Havana AWE

The Havana AWE was an Altered World Event that took place inside a U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba on September 23, 2017.
==Event summary==
Within the US Embassy in Havana on September 23, 2017, the embassy's staff were subjected to the influence of what would be identified as an Altered Item—a single cowboy boot—resulting in the injury of a majority of the staff and including multiple fatalities. Members of the staff reported the sensation of vibration and sound accompanied by an intense pressure in the ears, though no visible source could be identified. The entirety of the staff was returned to the states and evaluated by FBC medical staff, who would identify intense cellular damage reminiscent of radiation exposure. The effect of the boot was found to only be influential to the personnel of the building after FBC agents remaining on the scene were unable to find any other outstanding evidence of alterations or damage to the surrounding area. After the FBC became involved in the event, the Communications Department was able to spread the narrative that foreign powers had launched an attack on the embassy, conveniently explaining the evacuation of the facility and the injuries sustained.
==Altered Items involved==
* Cowboy boot
==Locations==
* Havana
==Trivia==
* The Havana AWE is the Control universe's imagining of an ongoing real world phenomenon referred to as "Havana Syndrome" that has afflicted over 200 American and Canadian diplomatic and intelligence officials since late 2016. First publicly reported in Havana, Cuba in August 2017, cases have since been documented in other cities around the world. Those affected by Havana Syndrome have described similar symptoms to those detailed in the AWE, likening them to the sensation of being on the opposite side of a vehicle's single open window. Patients examined after exposure to the phenomenon were found to have damage to the brain, so far as to report the alteration of white and gray matter volumes and structural integrity. One widely discussed theory was that the syndrome was caused by microwave energy emitted by a purpose-built weapon deployed by the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, but examples of such a weapon have not yet been seen, recovered, or replicated.
**On September 30, 2021, Buzzfeed published a declassified US State Department report that analyzed audio recordings of the Havana Syndrome noise and dismissed microwaves as the cause. Instead, the report concluded with high confidence that the most plausible culprit was noise produced by the Indies short-tailed cricket, combined with mass hysteria brought on by a high-stress work environment. The report also explained that the possibility that the crickets were being deliberately used by an adversarial party to harass US officials could not be ruled out, however. The report's findings were disputed by proponents of the microwave theory, who claimed audio recording devices could not capture any microwaves for study.
==See also==
* Havana Summary
* Havana Supplement
* Tommasi: AWE Report
Category:Altered World Events
Category:Needs attention