A Summary of the Untimely Deaths in the U.S. Customs Service 1978–2008

But what do you mean by prolonged experiments?

— Denis Diderot, Sequel to the Conversation, 1769

The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, over-reaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved, as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element requires that, before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimental subject, there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonable to be expected; and the effects upon his health or person, which may possibly come from his participation in the experiment.

— The Nuremberg Code, 1947

• A male died of diabetes. He went into shock at work, had to be carried out of the Customhouse on a stretcher, and subsequently died.

• A male died of diabetes after we relocated to a new building.

• A female died of ovarian cancer in 1991.

• A female who could not stop eating died of obesity.

• A female developed progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative disease that impairs movements and balance and died in 2001.

• A male died of liver cancer in 2004.

• A male died of kidney failure after he had received a kidney transplant.

• A female died of cancer soon after she retired.

• A female developed a blot clot in her leg; was operated on; retired; died soon after.

• A male in his 50s fell to the ground of a heart attack; died.

• A male suddenly became ill and dropped dead soon thereafter under mysterious circumstances.

• A female suddenly became ill and dropped dead over the weekend.

• A female developed cancer and died.

• A male died of cancer.

• A woman went home, entered through her front door, walked into the bedroom, and collapsed dead on the bed.

• A female suffered a heart attack; her chest pain was so excruciating that she put a hot iron on her chest in an effort to make the pain stop; she died and was discovered with the iron still on her chest.

• A male suddenly dropped dead soon after his mother died.

• A female suddenly dropped dead right after 9/11.

• A handicapped female suddenly dropped dead right after 9/11.

• Another handicapped female suddenly dropped dead right after 9/11.

• A male suddenly dropped dead right after 9/11.

• A female developed breast cancer and died after 9/11.

22 people died. Of these, there were 9 males, 13 females, 13 singles (10 single females and 3 single males), 8 married, 1 divorced or widowed, 17 Christian, 4 Jewish, 4 handicapped (3 single handicapped females and 1 single handicapped male). The fact that 10 out of 22 were single females (45%) and 4 out of 22 were handicapped (18%), is stunning and reveals a lot about the preferences of the experimenters.

The Carter Years (1977–1980)

I warn every animal on this farm to keep his eyes very wide open.1

— Squealer, in George Orwell's Animal Farm (1945)

There was evidence of a highly charged electronic environment in all three buildings in which I worked: at JFK Airport, the U.S. Customhouse at 6 World Trade Center, and our post 9/11 worksite. In the case of JFK, it was when I worked alone in the office at lunchtime, when most people had driven to a nearby diner for lunch, that I heard thunderous metallic clatter emanating from nearby unoccupied offices. It sounded like an electrical bolt had hit a metal filing cabinet. This happened a few dozen times. When I arose from my desk to investigate, I always discovered that the room from which the noise originated was empty. When I asked my colleagues about this, I was told that it must have been the boiler kicking on. I did not accept this explanation: it did not sound like a boiler, but rather, like something electrical snapping angrily off metal furniture. After a transfer to Manhattan, I heard identical sounds again in the WTC and the new building, significantly, in rooms that had no pipes leading to any boiler. By 2002 the sounds were accompanied by the sensation of a dagger to the skull and internal organs.

JFK

I was sitting alone in the office at lunch time. The other employees all had cars and had driven to a nearby location to dine. Because I was a loner by nature, I preferred to spend lunch hour by myself working. Looking back on it now, I realize that it was precisely this personality, that of the loner, that made me the ideal lab mouse for the government.

I opened an entry and unfolded a long packing list. The packing specifications were in kilograms and therefore, it was necessary to convert the kilos to pounds. I clicked on the calculator and multiplied the number of kilos by 2.2046 ... SSSSST! Suddenly a deafening hiss exploded in the room next room. It sounded as if an invisible lash had snapped viciously against something metal — or as if a bolt of thunder had just delivered 40,000 sizzling volts to a steel plate. Greatly startled by the violent thrash, I looked up and gazed at the doorframe leading to the other room. Mystified, I arose from my desk and walked in to see what had happened.

Everything was utterly still. I gazed at the metal windowsill: it was covered with Customs documents, law books, back issues of U.S. Customs Today, and daily currency conversion sheets affixed to clipboards. Then I stared at the metal filing cabinet. I wondered where the vehement crackle had come from. Did it originate from above? Did it emanate from the metal windowsill? Could it have been the boiler kicking on? Perhaps. Or maybe not. I did not know enough about the terrain of my new environment. I never thought to ask my boss when she returned from lunch. Because I had nothing to relate it to, I promptly forgot about...