really know " The 43 New Spring and Eye of the World comics were later collected together and released as a series of six graphic novels, the last of which was released in February 2015 

Games
There is a Wheel of Time MUD, identified as such or by the initialism WoTMUD, which is based on a world like that of the Wheel of Time but set in a time frame around 30 world years prior   It has been in operation almost continuously since 1993  Notably, the WoTMUD had gained written permission from the author to use his creation including all but major characters A Wheel of Time computer game was released in 1999  Over the course of the game, Aes Sedai must track down a robber following an assault on the White Tower, and prevent the Dark One from being released prematurely  She eventually learns of and executes a long-forgotten ritual at Shayol Ghul to ensure the Dark Lord remains sealed within the prison  While Robert Jordan was consulted in the creation of the game, he did not write the storyline himself, and the game is not considered canon The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game was released in 2001 from Wizards of the Coast using the d20 rules developed for the third edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game  The game had a single adventure module published in 2002, Prophecies of the Dragon  Shortly after the release of the adventure book Wizards of the Coast announced they would not be releasing any further products for the game  Robert Jordan cited some problems with the roleplaying game, such as storyline details in the adventure module that contradicted the books In early 2009 EA Games announced that they had bought the rights for a MMORPG, with the plan to publish it through the EA Partners-Program  The following year Obsidian Entertainment announced that they would be working on the project, for a PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC release  However, the project was seemingly dropped around 2014 

Music
In 1999, A Soundtrack for the Wheel of Time was released, featuring music by Robert Berry and inspired by the books 
The German power metal band Blind Guardian have written two songs dedicated to the Wheel of Time series as part of their 2010 album At the Edge of Time: "Ride into Obsession" and "Wheel of Time"  Swedish heavy metal band Katana also wrote a song, entitled "The Wisdom of Emond's Field", on their 2012 album Storms of War  The American power metal band Noble Beast, on their 2014 album of the same name, wrote a song entitled "The Dragon Reborn", in reference to Rand al'Thor  The American black metal band Shaidar Logoth takes its name from an adaptation of the city of Shadar Logoth, and lyrically expands on the character Padan Fain  The Austrian metal band Dragony, on their 2018 album "Masters of the Multiverse", released the song "Flame of Tar Valon", referencing the Amyrlin Seat  The Swedish metal band Freternia, on their 2019 album "The Gathering", released the song "Reborn", referencing the Dragon Reborn, Rand al'Thor  The American band Lyra wrote the song "The Sword That Could Not Be Broken", about the history of Manetheren, as well as the song "Betrayer of Hope", in reference to Ishamael  The Dread Crew of Oddwood produced the song "The Gleeman", which refers to Thom's battle with a Myrddraal in Whitebridge  The Scottish metal band Farseer, on their 2016 album "Fall Before the Dawn", released the song "Luck of the Joker", which references the most important events that happen to Matrim Cauthon during the whole series In the tradition of the literature-inspired symphonic poem, American composer Seth Stewart produced a full-scale orchestral work entitled "Age of Legends", inspired by the eponymous era of myth and magic described throughout the Wheel of Time series  The orchestral piece was premiered and recorded in 2011 at the Beall Concert Hall 

Television and film
In a 2000 chat on CNN com, Robert Jordan mentioned that NBC had purchased an option to do a miniseries of The Eye of the World  But he expressed doubts that the series would be made stating "key people involved in getting that contract together have left NBC " The series was optioned by Universal Pictures in 2008 for film adaptations, with plans to adapt The Eye of the World as the first film  Neither project ultimately emerged 
In February 2015, Red Eagle Entertainment paid air time to cable network FXX to air Winter Dragon, a  low-budget 22-minute pilot for a potential The Wheel of Time series that allowed Red Eagle to hold on to the rights to the series  The pilot, based on the prologue to The Eye of the World, starred Max Ryan as Lews Therin Thelamon and Billy Zane as Ishamael and aired after Midnight with no announcements or publicity  Harriet McDougal initially stated she was unaware of the show ahead of time, and that the film rights to The Wheel of Time were set to revert to the Bandersnatch Group, her company, a few days later on February 11, 2015  Her comments triggered a slander lawsuit with Red Eagle, which was ultimately dismissed during settlement talks that July  In an interview with io9, Red Eagle Entertainment's CEO Rick Selvage stated "it was more of an [issue of] getting it on the air "  A spokesman for FXX stated that the channel was paid to air the show, but Selvage hinted that it was indeed produced with a future series in mind  "We think there's huge demand for the television series internationally, and we're looking forward to producing it and getting it out in the marketplace "On April 29, 2016, Harriet McDougal confirmed that the legal issues had been resolved and that a TV series was in development  Further details emerged on 20 April 2017, when it was announced that Sony Pictures Television would be handling the adaptation, with Rafe Judkins as writer and executive producer  In February 2018, Amazon Studios revealed that it had struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television to co-develop the series for distribution on Amazon's video streaming service  The series was formally greenlit in October 2018  Production began in late 2019, but was hindered in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic  The series premiered on 19 November 2021 

Fan culture
Many fans of The Wheel of Time attend Dragon Con, which had an exclusive Wheel of Time content track from 2001 through 2012  The Wheel of Time now has its own annual convention, JordanCon, which has been held annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since 2009  The 2020 convention was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic  Instead, it took place over the Internet, some aspects being held through the use of the Zoom platform  The 2023 convention in April was the 15th anniversary of the founding of JordanCon 
In 2022, a new convention titled WoT Con, took place in Dublin, OH  This convention was created to be dedicated to the world of the Wheel of Time in all media aspects: novels, social media, and the television show  The second convention will take place July 14-16, 2023 
Passage 5:
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time
The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time is an encyclopedia for the bestselling The Wheel of Time epic fantasy series of novels by Robert Jordan about the unnamed world where the plot takes place, which is often referred by fans of the series as the World of the Wheel  It is published in the United States by Tor Books and in the United Kingdom by Orbit Books  The bulk of the text was written by Teresa Patterson based on notes and information provided by Jordan, who also serves as overall editor on the project  While the information in the guide is broadly canonical, the book is deliberately written with vague, biased, or even downright false (or guessed) information in places, as Patterson felt this would reflect a key theme of the series (the mutability of knowledge across time and distance) 

Publication history
The book has been printed in several formats  The original release on 6 November 1997 was a large-format hardback with a predominantly white cover  This led to the book being dubbed 'The Big White Book' by fans  Some additional fans, citing poor quality of the internal illustrations, have dubbed the volume "The Big Book With Bad Art"  This edition of the book runs to 304 pages  The book was reprinted in a slightly different edition of the same size a year later  This edition has a different cover (a map of the Westlands) and the gallery has been expanded to include the cover of the eighth novel, The Path of Daggers, which was released at the same time  A large-format paperback edition followed in November 1999  On 6 June 2002 Orbit re-released the book as a 461-page mass-market paperback, stripped of all illustrations apart from the maps  This is the 'current' UK edition 

Description
The book is an attempt to fill in the enormous backstory of The Wheel of Time novels and also serves as 'guidebook' to the world presented in the books  The original large-editions of the book were presented with full-colour art by Todd Cameron Hamilton and includes maps by Ellisa Mitchell, John M  Ford and Thomas Canty  The covers of the novels, painted by Darrell K  Sweet, were also included  The mass-market paperback editions only include the Mitchell, Ford, and Canty maps, however  The original artwork by Hamilton was fiercely criticised on release The book consists of six sections, outlined as follows:

The Wheel and the Power: a description and explanation of The Wheel of Time, the True Source and the One Power, the relationships between the three, and how they are tapped and used 
The Age of Legends: a historical overview of the Age of Legends, the War of the Shadow and the Breaking of the World  Includes biographies and character studies of the thirteen Forsaken and information on the Friends of the Dark and Shadowspawn 
The World Since the Breaking: a historical overview of events since the Breaking, including the founding of the White Tower and the rise of the Ten Nations, the Trolloc Wars, the rise of Artur Hawkwing in the War of the Second Dragon, the colonisation of Seanchan, the War of the Hundred Years, the start of the New Era, the Whitecloak War, and the Aiel War 
Narrative Paintings: the cover artwork for the first seven (expanded to eight in later editions) novels in the series  This section is missing from mass-market paperback editions of the book 
The World of the Wheel: a gazetteer to the world of the novels, including information on Shara, Seanchan, the Aiel Waste, the Land of the Madmen, and the Ogier  A map of the whole world is shown, along with a more detailed map of Shara and the Aiel Waste, and another of the Seanchan home continent  Information on history, customs, and the Seanchan exotic animals is also included 
Within the Land: focuses on the fourteen nations and the major city-states that make up the main continent shown in the books, featuring information on holidays, prophecies, military forces, governments, trade, and the influence of the Aes Sedai 
Passage 6:
Morgan Llywelyn
Morgan Llywelyn (born December 3, 1937) is an American-Irish historical interpretation author of historical and mythological fiction and historical non-fiction  Her interpretation of mythology and history has received several awards and has sold more than 40 million copies, and she herself is recipient of the 1999 Exceptional Celtic Woman of the Year Award from Celtic Women International 

Biography
Llywelyn was born Sally Snyder in New York in 1937  She was the daughter of Joseph John (an attorney) and she attended high school in Dallas  In her teens, Llywelyn moved to the Dallas area, where she developed a love of horses  By the age of 16, Llywelyn was competing in professional horse shows across the United States  By age 18, she modeled for Neiman Marcus and Arthur Murray  After 15 years of experience as a horse trainer and instructor, she tried out for and narrowly missed making the 1976 United States Olympic Team in dressage  She was instead shortlisted, missing the cut off score by  05 percent With her mother's encouragement and a successfully published article on horse training, she refocused her efforts in tracing the Llywelyn family history and eventually made a career out of writing historical novels that allowed the exploration of her Celtic roots  In reference to this career change, Llywelyn had this to say:

I have a strong strain of Welsh on my mother's side, which does indeed go back to Llywelyn ap Iorwerth  And Llywelyn the Great! (We have the proven genealogy from the College of Heralds ) She was very proud of her royal Welsh connection  That is why she was so interested in genealogy in the first place, and inspired me to get involved as well     leading in turn to THE WIND FROM HASTINGS  But both my parents were predominantly Irish – my father totally so – and I spent half the years of my childhood here  So I have always been much more interested in Ireland and its history and legends 
Llywelyn has received several awards for her works  She received the Novel of the Year Award from the National League of American Penwomen for her novel, The Horse Goddess, as well as the Woman of the Year Award from the Irish-American Heritage Committee for Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish  The latter award was presented to her by Ed Koch, then-mayor of New York City Although Llywelyn's grandparents have their roots in Ireland, it was only after the death of her parents and her husband in 1985 that she relocated to Ireland  Llywelyn now lives outside Dublin and has become an Irish citizen In 1990, Llywelyn began her focus on writing books geared for younger readers  These works started with Brian Boru: Emperor of the Irish, for which she won an Irish Children's Book Trust Bisto Award in 1991, and includes other titles, such as Strongbow: The Story of Richard and Aoife, for which she won a Bisto Award in the Historical Fiction category, 1993 and the Reading Association of Ireland Award, 1993, and Star Dancer, which departed from her usual Celtic topic and was centered on her experiences with dressage  Further works include The Vikings in Ireland, an exploration of when the Norsemen arrived in Ireland, and Pirate Queen, a younger reader's version of the story of Grace O'Malley, told through letters from Granuaile to her beloved son 

Bibliography
Novels and short fiction collections
1978 The Wind from Hastings, Tor Books, ISBN 9781429983563
1980 Lion of Ireland, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765302571
1983 The Horse Goddess, Tor Books, ISBN 9781429983464
1984 Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish, Tor Books, ISBN 9780765334886 
1984 Personal Habits, Doubleday
1986 Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas, Forge Books, ISBN 9781429920636
1987 Xerxes, Chelsea House Publications, ISBN 0877544476
1989 The Isles of the Blest, Olmstead Press, ISBN 9781587541131
1989 Red Branch, Ivy Books, ISBN 9780804105910
1990 Brian Boru: Emperor of the Irish, Tor Books, ISBN 9780812544619
1989 On Raven's Wing, Mandarin, ISBN 9780749302054
1991 Druids, Del Rey, ISBN 9780804108447
1992 The Last Prince of Ireland: A Novel, W  Morrow, ISBN 9780688107949
1992 O'Sullivan's March
1993 The Elementals, Tor Books, ISBN 9780312855680
1993 Star Dancer, The O'Brien Press, ISBN 9780862783310
1994 Finn Mac Cool, Forge Books, ISBN 9781250754226  
1995 Cold Places
1995 Ireland: A Graphic History (with Michael Scott)
1995 Silverhand (Arcana, Book 1; with Michael Scott), Baen, ISBN 9780671877286
1996 19 Railway Street (with Michael Scott), Poolbeg Press Ltd, ISBN 9781853716423
1996 The Vikings in Ireland
1996 Strongbow: The Story of Richard & Aoife, The O'Brien Press, ISBN 9780862782740
1996 Silverlight (Arcana, Book 2; with Michael Scott)
1996 Pride of Lions
1998 1916, A Novel Of the Irish Rebellion, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765386144 
1999 The Essential Library for Irish Americans
2000 Etruscans (with Michael Scott), Tor Books, ISBN 9780312875510
2000 A Pocket History of Irish Rebels
2000 The Earth Is Made Of Stardust, Borgo Press, ISBN 9781587151590
2001 1921, The War for Independence, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765326935 
2001 Granuaile, The Pirate Queen (republished as Pirate Queen in 2006), The O'Brien Press, ISBN 9780862789749
2003 1949, The Irish Republic, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765381347
2005 1972, A Novel of Ireland's Unfinished Revolution, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765381330
2006 The Greener Shore: A Novel of the Druids of Hibernia, Del Rey, ISBN 9780345477675, 0345477677
2006 The Young Rebels, The O'Brien Press, ISBN 9780862785796
2006 The History of Irish Rebels
2006 The Vikings in Ireland
2008 1999 - A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace, Forge Books, ISBN 9781429927062
2010 Brendan - The Remarkable Life and Voyage of Brendan of Clonfert, Forge Books, ISBN 9780312860998
2012 Cave of Secrets, The O'Brien Press, ISBN 9781847172075
2013 After Rome, Forge Books, ISBN 9781429987400 
2014 1014: Brian Boru & the Battle for Ireland, Dover Publications, ISBN 9780486842004
2016 Only the Stones Survive, Forge Books, ISBN 9780765337931 
2018 Drop by Drop, Tor Books, ISBN 9781250245311 
2019 Step by Step
2020 Inch by Inch, Tor Books, ISBN 9781250245328 
2021 Breath by Breath, Tor Books, ISBN 9780765388728

Awards
Passage 7:
Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas
Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas is a 1986 historical fiction novel about Grace O'Malley (Irish: Gráinne Ní Mháille), the so-called "Sea Queen of Connemara", by American-born Irish author Morgan Llywelyn  Llywelyn's novel is a heavily fictionalized account of O'Malley's life, with the author having created characters as needed for the plot of the story  The novel was the basis for the 2007 Broadway musical The Pirate Queen 
Passage 8:
Pride of Lions (novel)
Pride of Lions (ISBN 9780812536508, 1996), by the American-Irish author Morgan Llywelyn, is a novel about the lives of the children of Irish hero and High King Brian Boru, particularly his son, Donough, after the Battle of Clontarf  It is a sequel to Lion of Ireland published in 1980 
Passage 9:
Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish
Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish is a 1984 historical fantasy novel by Morgan Llywelyn  It depicts the migration of Galicians to Ireland, led by Amergin the bard and the Sons of the Mil  It is loosely based on the Early Irish Lebor Gabála Érenn or The Book of Invasions found in several medieval manuscripts 

Plot summary
Official tagline: "The sweeping historical tale of the coming of the Irish to Ireland, and of the men and women who made the Emerald Isle their own "
In the 4th century BC a group of Gaelic speaking people living in the northwest of Iberia, the Galicians, are waning in prosperity  A group of Phoenician traders unexpectedly arrives and gives hope to the tribe 
The story follows Amergin, druid and chief bard of the Galicians, and his brothers; Éremón, Colptha, Éber Finn, Donn, and Ír - all sons of Milesios  After years of declining prosperity, the Gaelicians hope that the Phoenician traders, led by Age-Nor, will help bring them back  Unfortunately, neither side has anything of much worth to trade 
At a reception in the Heroes' Hall, Age-Nor is attacked by Ír, while Milesios is asleep and unaware  Amergin uses his bardic talent to entrance Ír, thus saving Age-Nor 
Later in the novel, Age-Nor rewards Amergin, despite the bard's vehement protests, by giving him a servant, a shipwright named Sakkar, and regaling him with a tale of a fabled land to the north, Ierne  After a series of mishaps and bad decisions, it is eventually decided that a group of the Gaelicians, led by the Sons of the Mil, will settle this land 
The tribe builds a series of ships with the help of Sakkar, and set sail 
When they arrive on Ierne, they are confronted by the mysterious Tuatha Dé Danann, People of the Goddess Danu  After a battle, the Dananns vanish with no trace, leaving Ierne for the Milesians after Éiru (A Goddess of the Tuatha De Dannan) hands over Ireland to Amergin for it was foretold 

External links
Morgan Llywelyn
Passage 10:
Finn Mac Cool (novel)
Finn Mac Cool is a 1994 novel by the Irish-American author Morgan Llywelyn  It is based on the Fenian Cycle about the Irish hero Finn Mac Cool and the fianna  Terri Windling described it as "a skilfully crafted Irish novel       in the shadowy realm between history and mythology" 
Context 3: From 1977 to 1982, he was a visiting lecturer in journalism at RMIT University, Melbourne  During this time, he continued writing for newspapers across Australia with a particular focus on horse racing In 1984, Carlyon returned to an executive role in journalism with his first employer, the Herald and Weekly Times, where he was promoted to editor-in-chief   After resigning in 1986, Carlyon again continued as a freelance writer and columnist during the 1990s, contributing to such publications as the Sydney Morning Herald, Western Australia's The Sunday Times and The Bulletin Carlyon twice won the Walkley Award for journalism (1971 and 2004)  In 1993, he won the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award 

Books
In addition to his career as a journalist, Carlyon was also an accomplished author writing mainly on sport and Australian military history  His books include:

Carlyon, Les (1996)  True Grit: Tales from a Decade on the Turf  Mandarin  ISBN 9781863306065 
Carlyon, Les (1998)  Heroes in our eyes  Information Australia  ISBN 9781863502467 
Carlyon, Les (2001)  Gallipoli  Macmillan Australia  ISBN 9781743534229 
Carlyon, Les (2006)  The Great War  Picador Australia  ISBN 9780330424967 
Carlyon, Les (2011)  The Master: A personal portrait of Bart Cummings  Macmillan Australia  ISBN 9781742628837 
Carlyon, Les (2021)  Les Carlyon: A Life in Words  Allen and Unwin Australia  ISBN 9781760879723 Gallipoli, a popular history of the Allied Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles during the First World War (which remains a key event in the Australian and New Zealand national consciousnesses), was published in 2001, and met with critical and commercial success in Australia, New Zealand and England  The book was the basis for the Australian 2015 TV miniseries Gallipoli, released in the year of the 100th anniversary of the campaign The Great War is the story of Australian forces on the Western Front in France and Belgium also during World War I Les Carlyon: A Life in Words, published posthumously, is a collection of Carlyon's articles from across his career, selected by his family and with a foreword by his son, Patrick Carlyon 

Awards
In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Carlyon was invested as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for "eminent service to literature through the promotion of the national identity as an author, editor and journalist, to the understanding and appreciation of Australia's war history, and to the horseracing industry" He was admitted to the Australian Media Hall of Fame He served as a Member of the Council of the Australian War Memorial from May 2006 until his death (he was replaced by Tony Abbott)  In April 2020, the Australian War Memorial announced the inaugural Les Carlyon Literary Prize in his memory 

Awards
Walkley Award for magazine feature writing 1971
Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award 1993
Walkley Award for journalism leadership 2004
Melbourne Press Club Quill Award for Lifetime Achievement 2004
Prime Minister's Prize for History 2007 (for The Great War)
Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) 2014

Death
Carlyon's death, aged 76, on 4 March 2019 was widely reported 
Passage 6:
2014 Sydney hostage crisis
The Lindt Café siege was a terrorist attack that occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt Chocolate Café in the APA Building in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia 
The Sydney siege led to a 16-hour standoff, after which a gunshot was heard from inside and police officers from the Tactical Operations Unit (TOU) stormed the café  Hostage Tori Johnson was killed by Monis and hostage Katrina Dawson was killed by a police bullet ricochet in the subsequent raid  Monis was also killed  Three other hostages and a police officer were injured by police gunfire during the raid Police have been criticised over their handling of the siege for not taking proactive action earlier, for the deaths of hostages at the end of the siege, and for the lack of negotiation during the siege  Hostage Marcia Mikhael called radio station 2GB during the siege and said, "They have not negotiated, they've done nothing  They have left us here to die "Early on, hostages were seen holding a Jihadist flag against the window of the café, featuring the shahādah creed  Initially, many media organisations mistook it for the flag used by the Islamic State (IS); Monis later demanded that an IS flag be brought to him  Monis also unsuccessfully demanded to speak to the Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, live on radio  Monis was described by Abbott as having indicated a "political motivation," but the eventual assessment was that the gunman was "a very unusual case—a rare mix of extremism, mental health problems and plain criminality "In the aftermath of the siege, Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident, and memorial services were held in the city at the nearby St Mary's Cathedral and St James' Church  Condolence books were set up in other Lindt cafés and the community turned Martin Place into a "field of flowers " The Martin Place Lindt café was severely damaged during the police raid, closed afterwards, then renovated for reopening in March 2015 In October 2022, the TOU officer who shot and killed Monis during the police storming of the Lindt Café published a memoir entitled 'Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! The Lindt Café Siege: The incredible inside story of two days that traumatised a nation: And one man's journey of resilience and hope '

Events
Prior to event
An anonymous call was made to Australia's anti-terrorism hotline 48 hours before the siege, raising concerns about the content of Monis's website  On his website, Monis had pledged allegiance to "the caliph of the Muslims", believed to be referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and denounced moderate Islam  It has been reported that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation followed up on the call by reviewing the website and Monis's posts on social media but found nothing to indicate that he was likely to commit an act of violence 

Hostage-taking and negotiations
Monis entered the Lindt Chocolate Café at 53 Martin Place, Sydney, at 8:33 am Sydney local time (AEDT) on 15 December 2014 (UTC+11)  The café is located directly across from the Seven News television studios, and near the Reserve Bank of Australia, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac bank, and Martin Place underground train station 
The situation began at 9:44 am, when Monis forced Tori Johnson, the manager of the café, to phone 000 Monis was bearded, wearing a black cap and wearing a black headband with the inscription, in Arabic: "We are ready to sacrifice for you, O Mohammad " He was carrying a blue sports bag, and armed with a sawed-off pump-action shotgun 
The shotgun was old but could fire four shots in five seconds Monis used hostages as human shields  He had disabled the automatic sliding glass doors of the café Monis claimed there were four "devices" located around Sydney  However, New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said that none of the alleged devices were found during investigations  Monis also demanded that a hostage ask all media to broadcast that "this is an attack on Australia by the Islamic State"  In addition, he demanded that an Islamic State flag be delivered to him, although the request was never fulfilled Hostages were ordered to hold up a Black Standard flag, with the shahādah in white Arabic letters (an Islamic creed declaring: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of God"), against the window of the café  Some news reports initially mistook it for the flag used by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Monis demanded to speak to the Australian Prime Minister live on radio, but this demand was rejected  This was relayed by hostage Marcia Mikhael, who said that she "lost it" when told that the Prime Minister was too busy, saying, "I don't care what [Abbott] is doing right now   I'm sure there's nothing more important happening in Australia   than the lives of the people in this café   "Mamdouh Habib said he knew Monis well and offered to help police negotiate with him  He believed that Monis was "sick and disturbed" over his failure to gain access to his children, and said Monis could trust him to get his message out  Lawyer Manny Conditsis had represented Monis and had also offered help because he said that Monis respected what he had to say to him  Barrister Michael Klooster who had met Monis in the cafe before the siege called the police at 2:17 pm  Other Muslim leaders also offered to help, including the Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohamed 
All such offers were rejected by police because they had no control over what the untrained negotiators might say or do  However, Mikhael said that after the request to speak to the Prime Minister was refused: "It was then that I knew that there was not going to be any negotiation and we were just left there     They were waiting for him to kill someone or shoot something so they [could] come in     There was nothing proactive about that operation, nothing "Belinda Neil, who was a negotiator for the NSW police, said that in negotiations, "[W]e want to try and talk to the hostage-taker     [W]e want to find out why he's there, why is he doing this, and we don't just go into this situation hoping to resolve it in half an hour " This approach would be consistent with the Behavioral Change Stairway Model  However, Mikhael stated that no such negotiation took place  Habib said that he called both the police and the Attorney General twice during the raid, but they did not return his calls  Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione confirmed during the siege that "we're not dealing directly with him     we do not have direct contact with the offender "Several hostages made contact with media outlets and relayed Monis's demands to them  At the request of the New South Wales Police Force, they were not published during the siege  The social media profiles of the hostages were also used to relay demands At 1:43 am Tori Johnson texted his family "He's [Monis] increasingly agitated, walks around when he hears a noise outside with a hostage in front of him  Wants to release one person in good faith, tell police " This was conveyed to the police 10 minutes later During the early stages of the siege, the Australian government and NSW authorities did not label the event as a terrorist attack; however, as the siege continued, NSW police authorised the engagement of the state's counter-terrorism task force, treating the incident as an act of terrorism 

Escape of first five hostages
At around 3:37 pm, two hostages, John O'Brien and barrister Stefan Balafoutis, escaped from the front entrance of the building, followed by a third hostage, café employee Paolo Vassallo, who ran out from a fire exit at the side of the building  At around 4:58 pm, two female hostages, both employees, Jieun Bae and Elly Chen, escaped by running from another entrance of the building and were met by Tactical Operations Unit officers Monis was unaware that Jieun Bae and Elly Chen had escaped  Jarrod Morton-Hoffman made noise to cover their exit and persuaded Monis that media reports of five hostages escaping were wrong  After the escape, Monis threatened to kill hostages Police planted a covert listening device in the café during the night  At one point, the device picked up Monis saying that he wanted to kill any escaping hostages 

Raid and end of the siege
At 2:03 am on 16 December, a "very loud bang" was heard as Monis shot towards six hostages fleeing from the building  At 2:11 am Monis fired a shot towards the kitchen, and was heard on the police listening device reloading his shotgun  The hostage Fiona Ma then escaped through the front door, and two police Tactical Operations Unit teams were ordered to move very slowly towards the two entrances At 2:14 am, four minutes after the Tactical operations teams were ordered in, Monis shot Tori Johnson in the back of the head, killing him  The shooting was witnessed by a police sniper, who reported a hostage down  Police armed with M4A1 carbines threw eleven stun grenades as they stormed the café 
Monis was shot in the head  An officer reported that "I watched the (gun's) laser     from the centre of his chest go to his head and his head exploded and he fell"  One officer then fired a total of 17 rounds, and another officer fired 5 additional rounds  Some fragments of those rounds killed hostage Katrina Dawson Police declared the siege over soon after, later confirming that Monis was killed in the raid  Two hostages had died, and another three were injured by police bullets  One police officer, whose face was grazed by a police bullet, was discharged from hospital later in the day At the inquest, Counsel assisting the coroner, Jeremy Gormley SC, said, "No shot fired by Mr Monis, other than the one that struck and killed Mr Johnson, struck anyone " Mitchell McAlister, who was a tactical assaulter with 2nd Commando Tactical Assault Group questioned the police use of M4A1 carbines with 5 56mm NATO rounds that could have "dangerous effects in a dense and enclosed environment " It was also unclear why 22 shots were fired by police, of which 13 hit Monis 

Flag raids
At around 2:00 pm on 15 December, police contacted Rebecca Kay, a member of the Muslim community, and asked her to help source an ISIS flag for Monis  Kay contacted many people in the Muslim community but ultimately the police sourced their own flag  However, the flag was never given to Monis The following day, NSW and federal police raided three homes of people who had been contacted in the attempt to source the flag  Kay assumes that her conversations had been monitored  Kay said she would help police in another crisis, but "with this incident they have not built trust at all  You don't understand   the fear that [the AFP and ASIO] create, and how they stalk   members of our community   " Lawyer Zali Burrows questioned the purpose of the police contacting Kay in the first place, stating, "Why didn't they just print [a flag]?"

Police strategy
The police followed a "contain and negotiate" strategy which was to avoid any direct action unless a hostage was killed or injured  They decided that this strategy could deliver a "peaceful negotiated outcome" because Monis had not harmed any hostages, despite having threatened to do so  Monis had also not reacted violently to the escape of five hostages on two separate occasions, or due to none of his demands being met  Further, Monis claimed to have a bomb, and "if the bomb was triggered, all of those inside the cafe and those attempting a rescue were not likely to survive"  At 8:20 pm and again at 11:35 pm, the head of the tactical operations unit attempted to persuade the other commanders to take a "deliberate action" plan and storm the cafe but this was overruled by other commanders and Assistant Commissioner Mark Jenkins due to the danger to the hostages and police 
Police snipers could not be used due to "the narrow windows, the moving around of Monis, the risk to hostages if there was a missed shot, (and) the position of the snipers behind glass" At 11 am, Operational Commander Mick Fuller approved negotiations for the release of half of the 18 hostages in return for Monis being allowed to talk on ABC radio  However, the negotiation commander decided not to do so because it conflicted with a standing policy to not negotiate with terrorists The first negotiator was not told that the Grand Mufti of Australia and a barrister who represented Monis had offered to help negotiate with Monis  He only found out about Monis's demand for the ABC to broadcast that Australia was under attack after a Facebook post from one of the hostages was read out on radio 2GB  Monis had also demanded that the Christmas lights be turned off  The first negotiator thought that doing this would have provided an opportunity to bargain with Monis, but did not hear back from commanders as to whether it was possible so "discarded" the option He was then relieved by a second negotiator, but did not tell him about the demand that the Christmas lights be turned off  Hostage Selina Win Pe told the second negotiator Monis wanted to know why it hadn't happened  It was later revealed an Ausgrid team had assembled to switch off the lights, but was sent home A third negotiator later said that he did not have the Christmas lights turned off because he had some reason to know that Monis would not carry through his threat to kill Win Pe  He said there was some "step-by-step" process to have the hostages released (after nineteen hours)  Jenkins says he would have liked the Christmas lights turned off quickly, and was unaware that this had been found to be possible  Jenkins was also not told about the Johnson text near the end of the siege that Monis wanted to release a hostage The negotiation team leader did not think Monis would hurt anyone because Monis had told people inside the cafe that everyone would go home once Prime Minister Tony Abbott called  The team leader later conceded that Abbott was never going to call  Forensic advice given to the police by an unnamed consultant psychiatrist was that Monis was probably undertaking a grandiose act to be recognised as a figure of great infamy rather than wishing to hurt anyone  He doubted that Monis actually represented ISIS because he did not have the correct flag, nor that his actions were politically motivated  The psychiatrist warned that "a wounded narcissist is a dangerous specimen" as none of Monis's demands were met 

Timeline of events
Hostages
Authorities did not release an estimate of the number of hostages inside the café during the siege  After the siege, a total of 18 hostages was confirmed—eight staff and ten customers of the café including lawyers and Westpac employees with offices close by  Initial estimates varied, with some significantly overestimating the number Tori Johnson, the 34-year-old manager of the café, died after being shot in the head by Monis 
Katrina Dawson, a 38-year-old barrister, was killed when she was hit by seven police bullet fragments while lying behind a chair, which was hit by 10 bullets Three hostages and a police officer were wounded by police gunfire during the raid  The three hostages were Marcia Mikhael, who was shot in the leg; Robyn Hope, a 75-year-old woman who was shot in the shoulder; and Louisa Hope, her 52-year-old daughter, who was shot in the foot 
All three were in a stable condition after treatment  Paolo Vassallo, one of the five hostages who initially escaped the scene, was hospitalised for a pre-existing condition 
The other hostages were identified as John O'Brien, Stefan Balafoutis, Elly Chen, Jieun Bae, Harriette Denny, Viswakanth Ankireddy, Joel Herat, Fiona Ma, Jarrod Hoffman, Puspendu Ghosh, Selina Win Pe, and Julie Taylor Memorial services for Johnson and Dawson were held on 23 December: Johnson's in the morning at St Stephen's Uniting Church, Sydney, and Dawson's in the afternoon in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney  Interviews with some of the hostages were later recorded for television and broadcast, amid some controversy 

Evacuations and closures
After the siege began, a staged exclusion zone was established with thousands of people evacuated from nearby buildings, including from the floors above the café  The Sydney Opera House was evacuated after a suspicious package was found; however, reports were unconfirmed by police  The US Consulate General in Sydney, located in Martin Place, was also evacuated  Some Sydney schools were put in "white level lockout" due to the hostage situation, which meant that no school group was permitted to leave the school grounds Police advised people in the area bounded by Hunter, George, Elizabeth, and Macquarie streets, bordering Martin Place, to remain indoors and away from windows  Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, and ANZ closed their CBD branches for the day  The State Library was also closed  Numerous other buildings, including David Jones stores, executive offices for the New South Wales Parliament, criminal courts for the Supreme Court, the Downing Centre, and "several city legal chambers" were evacuated, as were the facilities of the Seven Network, situated directly across from the café, forcing The Morning Show to suspend transmission  Police established an emergency centre in nearby Hyde Park in response to the unfolding situation with emergency services sent to the area to respond to any immediate threats and evacuees were relocated to the park as a safety precaution Trains did not stop at Martin Place railway station during the incident  Transport for NSW advised people to stay away from the CBD  Road closures prevented southbound access to the Cahill Expressway, York Street, and Harbour Street, and northbound access to the Cahill Expressway, and all traffic was diverted to the Sydney Harbour Tunnel  On the morning of 16 December, road diversions remained in place and Martin Place train station remained closed  In the evening of 16 December, Elizabeth Street, Macquarie Street and Hunter Street were opened to traffic Uber fares for travel in Sydney surged during the event under the company's dynamic pricing system, which led to criticism  Uber subsequently refunded excessive fares and provided free rides out of the CBD 

Gunman
Iranian-born Monis was identified as the hostage-taker and named early on the morning of 16 December In September 2009, Monis was convicted for criminal use of the postal service to "menace, harass or cause offence", for a campaign protesting the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan, by writing letters to the families of soldiers killed there, in which he called the soldiers murderers  On 12 December, three days before the siege, Monis lost his appeal against his conviction and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service  Monis had been charged with accessory to murder relating to the death of his former wife who was found stabbed eighteen times, and set alight, on 21 April 2013 at a unit block in Werrington



ground_truth: Morgan Llywelyn

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who was the gunman of the hostage crisis which Chris Reason was awarded the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award for his coverage of?

The following are given passages.
Context 3:  However, on 12 December 2013, Magistrate William Pierce said "It is a weak case" and granted Monis bail  In November 2016, Amirah Droudis was found guilty, in a judge-only trial, of the murder of Monis's ex-wife and sentenced to 44 years' jail Monis also had numerous charges of sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, and common assault  On 14 April 2014, Monis was charged with three sexual assault offences against a woman and remanded in custody  He was granted bail on 26 May, six days after the Bail Act in New South Wales was rewritten based on recommendations by the New South Wales Law Reform Commission  On 10 October, he was charged with another 40 sexual assault offences against six more women, and his bail was continued Jeremy Gormly SC, counsel assisting the inquest, summarised Monis as "a complex, disturbed individual desperate for recognition and status but completely lacking the skills or achievements to bring that dream to life"  Gormly summarised that "Monis could be plausible, courteous and controlled, but he was also almost entirely consumed in his own self-importance      By 2014, he owned no property, was in debt, and had developed no employment skills  His attempts to develop a personal, religious following     had failed      He was facing future serious criminal charges    he had made no public impact of note on the Australian political scene"  Monis may have felt that he had "little left to live for" No weapons were found when police raided his home in 2013  From 1997 to 2000, Monis held a security guard licence, which would have let him carry a pistol between March and June 1997  The weapon that Monis used, a sawn-off French-made Manufrance La Salle pump-action shotgun, was more than 50 years old  Police believe the weapon was imported in the 1950s, when no registration was required  Monis had 23 shotgun cartridges of different brands on him, between 15 and 20 years old 

Reactions
Leaders
The Prime Minister convened the National Security Committee of Cabinet to give briefings on the situation and said "Australians should be reassured that our law enforcement and security agencies are well trained and equipped and are responding in a thorough and professional manner " He later said, "The whole point of politically motivated violence is to scare people out of being themselves  Australia is a peaceful, open, and generous society  Nothing should ever change that and that's why I would urge all Australians today to go about their business as usual", and "Australians should be reassured by the way our law enforcement and security agencies responded to this brush with terrorism "The Premier of New South Wales, Mike Baird, addressed the media during the stand-off, and stated "we are being tested today    in Sydney  The police are being tested, the public is being tested, but whatever the test we will face it head on and we will remain a strong democratic, civil society  I have full confidence in the Police Commissioner and the incredible work of the NSW police force The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, on the morning of 16 December, urged Australians to see this as a "one-off event", stating, "We're an inclusive multicultural community and we need to deal with this together"  Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, released a statement sympathising with the families, commending the work of the police involved, and urging Australians to "unite in our resolve to protect what we value most—our way of life, our care and respect for each other" 

Community
Thousands of people visited the site in the first few days after the incident to pay tribute to the victims  Among them were members of the families of Dawson and Johnson  Johnson's father was accompanied by rabbis Levi Wolff and Zalmen Kastel, Hindu priest Pandit Ramachandra, the Reverend Bill Crews and Sheikh Wesam Charkawi  Dawson's young daughter left her own note 
Flags on all NSW government buildings, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, flew at half-mast to honour the hostages who lost their lives at the café A magistrate who had granted Monis bail and the lawyers who had represented him in his court appearances received death threats in the days after the attack  This reaction was described by the Bar Association as "understandable but wrong-headed", as magistrates have to deal with cases as they come before them on the basis of the law at the time 

#illridewithyou campaign
During and immediately following the incident, some in the community expressed concern about an increased potential for violence or intimidation directed at Muslims in Australia  For example, the head of the Australian Muslim Women's Association told the media there was an increase in anti-Muslim messages being posted on social media  Due to this concern among some local social media users, many started using the hashtag #illridewithyou [I'll ride with you]  This sought to offer solidarity and emotional support to Muslims travelling alone on public transport by people tweeting their bus/train route and suggesting that they would be willing to "ride with" anyone who might feel threatened  More than 150,000 people indicated their support of the concept by using the hashtag  The campaign was initially inspired by a Facebook status update about offering to walk with a woman who had removed her head covering  The campaign received international attention, including from United States President Barack Obama, although federal National Party member of Parliament George Christensen criticised the campaign for creating "false victims" out of Muslims and thereby taking attention away from the hostages 

"Field of flowers"
On the morning of 16 December, after police declared the crisis to be over, a makeshift memorial began to take shape in Martin Place  From the first bunch of lilies, tributes developed into a field of flowers that "you can smell before you can see" and which was extensively reported and photographed  The Prime Minister and NSW Premier were among many in the community to lay flowers at the memorial in a demarcated space  Flowers were also taken to suburban Lindt shops 
Volunteers from the Rural Fire Service, the State Emergency Service and the Red Cross began clearing the flowers on 22 December after consultation with the families, because rain was expected  It was announced that the condolence books would be bound in several volumes and one complete copy provided to each family  The messages on the many cards were to be digitised  During the week after the siege, it was estimated that 110,000 bouquets were laid at Martin Place 

Religious organisations
During the siege, Sanier Dandan, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, informed ABC News that Australian Muslim leaders were meeting online for discussions as to how the Muslim community could help with the situation  He added, "Regardless, we have a hostage situation  Whether he is someone who belongs to the Australian Muslim community or not, we are still waiting for information to be provided by police and based on that if there's something the Muslim community can do or assist, we are there "
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, condemned the incident in a statement released on 15 December  The same afternoon, around fifty Muslim groups issued a joint statement in which they condemned the incident  The Australian Ahmadiyya Muslim Association condemned the incident, the national president saying that "such actions are criminal and totally contrary to the teachings of Islam " Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam also condemned the attack 
In Martin Place, the 2014 traditional Hanukkah menorah presented a message of support: "May the lights of the festival of Hanukkah bring comfort and warmth to our nation" The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, invoked the special prayers in the Roman Missal from the "Mass in times of civil disturbance" and a memorial service was held at St Mary's Cathedral, on the morning of 19 December St James' Church, which had been within the exclusion zone, held a "Service of Remembrance and Reflection" on the afternoon of 19 December  The service was attended by about 400 people, most of them members of the legal profession 

International
During the siege, a spokesman for the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, said, "We urge all Canadians in Sydney to use extra precaution and limit their movements as authorities handle this situation "Iran Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, strongly condemned the taking of hostages as "inhuman" and also stated that the Australian authorities had been repeatedly warned about Monis United States President Barack Obama called the Prime Minister to express his condolences on behalf of the United States  According to the White House, Obama praised the "Australian public's embrace of #illridewithyou and the Muslim leaders who have disavowed the actions of the hostage taker", and "Australia's rejection of any violence taken in the name of religion and the fear this violence seeks to stoke " The President also conveyed the United States' willingness to provide assistance in the aftermath of the situation  United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, said the United States stood ready to provide Australia with any assistance required in "determining the facts of the case, assisting the victims and holding accountable anyone and everyone responsible for this act of terror"  Citing this event, the United States issued a global travel alert to its citizens, to be alert for possible terrorist attacks within public venues New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also expressed their concern about the incident  In addition, the Israeli embassy in Australia stated that it stood with Australia in the face of terror 

Charitable foundations
Following the two deaths during the hostage situation, the Katrina Dawson Foundation was established, with the aim of supporting educational opportunities for women  The then Governor-General Quentin Bryce was a founding member  At his parents' request, a memorial fund for Johnson was used to raise money for mental health organisation Beyond Blue  The first donation, of $51,000, came from Lindt Australia 

Terrorist organizations
Two weeks after the siege, Dabiq, a magazine published by the ISIL editorialised on Monis's actions and attempted to claim him as one of their own, in a response that an expert described as "absolutely predictable"  The magazine lauded Monis's actions and their effect on the city  The al Qaeda-produced magazine Inspire also praised Monis's actions 

Investigations
A number of organisations announced formal investigations 
Police investigations include a "critical incident" investigation undertaken by NSW police; headed by Detective Inspector Angelo Memmolo and an enquiry conducted by the Australian Federal Police Federal and state governments announced a joint review to be led by Michael Thawley from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and Blair Comley of the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet Following the siege, officers from the New South Wales Police Force and the Australian Federal Police went to the Belmore home of Monis's partner Amirah Droudis, and removed property  Her bail was revoked after a hearing on 22 December 2014  Investigations by Australian security agencies and monitoring of suspects following the siege revealed increased "terror chatter" 

Federal–State joint review
The findings of the Federal–State joint review were released on 22 February 2015  The report covered Monis's earlier interactions with the government, his access to firearms, and the government response to Monis including problems correlating his various aliases  The report's terms of reference did not cover the controversial police actions during the siege itself, such as the nature of the negotiations or the final assault The review found that the judgements made by government agencies were reasonable  It suggested only modest changes to laws and procedures, taking the view that "introducing substantial further controls involves a larger choice about the sort of society we wish to live in and is properly the province of the public and our elected representatives"  The review found that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had conducted a thorough review of Monis in 2008/9 and found that he was not involved in politically motivated violence, nor had significant contact with groups of security concern  After receiving 18 calls from the public, ASIO reviewed Monis's Facebook page, which was considered not to indicate a threat  None of the calls related to any pending attack  The review found that there was no credible information that would indicate an attack  Monis had been granted bail while charged with several violent offences  However, bail laws had since been tightened in this regard  Monis obtained his firearm illegally and was never granted a license The review suggested, in addition to the reforms to the bail laws and "new programmes to counter violent extremism", that a review of immigration policies and visa applications should be undertaken  The review suggested that the gun that Monis used had lawfully entered the country, possibly as early as the 1950s, and had fallen into the "grey market" after not being included in the gun buyback schemes of 1996 and 2002 

Inquest
An inquest, mandatory whenever people die in a police operation, began as scheduled on 29 January 2015, presided over by the State Coroner, Michael Barnes  The stated aim was "to determine how the [three] deaths occurred, the factors that contributed to them and whether they could have been prevented" The hearings were divided into blocks of a couple of weeks  The first, which started on 25 May 2015, queried people who knew Monis to get background information  The second started on 17 August 2015 to consider Monis's bail application  Further blocks that investigate how the police dealt with the siege itself will be withheld from the public "in the interests of the families" The findings of the inquest were released on 24 May 2017 

Aftermath
Designation of the event as terrorism
Insurance declaration
Treasurer Joe Hockey declared the siege to be a "terrorist incident" under the Terrorism Insurance Act 2003  The Act means that insurance exclusions for terrorist incidents do not apply if such a declaration is made 

Debate on status as a terrorist event
Scholars and social commentators have debated whether Monis was a terrorist and whether his actions could be classified as an act of terrorism  There is doubt as to whether or not Monis fit the definition of a lone wolf terrorist 
Queensland University of Technology criminologist Mark Lauchs said it was important to not describe the siege as a "terrorist attack"  Lauchs said Monis was simply a deranged person running a hostage situation  "This incident was not about religion and neither was it a terrorist attack, but given that perception by the paraphernalia Monis used " The Australian prime minister said, "[Man Haron Monis] had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability   As the siege unfolded yesterday, he sought to cloak his actions with the symbolism of the ISIL death cult "Prof Greg Barton (from Deakin University) and Dr Clarke Jones (ANU) told the inquest that Monis was a loner and had mental health problems, and was desperate to attach himself to something  Clarke suggested that if the Rebels had accepted his membership then the siege might not have happened  Roger Shanahan from the Lowy Institute said that if Monis had followed ISIS direction he would have just killed everyone The chief of ASIO Duncan Lewis confirmed that he believed Monis to be a terrorist  However, former counter-terrorism adviser to the White House, Richard A  Clarke, said, "I don't think this was a lone wolf terrorist, I don't think this was a terrorist at all, I think this was someone who was committing suicide by police as a lot of people with mental problems do, and now, if they say they're a terrorist, if they say they're somehow associated with ISIS or Al Qaeda, it becomes a major event that shuts down the city and gets international attention  This was a person with a mental problem who tried to gain attention and succeeded, tried to shut down the city and succeeded, merely by putting up a flag that was something like the flag of ISIS "The difference between terrorism and terrorising acts was noted in one analysis as "enormously important"—it added that in Monis's case, terrorism "was clearly an element, but he was coming to the end of his rope with a variety of legal processes; there was clearly some mental instability " One view was that his lack of ties to any movement did not preclude his being a terrorist as it is "an inclusive club"  Another commentator said, "There can be also no doubt that his attack was a terrorist act, as defined under Australia's Criminal Code Act 1995" and that, "he was a terrorist, clearly influenced by IS" One terrorism expert, Professor Greg Barton, described Monis's actions as those of a "lone wolf terrorist     driven by a desire for attention and to be in the spotlight", and his use of the flag was described as "the only way" to instil fear on a global scale  Professor Michael Wesley, Director of the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University said the attack "was very different from first-generation or second-generation terrorist attacks—but it was terrorism, and terrorism of a brutal and more unpredictable sort " Another view was that describing the gunman as a terrorist was misplaced and would only serve the interests of ISIL  The supervisor of terrorism and security analysis for Stratfor said that this hostage-incident exhibits many of the elements associated with grassroots terrorism  A criminologist said that the event "was not about religion and neither was it a terrorist attack but given that perception by the paraphernalia Monis used "Conversely, Yassir Morsi, a researcher at the Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding in Australia, suggested that "before he flew the black flag, Monis was just a desperate man with a violent past" and that "he was just another gunman      the symbol (flag) rewrote Monis's violent past and gave grammar to his attack "Monis had entered the cafe without an ISIS flag  ASIO's previous investigations had found no links between Monis and any terrorist group  When a News reporter met him before the crisis she thought Monis was "lost and confused" and "harmless"  Habib said Monis was "sick and disturbed" and desperately seeking attention over his grievances with government officials that had nothing to do with terrorism In 2016, Monis was cited as one of a number of recent violent attackers who were mentally disturbed and operated under the justification of Islamist ideas or slogans  Other examples include the as-of-yet unidentified perpetrator of the Munich knife attack and Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the perpetrator of the 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa  According to psychologists and psychiatrists who study radicalisation, jihad propaganda and calls to kill infidels can push mentally-ill individuals to act, even in the absence of direct or personal contact with radical Islamists In February 2017, United States President Donald Trump cited the Sydney siege as an example of what he claimed was deliberate underreporting of terrorist attacks by the media, notwithstanding that the event received "blanket coverage" in local and international news 

The coroner's finding
Following the Sydney siege inquest, in May 2017, the NSW Coroner Michael Barnes determined that "The siege was a terrorist incident "

Police weapons and tactics
During the siege, an Australian Army Tactical Assault Group East team at Holsworthy Barracks evaluated the floorplan of the cafe and gave advice to police  Mitchell McAlister, a former member of TAG East, questioned the police use of M4A1 carbines with 5 56 mm rounds over Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns Katrina Dawson died from a fragment of a police bullet, and other hostages appear to have been hit by bullets that ricocheted off the concrete building  It was unclear why 22 shots were fired by police, of which 13 hit Monis  Police have been criticised for both the high powered weapons used and the number of shots fired 

Negotiation
During the siege, no significant effort was made to negotiate with Monis, as would normally be expected in a hostage situation in order to build a relationship with a gunman and persuade them to surrender  Instead, Monis received no encouragement or assistance from trained police negotiators Help was offered by the Muslim community including the Grand Mufti and Mamdouh Habib who had known Monis personally  Habib offered to help negotiate or provide background information to the police  These offers were not taken up It has been suggested that the police treatment of the siege as a terrorist attack may have led to errors such as making no attempt to negotiate with the gunman as would have been normal practice in other hostage situations  One commentator, Guy Rundle, questioned whether the police may have used a "crude rule" that "we don't negotiate with terrorists" that affected their procedures  It might also explain the choice of weapon in a small enclosure against a lone gunman  These factors may have directly led to the deaths of Johnson and Dawson 

ISIL flag
During the siege, police asked Muslims in Sydney to source an ISIL flag for Monis, before obtaining their own  The police later raided several houses of people contacted by Ms Kay who was attempting to find an ISIL flag  Ms Kay assumed that the phone calls had been monitored, and that the request had been solely to find out who she would contact, lowering trust among Muslims in the NSW police force 

Lack of detection
The security forces have been criticised for not recognising that Monis was a threat, and for taking him off their watch list in 2008  This may have been because they overlooked key evidence, or it may have been because there was simply no evidence to collect  The federal/state joint review found that the relevant agencies' analysis had been reasonable 

Law and politics
After the siege, the revelation that the new Bail Act had allowed Monis to be granted bail sparked calls to further tighten the law; however, a review had already been conducted in the wake of earlier controversial bail releases, with the new law set "to take effect next year" (that is, on 28 January 2015)  Former director of public prosecutions in New South Wales, Nicholas Cowdery, said he was not sure that the amended law would have changed anything in Monis's case, saying that "There will always be, unfortunately, some exceptional events which laws and controls put in place before the event could not have prevented"  Homicide detectives sent a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) urging them to challenge the bail decision for Monis, but a commissioned officer did not pass it on to the DPP  Michael Esposito, writing for the Law Society of South Australia, noted that the shocking nature of the Sydney siege had the power to prompt reviews of bail laws across Australia Some commentators expressed concerns about immigration and citizenship processes  Monis's "confused agenda" meant that Amnesty International did not realise that he and Boroujerdim, who had sought help in 1997, were the same man until they went back through their records  In the absence of hard evidence, suggestions that Monis represented a growing trend of systemic failure, rather than being an aberration, were noted as dangerous to public confidence; to the separation of powers; to the idea of innocence till proven guilty and also to social cohesion by inviting suspicion of people from the Middle East In the week after the siege, it was revealed that John Robertson, NSW Opposition leader, had sent a letter which passed on a request made by Monis, a constituent in his Blacktown electorate, to the Department of Family and Community Services in 2011  The letter was, according to Robertson, routine procedure on behalf of a constituent and written in support of Monis's request for a supervised visit with his children on Father's Day despite an apprehended violence order against him  The Department declined Monis's request  As pressure mounted on Robertson to resign as Leader of the Labor Party, and three months away from the 2015 state election, he stood aside on 23 December 2014 

Violence
Commentators considered Monis's history of domestic violence, with a family violence expert arguing that it should have been considered when bail was given  A columnist noted that while his behaviour highlighted an "epidemic" of violence towards women, the media focus remained on terrorism Historians of religion and politics also critically reviewed the role of violence committed in the name of religion 

Media
Debate followed about the difficulty of managing a police operation in the presence of continuous global media coverage as well as the likely damage caused by the spread of rumour  Particular criticism was levelled at Rupert Murdoch and News Corp for spreading false information as well as for insensitivity and "gross ethical violations"  Commissioner Scipione and chair of the Australian Press Council, Professor Julian Disney released statements about the media coverage after the event  Beyond misinformation, concerns were raised regarding the presentation of crises as entertainment Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Four Corners aired a two-part broadcast, interviewing former hostages, and the families of deceased Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson 

Memorials and legacy
A month after the siege, police, ambulance workers, firefighters and others were officially thanked at NSW Government House  Memorial plaques were placed inside the reopened Lindt café  A permanent memorial to the victims of the siege will incorporate the flowers from Martin Place, which are to be mulched and incorporated into its garden element  The memorial was opened in December, 2017 The premiere of Jonathon Welch's choral piece Street Requiem in February 2015 was dedicated to the siege victims and to those who died in the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris Composer Lyle Chan, who resides less than a kilometre from the Lindt cafe, wrote two works influenced by the events  Sea of Flowers was premiered by conductor Alondra de la Parra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in May 2015  Chan's Love Is Always Born (December), with original words by Michael Leunig and 'Silent Night' in Arabic, was commissioned and premiered by the Song Company at concerts around the first anniversary of the events Dawson's family created the Katrina Dawson Foundation and scholarships to The Women's College, University of Sydney to provide financial assistance to young women for their university education  The first recipients started university in 2016 Senator Dean Smith, a homosexual Liberal Party member, changed his views on same-sex marriage in Australia due to Tori Johnson and his partner of 14 years  Smith later introduced a bill aimed at legalising same-sex marriage to the Senate, which became law A ceremony unveiling the memorial was held on 16 December 2017 The Lindt Cafe closed in October 2021 due to lack of patronage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing construction work for the Sydney Metro 

See also
List of mass shootings in Australia
Sydney siege inquest
2015 Parramatta shooting
Crime in Australia
Islam in Australia



ground_truth: Man Haron