Mad John

Mad John was a former scientist who had been working for Bang Hai Industries who found out too much and spiraled into alchoholism and madness.

## Twitter Feed

Mad John began tweeting a series of clues on his twitter account before giving us an app to download. https://twitter.com/ISawTheLastTree

* I have seen the last tree. The last tree on Earth.
* Doesn’t matter how. You’d call me “Mad John” like the rest of them do if I told you. You wouldn’t listen.
* But you need to listen. Chances are you won’t believe even if you do listen. A year ago I wouldn’t have believed me either. I would have said I was mad too.
* But some of you will understand. Some of you will believe.
* And then maybe, just maybe, one of you believers… well, maybe you can help me. Maybe you can help us all.
* So who am I and why should you care? Who is this “Mad John” who says he has seen the last tree and the people who cower in its shadow?
* I can’t tell you too much. I’m sure she’s watching. I’m sure if I give away too much, she’ll snap her fingers and I’ll vanish. Again.
* You see, I don’t think I’ve escaped. Not really. I think I’m an experiment. One of her little experiments. What will Mad John do if I let him run around The City?
* Well I’ll show her. I’ll show YOU, if you’re reading this. I’ll show you what I’ll do.
* I worked at a the powerstation. Before it blew, that is. Man, what a day that was. The night sky was lit up like noon. My ears rang from the noise for days after.
* After that we were all out of work. Not that it mattered. It was chaos.
* Of course, I went on a bender. Lost three days in the end. Complete blackout.
* Can you blame me?
* Sorry for going dark yesterday guys, I’m really trying but it’s hard to get online. Things are really chaotic out here.
* Signal still shit. I hope she upgrades the wifi. At least some good will come out of all of this if she does.
* Anyway, like I said, I black out for three days, with a little help from the booze. That’s when it happened.
* It was just like a story. Strange alleyway. Electricty in the air. I staggered down the Alley. Could barely see at this point!
* And then… nothing but the sun, wind and dust.
* One minute, I was staggering down the Alley with a can in my hand. The next, I was in a desert. No City. No people.
* I was freaked out, I can tell you. Thought I’d finally drunk myself mad.
* There was just… nothing. The air even tasted dead. Hard to breath, like a close room with no windows on a hot day.
* The sky was grey even though there were no clouds.
* I think I would have died if I’d stayed there long. But I didn’t. I came back to warn you all.
* You see why they call me “Mad John” now? No? Well, keep listening. You’ll get there.
* Because I saw it. There, in the desert. Standing alone in nothingness. I saw the last tree.
* I realize there is no way for anyone to believe me with absolute certainty so I hope I’m at least entertaining.
* Well, that’s not quite true. I do have evidence. I’m afraid though. Afraid that she wont let me share it.
* Been having a hard time since I came back, what with the Mad John thing and all. Sleeping on a bench in Town Centre.
* So there it stood. Gnarled and ancient. Even from far away I could see it was a tree.
* There was nothing else. Nothing else at all. So I headed towards it.
* It was tall and kinda beautiful. Sad, but beautiful. A few leaves, yellow-green. Bark like sun-weathered stone.
* Barely alive, but alive. Still alive. A bit like me, really. Maybe she’ll get the tree, too, after she gets me.
* She is still listening. Still watching.
* And I think she sees you, too.
* There were people there, I wasn’t alone. They were strange but they were people. They had a weird little community going on.
* They all wake up and greet the sun in the morning, taking their daily drink from a barrel at the foot of the tree.
* Priestesses seemed to run the show, handing out water and scraps of what looked like dried mushroom to the crowd.
* It was the High Priestess who told me the story.
* But she spoke of it like it had happened centuries ago.
* She told me how everything had died, all the plants and animals. How the air had gone bad.
* She told me how the tree she worshiped was the last tree. The last tree on Earth.
* So I’ve just been talking to my mate and he’s telling me about this “Downtown ’till Dawn” radio show. Apparently they’ve got all sorts on there. (https://soundcloud.com/downtown-till-dawn/downtown-till-dawn-11-07)
* It’s funny how this stuff always ends up happening to a “John”, isn’t it?
* You see, that’s why I came to Twitter. People think of it as this normal part of their lives.
* But sometimes, something bleeds through. Sometimes, a story from… somewhere else… appears.
* People on here – some people – can, for a moment, let themselves believe that the Sun vanished.
* And that gives me hope. I only need one believer.
* The priestess… I can’t repeat everything she told me. Some of it because it’s to horrible.
* And some of it because I can’t really remember. Alcohol does terrible things to your memory.
* But I remember enough. And, since I came back, I’ve seen so much of it come true. There’s no doubt left in my mind.
* Somehow, someway, somewhere I went to the future.
* That landscape, that desert… that was all that was left of the Town.
* Might be offline for a couple of days. There’s these guys sniffing around the bench I’ve been sleeping on.
* Do you believe yet?
* Got given this flyer for a talk by this Mr. Bliss guy. Seems like he might have some idea about what’s going on around here. Definately tapped in to something, he is.
* If I can straighten up for a few hours I might go along to this Mr. Bliss thing. The Uni is just down the road. Can’t hurt, right?
* They’re getting closer. I can tell. It’s getting harder and harder to hide from them.
* They work for her. Everyone works for her.
* I read that back. I can see it. I can see why they call me Mad John. Maybe I am mad.
* But the harddrive. I always come back to that. Clutch it. Hold it to my chest. Smell the realness of it.
* They all had these harddrives. Some worn on their necks, like crucifixes. The High Priestess gave me one.
* She can make me doubt my sanity but so long as I have the harddrive, she can’t break me completely.
* It’s our only hope. The priestess said so, and I believe her.
* God. Hangovers don’t help the anxiety. Last night I dreamt she’d made hundreds of copies of me. All these Johns running round her Maze.
* I have noticed more people in Town are installing wood burning stoves.
* I still don’t know how I got back. I danced with them and drank their strange, foul-tasting brews. Since then I’ve been hiding. Homeless. Helpless, but alive and ahead of the game.
* I think the smart ones among you, the believers, might know where I am and where I have been.
* And you’ll be coming here soon.
* So there it is. All laid out for you.
* You know where I’ve been. What I’ve seen.
* And, if you believe me, you know that I have the evidence and will give it to you.
* If you can find me before she does. In the right hands, this evidence could change things.
* It could save the trees.
* It’s funny how much time I spend with trees, now.
* Something about knowing that, if things keep going as they are, they’ll all be gone soon. We need to appreciate what we have.
* In a way, I think our whole society is like a dying phone. Desperately scrambling to make those last calls and texts.
* And we don’t have a phone charger.
* I realize my claims are a bit ridiculous but my intent is not really to be believed. Not by most of you.
* It’s too late for me. My time is up. She can take me any time she wants.
* But she’s wrong. About us. About all of it.
* I’ve seen the future she builds. I have seen the last tree. We have to stop her.
* Man, I need a drink.
* I think I’ve nearly got this thing unlocked! Then we’ll see what I’ve gone through all this trouble for. Hope it’s worth it.
* I’ve cracked the harddrive guys!!!
* I never would have guessed. It’s beyond my wildest, drunkest dreams.
* After I’m done with this, I think I’m out. Gonna go dark. It’d be pretty silly of me to assume that she can’t see this. Once I get ‘this’ out there, I’m gone.
* Still working on getting this uploaded. I hope someone who gets their hands on the contents uses it for good. Change things. Make a better future.
* Sorry guys I'm sure she's blocking my upload. But I can't give up now.
* I just hope she doesn't take me before I can show you.
* Haven't slept in days but I did it. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Boom.DSTRKT5