Level 26: Dark Origins is more than a novel--it is a venture that melds literature with film and social communities to make a truly unique reading experience. Anthony E. Zuiker (creator of the CSI franchise), Duane Swierczynski (crime author extraordinaire), and Marc Ecko (designer and amazing artist) have combined their talents to showcase a cat-and-mouse game between Steve Dark, a former secret agent with a tragic past, and Sqweegel, the baddest of the bad when it comes to serial killers (so much so that on a scale of 1-25, 25 being the worst form of killer, he is 26). The villian brutally murders and leaves no DNA trace behind, thanks to his latex full-body suit, and he has chosen Steve Dark to pursue him. While the novel itself is engaging and terrifying on its own, it is really enhanced through cyberbridges and a community on http://www.level26.com.
While reading the novel, the reader is given codes to access on the website that will show short videos that enhance the plot. The social community rounds out the experience, where users can discuss the novel, characters, and other elements to the digi-novel experience. As a member of the community, I have enjoyed the camraderie of the members, and many interesting discussions have ensued over the novel. The creators are also actively involved with the site, and it has become a regular occurence for Anthony Zuiker and others to personally comment on various discussions on the website. If you're a crime fan, Level 26 is definitely a great choice. If you know someone who maybe isn't into reading and prefers to see the movie, I would recommend this because of the cyberbridge element. And this is not a one-book deal--there are two others on the way, and tons of activities going on with the website. So pick this book up and head over to the website! Or if you still aren't quite sure, check out the website anyway to find out more.
http://my.barnesandnoble.com/communityportal/review.aspx?reviewid=1250867
It may sound a little complicated, but I think it could work.
We have taken the internet by STORM with our tweets and status updates and plugging L26 and AZ in the forums, which is awesome. But I keep thinking about one area that we may not be covering--our real lives! So this challenge would involve us stepping away from the safety of our laptops to do some recruiting. Here's how I invision the end product:
Step 1--Teams place fliers in various locations (billboards in local bookstores, coffee shops, laundromats, etc.) advertising the chance to win something (determined by the powers that be) by filling out a short quiz online. There should be an entry code (each team would have a separate code) prominent on the flier.
Step 2--Each team has a very basic website that will lead the user to Level26.com; on the basic website should be a link for a short quiz. The quiz will be made up of questions dealing with the information on the website, but in order to get answers, the person will have to dig a little (thus exposing them to various areas of the website). At the end of the quiz, the person must enter the code, their name, and their email address in order to be entered.
Step 3--There could be a way to tally how many times certain codes are entered. The team with the most codes entered after a set time will be determined as the "winner", second most will be second, and so on and so forth.
I told you this sounded complicated, and maybe it won't work, but I do think it's a way to get people to the site and looking into the L26 experience, maybe even getting some people interested. Who knows?
It all started with a bunch of bricks.
I've always heard about the crime in Mexico and the corruption of the police there, but I never realized just how horrible it was until I visited an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and experienced Teresa Margolles’ work Ciudad Juárez--hundreds of bricks made with the dirt from scenes of one of the largest crimes in history.
Since 1993, young women, most between the ages of 16 and 18, have disappeared and their bodies have been found in deserted areas in and around Ciudad Juárez, a border town in Mexico; eighteen women have gone missing in 2009 alone. They have been stabbed, burned, raped, shot, mutilated…and other things too horrific to discuss. Many of these women work in the maquiladora, or manufacturing, sector of the city in sweatshops. Though dozens of suspects have been apprehended and each arrest has lead to a “solved” case, the rate of disappearances and murders remains steady. These murders have been called feminicidios, or femicides. For more information on this, check out truTV's coverage HERE and a view of what's going on now HERE
The shame in this crime is the ineptitude of officials; though they are called to protect the citizens, they are choosing to ignore a growing problem. In 2006, the investigation into these disappearances and murders was closed. Some of the public servants of Ciudad Juárez have blamed the victims for wearing "skimpy" clothing. How can people say these things in this day and time? These murders affect more than those young women--it affects their families, as well as women around the world. In our modern society, why are women still looked upon as inferior objects to be used and discarded? What is it that makes women a "lower creature" in the eyes of some? Why must women live in fear of being exactly who they are--a woman?
These young females, some of them only 13, were going about their daily activities of work and school, until their lives were cut short. Not only were they humiliated in the acts that were done to them, displayed for all to see in the middle of a desert, but they are considered such a small worth that their investigation is closed while the crime continues. There is no sense of right here, no sense of justice whatsoever. That is what draws me to this particular story.
And something even scarier--this isn't just occurring in Mexico. Throughout Latin America women are going missing at an alarming rate and bodies are dumped in deserted areas. And what is done about it? Nothing. Anti-femicide organizations, such as Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, are bringing to light the situation, but government officials are still ignoring what is going on in their own country.
Staring at those rough-hewn bricks in the museum that day, tears welled in my eyes. I was visibly shaken, so much so that I had to find a private spot just to recollect myself. To think that such horrors against women were being committed only a few hundred miles from where I was standing, and I never knew of it. I wonder how many people really know the truth that is being hidden? My tears that day were not just for the victims and their families; it was for women everywhere and the injustice of inaction.
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