[b]Attention Officers, [/b] Welcome to our 46th Newsletter! Starting with this newsletter, and several of the following bi-weekly newsletters we will look at some real-life events that have impacted and shaped the design of both the game and the locations that make Los Suenos feel like a living, breathing world. Unfortunately, there are many, many events that for one reason or another have been required to be solved by the tactical expertise of a singular or many SWAT teams. Whether the response was to a genuinely evil organization or person, slow escalation of hostage situations, robberies gone wrong, or at the absolute worst, a situation that ultimately involves reasonably innocent individuals placed in extreme situations. [hr][/hr] [b]A Tragedy [/b] Very recently, one of our artists, Ropolio, took a trip down to the site of the Waco Siege and took a veritable mountain of incredible photos. For those who are unaware, in-short the Waco Siege was a Police action that majorly included the BATF and FBI responding to the serving of a search warrant to the Branch Davidians at their company near Elk, Texas, resulting in the deaths of 4 Law Enforcement Officers and 82 civilians. [i][u]Please Note[/u]: The above description of the Waco Siege is an extremely, extremely simplified version of a still discussed and highly disputed event; as such, if this is something you would like to read into, there are many resources to do so.[/i] [hr][/hr] [b]An Artist's Impression[/b] We pulled onto EE ranch road; it was pretty bumpy from all the dips and potholes. The black iron gate was open, with a sign asking for a 10-dollar donation per visitor. A memorial just past the gates is dedicated to the 76 men, women, and children who had died in the fire caused by the siege. Aside from the foundation remnants, the only original remains of the compound 70-foot-long swimming pool at the rear of the site, the unfinished storm shelter just to the left, and the buried school bus used as a tunnel between the compound and the storm shelter. Now lying partially unburied like an old, mangled soda can, completely unrecognizable as a school bus with the entire surrounding area overgrown with weeds and foliage. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//36750080/4232ff93c1dca684970cc4bd61769ed2ffff88a4.jpg[/img] [i]Above: The remains of the Mount Caramel Center bunker, the compound that the Branch Davidians had built and used up to that fateful day.[/i] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//36750080/ad3e399eabaaf91257ea38fe56916125c44886b8.jpg[/img] [i]Above: The remains of the bus tunnel.[/i] Concrete slabs of the original foundation line the left side of the church, marking where the old gymnasium and foyer once stood. Walking into the pool, I stepped down to examine David Koresh’s [Leader of the Branch Davidians] signature in the cement of the pool when it was first constructed in 1992, “DK ‘92” with a barely visible star of David below. A concrete slab with some dog paw prints was also located beside the pool, it matched the age of the rest of the concrete so I assume it belonged to the Branch Davidian’s dogs, who were shot by the ATF on the first day of the siege. Between the pool and storm shelter is the remains of the water tower, now just a rusted pipe surrounded by concrete. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//36750080/273259cf47232f807a52511b1ea537a9a28c49cb.jpg[/img] [i]Above: The Branch Davidian compound pool with a portion of the Church visible in the background.[/i] We stepped into the church, which had been partially converted into a museum of sorts. Various pictures of the ATF and FBI posing in uniform in front of the burnt-out compound sat alongside banners describing Koresh’s prophecies along the walls, as well as information about the original founders of the Seventh Day Adventists. The experience overall gave an interesting insight into the Branch Davidian's side of the story. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//36750080/225de9f89a5a844901d99790f9344afeddfbe521.png[/img] [i]Above: A photo of the modern-day compound transposed by the burning compound, the aftermath of the Siege at Waco[/i] [i]Editors Note: More of Ropolio’s hauntingly beautiful transpositions and photos will be posted and pinned in the #ron-media channel on the Ready or Not Public Discord for those interested.[/i] [hr][/hr] [b]Conclusion[/b] This concludes our 46th briefing. Be sure to tune in next time for more development news! Keep your feet on the ground. [i]VOID Interactive[/i]