These messages were sent to every mobile phone in a 7.24km radius of Huddersfield between the hours of 2:00am and 4:00am. These messages were sent daily, beginning 05/06/2019 and with the final message transmitted 11/06/2019. Despite our petitioning our elected officials have not been forthcoming on why these messages were sent, although it is clear that the messages are the result of some kind of emergency alerting system.
05/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Inbound threat approaching local area. This is not a drill. Please seek shelter immediately. Stay in your local area. Do not attempt to reach family or friends. Do not travel.
And then, 1 minute later.
Do not return to any buildings you have visited within the last 6 hours.
Why? Presumably most people were in bed at this time anyway. Anyway, there was a big hubbub about it the news the next day. The council kept shtum, claiming that there had been ‘malicious interference’, but also not denying the contents of the message. People were less surprised, then, that it happened the night after that, and after that.
06/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Inbound threat detected in local area. This is not a drill. If you are currently outside, do not seek shelter. Lie face-down until the all-clear has been given by a local officer. If you are currently inside, do not leave. Do not attempt to reach family or friends. Do not attempt to call family or friends.
Again, a few minutes after that:
Find the smallest area in the building in which you can gain egress, for example under a bed or inside an open closet. Lie face-down until the alert is cleared.
Who’s sending these messages? Why won’t the council admit that there is someone out there hacking their system? Why isn’t an update given even when everyone is up and about, going to work the next morning?
Well, some people at least. A fair few stayed at home. Too spooked.
07/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Threat in local area. Threat is active and present in local area. Do not leave your homes. Do not enter new structures or structures you do not recognise or remember. Lie face-down until the all-clear is given by a local officer. Do not attempt to reach family or friends. If you receive any calls or messages from family and friends, do not attempt to respond until the alert is cleared.
A representative from the council came out of the office to address the angry crowds. Terrence Peasley, according to the tax register. In the photos and videos he looks haggard and clammy, like he hasn’t slept in days. He informs the crowd that the council are doing all they can to track down the perpetrators. He pauses for a long time, then he adds that everyone should still obey the alerts if and when they do come up. There are more missing posters for cats and dogs.
08/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Local area is a threat vector. Threat is active in all the streets, in all the homes. Alert is not cleared.
People wake up, check their phones. Then they groan and go back to bed. After all, if you’re on alert all the time, then nothing is an alert, not really. The lamplit street outside looks perfectly normal. The stars are still rolling through the heavens in their grooves.
09/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Hello? If anyone can read this, my name is Mehmet. A few of us found our way here. We are in the council office. If anyone is out there, this building seems ok. We only lost one person getting through the entrance and that room is closed now. The army aren’t coming. Nobody is coming. They are going to sit and watch. Please bring clean water if you can, and remember – you need to crawl face-down. It’s the only way in.
Is it an art project? Turning your phone off doesn’t help, and neither does blocking the number. The mood sours further, even as the Tesco gets restocked and the TVs still work. It’s like a shadow has fallen over everything. The council offices all stay shut, and some of them tape newspaper up on the inside of the windows. A different spokesperson comes out – I couldn’t find any details about this lady, not even a name – and addresses the small and irate crowd that they are working with the police to catch the criminal pranksters. She gives the usual boilerplate about working round the clock, heroic efforts etc. etc. But, after she steps down off the podium, when most of those filming have gotten bored or distracted, one person catches her addressing the crowd informally. Please try and stick together, she says, as she slips back inside the building. Avoid traveling too far.
There are several Mehmets living in the area. They are taken in for questioning and all are released, shaken and unwilling to talk to the press about their recent experiences. Who can blame them?
10/06/2019:
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> This isn’t a joke. We heard the message. We are all trapped in here while they go out and tell you everything is fine. Nothing is fine. We are running out of water and food. The sky is gone, now. Filled with rubble.
A few of the local nutters – sorry, brave patriots – try breaking into the council offices in the small hours of the morning. Fake news is blamed. However, one perpetrator named Darren Blackwell is well-known and liked in the local area, and widely considered a stable and reliable sort. His actions disturb many as he is reported to have punched through a window in an attempt to rip away the newspaper inside. As he is dragged away by the police he yells that he needs to get inside, that he saw himself in there. When pushed to the ground he shrieks. That’s how they want you, he says, over and over again. Crawling like bugs.
I was unable to reach Mr. Blackwell for his comments.
11/06/2019
LOCAL AUTHORITY ALERT> Threat in local area contained. If you are located at any of the following locations:
(A list of addresses follow. Purged for brevity and privacy.)
Please do not travel further than 100 metres in any direction. Do not attempt to contact family and friends until a representative from the council in your area has cleared the alert.
They are going to forget us. They are going to bury us all face-down in such a infinitesimal space. How are we going to fit?
No further messages are transmitted. Life goes on. We all go to the high street and then the pub. The newspaper is taken down in the windows of the council offices. Police claim they have found a suspect but do not release any further details, given the sensitive nature of the operation. The council does not make any statements. We are all just happy to forget. The lost pets don’t come back, and after a period of deja-vu we realise those buildings were always there.
Alexander James 