Jules Klein

## Early Life

Born in 1992 to parents Eliza and Baker Klein in the small town of Lucas Port, her mother and father were each engineers at the only car repair shop in town - The Klein Shop. Here, she was taught the insides and the outs of cars of all stripes. She was a fast learner, yet her spirit seemed always inclined toward the sea. Her parents, while they were at work, would on occasion hear from a friend that Jules was found investigating a cave near the sea. This usually ended in a call to the coast guard, or a family friend with a boat, to fish her out. What follows is an excerpt from a letter, sent by a friend of the Kleins' to his wife, written on a day that he was enlisted to rescue Jules:

> "Blasted Girl! She has no idea the trouble those caves can cause! Fishing with her bare hands, and catching lobsters without a trap! That girl is trouble, I assure you, darling. There is nothing good to be had in the sea, save for the fish. Even then, I've been considering ending this fishing rig for years. As good a catch as we're given by the sea, I'm sure it isn't worth it, yet I'm not sure what I'd do instead. That Jules girl tells me I should sail to Japan! At this rate, I'm not sure that's the worst idea..."
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--Ethan Smithen, 1999, November 31st, Port Lucas, Washington

## The Founding of the Klein Institute of the Unknown

As Jules grew, she listened to every story she found and investigated ever more, discovering hundreds of tales along the shores of California, Washington and Oregon. With all this experience, she created a small team of she and her colleagues to catalogue, in a scientific manner, all these discoveries. She brought together some funds, along with good faith and credit from a bank, and created the Klein Institute of the Unknown in Los Angeles, California. It was then that she began work on her book, *Insanity's Plea,*published in 2015, when she was twenty-three.

The initial members of the Klein Institute of the Unknown include Cassidy Williams, Brian Nimble, and Sydney McCath, each contributed a total of $6,000, and the loan from the bank totalled $1.2 million - to be paid over the course of thirty years, though the institute brought in more money than originally expected and so that cost was paid in full in 2017. The institute was headquartered in an old but well furbished building in west Los Angeles, where it remains today, totalling 15,650 square feet.

Eventually, the Klein Institute would be joined by Matthew Klein, Jules' fiancée.

## The Lexicon

Jules Klein discovered the massive hidden library which she dubbed the Lexicon during the year 2015. She and her colleague, while fleeing unknown assailants, stumbled across the Lexicon. What follows is Jules Klein's own words describing the encounter:

> "We had been wandering through the city for a few days after [REDACTED - 323 WORD]. Anyway, we had laid low for a few days when someone recognized us. They chased us through a series of alleys and stairs until we found our path blocked by a smooth cement wall and a yellow door with a curious symbol carved into the wood. Brian shoved his way inside and I heard him screaming. I figured we'd found something of the *unknown* again and I ran in after him - after all, you stand a better chance of surviving something like that if you're in numbers rather than alone. I slipped when I entered to find Brian standing there on a ledge staring out at this huge expanse of space. It glittered all over and it shone like the light of day, with books stacked neatly, miles across and miles high, in these huge gold blocks of bookcases."
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--Jules Klein, Insanity's Plea, 2015

### The consequences

Brian Nimble was killed by two of the Guardians within the Lexicon. It is unknown what the Guardians thought Nimble's crime was. What follows is the best theory, from Jules Klein, written within the Lexicon, a few weeks after Brian's disappearance:

> "I think I may have a theory. Brian vanished. I have no idea where he went or where he is now. But I'm in a world filled with all the knowledge I could ever want. So I went searching. I found the Lexicon's Section on itself - it is literally the most detailed section of the most detailed world. I searched through those books - of which there were hundreds - until I found a chapter about something called the Guardians. They guard this place and are totally invisible. The killing apparatus described by the book was something of a swallowing action, taking whatever body before it into a little chamber, to where steam heated by a powerful engine will be pumped to effectively boil the victim in a cramped soundless chamber. Brian suffocated as his flesh boiled away from his bones. His skin is being made into paper somewhere in this blasted place..."
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## Acemodonian Dissent

While Jules' mind was not affected during her exploration of the Lexicon, her departure snapped it. As Jules left the Lexicon, the Dissent took over. She found herself in a landscape none could describe. Jules' attempted description of those events ended in her scribbling incoherent symbols in many colors. After wandering in the Mojave desert for three days while perceiving all manner of her surroundings as some surreal hellscape, she was found by authorities. At the sight of another human, her mind cleared for long enough to beg for help. The highway patrolman took Jules to the nearest police station, where she was allowed - as a guest - to use their phone. She called Sydney McCath, who showed up with Jules' Fiancee two days later. They brought her back to the institute, where she shared her experience. She and her colleagues offered a service for Brian Nimble that night. After some rehabilitation from dehydration and trauma, she was nursed back to health by her fiance.

## Recovery

Jules Klein's recovery was long and arduous. The Klein Institute's headquarters were converted largely into a living space for Jules and Matthew Klein. There, she lived slowly. She was denied all those who would bring stress into her life that she could not handle. Her mind was fragile after such a long excursion into the Unknown. She was given assignments by Matthew and Cassidy to write on subjects that are real - subjects that would not agitate the Acemodonian Dissent. This condition had no name prior to this period, in which Jules referred the Abyss when speaking of her deterioration. The Abyss, she'd say, has a grip on her mind. Acemodan has his grip over her mind and she is shrinking away from his grasp.

Jules Klein considered herself totally recovered in 2016, and resumed her regular work in time to flee the terrors of the Unknown again with Sydney McCath. Jules Klein is alive and well as of 2018.