Bermuda Triangle Background Guide - UGA Model UN

Dear Delegates,

We are so happy to welcome you to the 28th annual Model United Nations conference here at theUniversity of Georgia! We are excited to be holding the conference this year again in beautiful Athens,GA, and we hope that your involvement in the conference is going to be a rewarding and great learningexperience. This is an opportunity to debate with like-minded individuals about specific policyinitiatives, learn about the historical aspects of this committee, and work on your own skills that pertainto public speaking and writing! In Bermuda Triangle, The Realm of the Missing, you will have thepossibility to decide as a committee what you think actually happens in this mysterious body of ocean.This committee will be a fusion of fantasy and history and will be sure to intrigue even the slightestconspiracy theorist!

Your crisis director, Alexa Hernandez ([email protected]), is a fourth-year student studyingPolitical Science and International Affairs here at the University, while pursuing the Public AffairsProfessional Certificate. As the Secretary General of the UGA Model United Nations team, and as asenior, she is excited to lead this final crisis committee. Alexa has always been interested in theBermuda Triangle and is excited to see what the committee dreams up. Her other interests includeTaylor Swift, Georgia politics, and young adult dystopian novels.

Additionally, Sydney Thornton ([email protected]) will be your chair. She is a third-yearstudent studying Anthropology, Japanese, and Comparative Literature at UGA. Sydney has done ModelUnited Nations for years and is very excited to combine that with her fascination with conspiracytheories and unsolved mysteries with the Bermuda Triangle committee. When not studying, she can befound outside or working on her fiction novels.

Your co-chair for the weekend will be Patrick Rice ([email protected]). He is a first-year studentstudying Political Science and International Affairs at UGA pursuing a Nonprofit ManagementCertificate and a Spanish Minor. This is Patrick’s first year with the UGA Model United Nations team,and he is eager to see this committee explore the murky depths of the Bermuda Triangle. Outside class,he enjoys thrifting, voters’ enfranchisement, and Castlevania.

We know that you’ll all do a fantastic job bringing your role to life at the conference. If you have anyquestions please don’t hesitate to contact us. Welcome to UGAMUNC XXVIII!

Sincerely,Alexa HernandezCrisis Director, Bermuda Triangle: The Realm of the Missing

Bermuda Triangle: The Realm of the Missing UGAMUNC XXVIII November 01, 2021

Contents1. Rules and Procedure: 3

1.1. General Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …3-41.2. Position Paper Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Background of Committee 52.1. Legend of the Bermuda Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52.2. Accounts of the Bermuda Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …52.3. The Bermuda Triangle Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..7

3. Starting Scenario…………………………………………………………………...84. Character Descriptions……………………………………………………………9-11

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1 Rules and Procedure:

1.1 General Rules

While other delegates at UGAMUNC may be placed in traditional General Assembly-styleModel United Nations committees, Bermuda Triangle: The Realm of the Missing atUGAMUNC will run as a crisis committee. While you should still familiarize yourself with theUGAMUNC Rules and Procedure document to brush up on parliamentary procedure, thiscommittee will vary from the typical format. Please familiarize yourself with the following rulesspecific to this committee, and once again, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out toAlexa at ([email protected]).

1. This committee is loosely based on the lore of the Bermuda Triangle. This is thegeneral topic of our crisis committee, and as members of the acting countries involvedor related individuals, this will be the focus of much of the conversation for theweekend. However, you are more than welcome to focus on related issues of the timesor alter the path of history.

2. While this is a historical and somewhat fantastical committee, you have thefreedom to alter history. This committee is to be set in a remote location of theBermuda Triangle, located at the coordinates 25.0000° N, 71.0000° W. There will becharacters from all across time, as the location of the Triangle ultimately stops time forall those inside for the purposes of this committee. Characters in this body have a chanceto rewrite fate in the manner they choose within the bounds of the Triangle.

3. Utilize crisis notes to accomplish your goals in committee and craft your crisis arc.While the main method of negotiation in a typical General Assembly-style committeestems from typical speaking time, in a crisis committee, much of the work you do willbe on your own through crisis notes. These are letters that your character will write tocrisis, a body outside of the committee room, to accomplish something without thecommittee’s knowledge. A good crisis note not only explains, in detail, what to do, but italso explains very specifically how to do it. These notes will be addressed to a fictionalperson that has some relation to your character. “Crisis” (UGAMUNC staff and yourcrisis director) will answer these notes as if they were this fictional person, respondingas that person would under the circumstances from the context you set out. Only addressa note to crisis if you have a question about the way the committee is going. There aremany fantastic resources that better explain crisis notes in detail, but a starting point canbe found here:

a. http://bestdelegate.com/thethree-crisis-notes-to-send-at-the-beginning-of-any-model-un-crisis-committee/

4. Because this is a crisis-style committee, write directives, not resolutions. Althoughthey are very similar, directives are the typical formal paper written in a crisiscommittee, not resolutions. Directives are less formal, are normally titled, and are

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generally more straightforward. They are intended to utilize the powers present in thecommittee to quickly address the crisis at hand or any related issues.

5. Represent your understanding of your character. This is a historical crisis committee,meaning that a few of these people actually existed and were somehow involved withthe Bermuda Triangle. Use this to your advantage; do some research! Each character isunique and therefore has unique goals and relationships among members of thecommittee. That said, be sure to represent your character’s beliefs and not simply yourown. While you may not be prepared for the updates which crisis will present to you,you can at least understand the character you have been assigned and react to the crisisin the way they would.

6. Be as historically accurate as possible, but understand much of this is fantasy.Because this is a historical committee, it is expected that all delegates will act in amanner that suits the time period of their character. We’d like you to understand thelocation and time period in which the committee is set, and this will require doing priorresearch. This also means that some convenient technologies may not have beeninvented yet, and are therefore not available in committee. For example, emailing afriend via a crisis note may be impossible for a character lost in the 19th Century, butsending them a smoke signal or a letter would be fine.

7. This committee is English only. Even if you can speak the same language as yourhistorical character, there will be no advantage given to any delegate who chooses towrite crisis notes or give speeches in that language. While we certainly respect historicaland cultural accuracy, we don’t want to exclude other delegates in the committee whomay not speak that language (including your chairs).

8. All position papers for this committee are due on January 23 by 5:00 pm. Please submitthese position papers directly to Alexa at ([email protected]). A position paperis essentially a short letter outlining your character’s position on the crisis at hand andyour individual plans to accomplish those plans. We expect these papers to be aroundone (1) double-spaced page in length. We’ve attached some resources below to help youget started. Happy writing!

1.2 Position Paper Resources

● Best Delegate: https://bestdelegate.com/how-to-write-a-winning-position-paper/● VMUN: https://vmun.com/writing-position-paper-model-united-nations/● Dartmouth: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/modelun/conferenceinfo/position-paper-guidelines/

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https://vmun.com/writing-position-paper-model-united-nations/


2 Background of Committee:2.1 Legend of the Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, or Devil’s Triangle, is a mythicalportion of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida that isroughly bounded by the island of Bermuda, the city ofMiami, and Puerto Rico where dozens of ships andairplanes have mysteriously disappeared.1 The BermudaTriangle is roughly located at 25.0000° N, 71.0000° W,covering about 500,000 square miles of ocean. This area isnot recognized by the United States Board of GeographicNames, and there is not an official file kept on the area ofthe Bermuda Triangle in the records of the Board ofGeographic Names. Additionally, the United States Coast

Guard and the United States Navy both claim that there areno supernatural causes at work.2 The waters of the Bermuda

Triangle are among the most commonly traveled shipping lanes of the planet, with ships regularlycrossing through it for seaports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean islands. Coined by VincentGaddis in a February 1964 issue of the magazine “Agrosy,” the Bermuda Triangle has become a point ofcontention between conspiracy theorists, historians, realists, and the United States Government. Whilemany groups deem the Triangle to be a product of meteorological occurrences, unusual and paranormalclaims surrounding the Bermuda Triangle allegedly stretch back to Christopher Columbus’s first voyageto the New World in 1492.3

2.2 Accounts of the Bermuda Triangle

When Christopher Columbus sailed through the area (ascribed now as the Bermuda Triangle) to the NewWorld during his first expedition, he described in records that a great flame of fire crashed into the seaone night and that a strange light appeared in the distance a few weeks later. A documentary by AmazonPrime titled “Inside the Bermuda Triangle” disclosed that on October 11, 1492, Columbus described thelight in his records as “a small wax candle that rose and lifted up, which for a few seconds seemed to bean indication of land.”4 Columbus was the first to sail the area, and noted that on three occasions, thecompass pointed in the wrong direction, enough so that the evening reading and the morning readingwere almost completely reversed.5 Meteorologists have tried to understand these occurrences, citing thatat that time, a portion of the Bermuda Triangle might have been one of the few places on Earth wheretrue north and magnetic north lined up.

5 Ibid.

4 Grutts, Sandra, dir. 2007. Inside The Bermuda Triangle & More. TalsMedia. Amazon Prime Video.https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Bermuda-Triangle-More-Smith/dp/B07MGKDZJB.

3 McCausland, Phil. 2016. “Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved? Not Likely, Says Meteorologist.” NBC News.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/bermuda-triangle-mystery-solved-not-likely-says-meteorologist-n671416.(Figure 1)

2 Herman, Sarah. 2017. Who Knew?: Questions That Will Make You Think Again. San Diego, California: Printers RowPublishing Group.

1 History.com Editors. 2010. “Bermuda Triangle.” History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/bermuda-triangle.

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Throughout history, compass problems are one of the most cited causes in many Bermuda Triangleaccidents and experiences. However, many instances of loss in the Bermuda Triangle leave the crew tohave disappeared without a trace. The myth of the Bermuda Triangle did not gain popularity until the20th Century, as an especially infamoustragedy occurred in March 1918 when theUSS Cyclops disappeared.6 This542-foot-long Navy cargo ship (The USSCyclops) with over 300 men and 10,000 tonsof manganese ore onboard sank somewherebetween Barbados and the coast of the UnitedStates. What is most interesting about thisoccurrence is that the USS Cyclops never sentout an SOS distress call despite having thecapabilities of doing so, and an extensivesearch of the suspected area of the ocean wasconducted without any wreckage found.7United States President Woodrow Wilson was quoted afterthe mysterious disappearance saying “Only God and the sea know what happened to the great ship.” In1941, nearly thirty years later, two of the Cyclop’s sister ships vanished without a trace along nearly thesame route as the USS Cyclops. 8

From the disappearance of the USS Cyclops to current times, apattern began to form in which ships passing through the BermudaTriangle would either disappear, be found abandoned, or neverfound at all. In December of 1945, five Navy bomber airplanestook off from the United States to coordinate practice bombingruns over some nearby shallow Bahamian waters. The leader ofthe mission, known as Flight 19, reported his compasses to beseverely malfunctioning and the five planes flew without directionuntil they ran out of fuel and were forced to abandon the planes inthe ocean. That same exact day, a rescue airplane and its crew of13 also disappeared while looking for the five Navy bombers.9After weeks of searching for the disappeared planes, the search

was called off due to no found evidence. The official report from theNavy declared that it was “as if they had flown to Mars.”

With the bestseller novel in 1974 by Charles Berlitz about the Bermuda Triangle, the legend took off andwas instantly popularized. Since then, a great deal of paranormal authors have attributed the BermudaTriangle’s suspected dangerousness on everything from aliens, the lost City of Atlantis, monsters to“time warps and reverse gravity fields, whereas more scientifically minded theorists have pointed tomagnetic anomalies, waterspouts, or huge eruptions of methane gas from the ocean floor.”10 It seems no

10 Ibid.9 Ibid.8 Ibid.7 Ibid.6 History.com Editors. 2010. “Bermuda Triangle.” History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/bermuda-triangle.

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group can decide on a specific cause, yet the United States CoastGuard said in an official statement that “In a review of many aircraftand vessel losses in the area over the years, there has been nothingdiscovered that would indicate that casualties were the result ofanything other than physical causes. No extraordinary factors haveever been identified.”11

2.3 The Bermuda Triangle Today

While there have been many more occurrences through the years ofdisappearances within and around the Bermuda Triangle, the mostrecent reports of missing persons happened in 2015, 2017, and 2021respectively. In late July of 2015, two 14-year-old boys, AustinStephanos and Perry Cohen, went on a fishing trip in their boat.However, despite the 15,000 square nautical mile wide searchby the Coast Guard, the boys were not found. A year later,their boat would appear on the Bermuda Coast, fully intact.12

The only thing missing from the boat was the cover of theengine, which has not been entirely explained by authorities.

On May 15, 2017, a private MU-2B aircraft was in the air when it vanished from radar and radio contactwith air controllers in Miami.13 The plane’s wreckage was found in a debris field 15 miles from theisland of Bermuda by the United States Coast Guard. Onboard was Jennifer Blumin, her 3-year-old and4-year-old sons, and pilot Nathan Ulrich. There was no indication of bad weather when the planeseemingly fell from the sky, and the four individuals on board were not found.

The most recent occurrence happened in 2021 when Bahamian authorities reached out to the UnitedStates Coast Guard to alert them that 20 people aboard a ship had gone missing in the oft-cited BermudaTriangle.14 The group left the area of Bimini in the Bahamas en route to the United States and shouldhave arrived that same day, but the boat was never found. The Coast Guard searched more than 17,000square miles — roughly double the size of Massachusetts, but were unable to locate the 20 individualsand their boat.15 This mysterious disappearance has still yet to be solved.

The Bermuda Triangle is a body of water that is largely debated within the maritime community. Thereare scientists and realists who believe that these tragic disappearances can be explained by nature andweather patterns, while others believe that there is something more that happens.

We are of the mindset that anything is possible.

15 Ibid.

14 Cohen, Howard. 2021. “Coast Guard ends search for missing boat in Bermuda Triangle.” Tampa Bay Times, January 02,2021. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2021/01/02/coast-guard-ends-search-for-missing-boat-in-bermuda-triangle/.

13 NBC New York. 2017. “Debris Field Discovered After Private Plane Carrying 4 People, Including High-End DesignerMom and 2 Kids From NYC, Vanishes Near Bahamas.” NBC New York, May 17, 2017.

12 Sacasa, Adam, and Mark Clary. 2015. “Families hope, pray for missing boys' survival after boat found capsized.” SouthFlorida Sun Sentinel, July 27, 2015.

11 Ibid.

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3 Starting Scenario

February 1st, 2021, the Bermuda Triangle, 25.0000° N, 71.0000° W,

Tensions have begun to rise within the society of the Bermuda Triangle. Characters from all across timehave lived in this suspended space, frozen at their age of disappearance: the oldest individual havingbeen within the society since her disappearance in 1492. As an independent society trapped in time,everyone within the committee is together on an island where all lost things go. When a new individualbecomes “lost” in the current world, however that may be, they are transported to the Bermuda Triangleto live with those individuals who have been there since the beginning. Society, for the most part, hasbeen peaceful, and all individuals have relayed their experiences in the current world to those who havebeen stuck within the Triangle. As such, everyone is relatively on the same page of what is happeningoutside of this “Bermuda warp” as it has been coined by those inside the Triangle. However, life insidethe Triangle has become endangered, as the Oracle has gone missing. The Oracle is the oldest memberof the Triangle, having lived and experienced thousands of lives. She has been the one who has kepteach member of the Triangle society alive, and since she is missing, the characters within the society arewondering what may have happened to her.

1. Is there a time limit to the Bermuda Triangle?2. Are one of us next?3. Where could she have gone?4. Did she make it back to the real world?

These questions are those to consider. While this is not canon, you all will be meeting in this “Bermudawarp” to discuss avenues of finding the Oracle, contacting the outside world, or saving yourselves.Tensions have not yet risen past the point of no return, so it is in all of your best interests to come to asolution that benefits all of the parties involved. Letters from the Bermuda Triangle may only be sentintentionally. You may amass resources through your contacts, but these should be historically accurateindividuals based on when you were lost at sea. You must also keep in mind your character’s perceptionof what the world was like when they entered the Triangle, and how it would impact their perceptions ofthe modern world. Whether they entered the triangle while at war, with other people, etc. This willimpact what your goals are in the committee. This committee is filled with sailors, civilians, even somechildren, who have all been displaced from their time and home and are trying to figure out what tomake of this new, strange life. You may have your goal for what you want to accomplish, but keep inmind the plights of the others in the committee. Find the common goal of the committee, such as stayingin or leaving the Triangle, and incorporate that with your goals to amass power and allies. It is up to youand your fellow committee members to solve the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle and help mankindfrom falling further into its traps.

Good luck and smooth sailing, you’re going to need it.

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4 Character Descriptions

1. Matías Buitrago was an inquisitive botanist aboard the Santa Maria for Christopher Columbus’sfinal voyage. He had collected numerous diverse samples of plant life when the ship wentmissing in October. Matías is eager to share what he found along the eastern coast of CentralAmerica with academics back in Spain. Equipped with a partial photographic memory of hisbotanical journals, Matías is in touch with the land of the island. His long term study of plant-lifehas limited his diplomatic experience, however.

2. Chief Wahunsenacah of the Powhatan people was thought to have died in 1618. Englishcolonist records reflect this, except right before the Chief’s disappearance, he and the others ofhis tribe scattered and attacked the colonists. They all fought valiantly, and the Chief escaped in acanoe from the Chesapeake Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Tired, hungry, and exploring a new partof the world, the Chief fell asleep and woke up within the Bermuda Triangle. He, Matías, and theOracle were the only people in the Triangle for almost 200 years. The Chief has been theunofficial leader of the Triangle since his first days.

3. Johnston Blakely, native Irishmen and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, was one of the mostsuccessful naval officers of the Quasi-War of 1812. Blakely commanded the USS Wasp throughthe sinking of 3 British Warships by the names HMS Reindeer, Avon, and Mary. He continuedhis command and went down with the USS Wasp when it disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.The crew lost, fatigued with wasting away on the island, Blakely is desperate to return to hisfamily and live the life of a decorated veteran.

4. Emmanuel Connet was a French sailor aboard the Rosalie in 1840. He was a quiet man with acompassion for animals. He was sad to leave the ship’s cat, fowls, and canaries behind when hewoke up on the island. Neither he nor the rest of the world truly knows what happened toRosalie. One moment he was taking a nap, the next the ship was found completely abandonedwith no sign of struggle or attack. He has remained confused during his time in the Triangle, buthe is finally ready to come to terms with his predicament, and maybe he will use his skills withanimals to find a living on the island.

5. Joshua Slocum was an incredibly skilled sailor, having been the first person to single-handedlysail across the globe. In 1909, he took off for his winter voyage on his ship the Spray, aftermentioning dreams of sailing to South America. However, his wife declared he was lost at seathe following year and the ship was never found. Surprisingly, Slocum never learned to swim. Sohow did he manage to make it to the island?

6. Gordon Dewees was a Naval officer aboard the USS Cyclops, one of the most famous ships tobe lost to the Bermuda Triangle. The Cyclops was lost in 1918 after picking up a manganeseshipment in Brazil and stopping in Barbados before intending to return to Baltimore, Maryland.The World War One veteran had seen many unbelievable things, but the strangeness of theTriangle was beyond anything he could have imagined. As a simple southern man, Dewees longsto return home to Chattanooga, Tennessee and is willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

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7. Jonathan Adwell was a Scottish immigrant working in the US to make a better life for himself.He found a job aboard the SS Cotopaxi and couldn’t have been happier. He could see the world,meet new people, everything the optimistic lad could have dreamed of. That was until he had tomake the distress call about the sinking ship in December 1925. The ship sank with him in it andhe vowed to find his way out of the Triangle. Now seething with anger that his call for help wasunanswered, Adwell is determined to find his way off of the island.

8. Lieutenant Charles Taylor was the flight instructor for what would become known as Flight 19,a group of World War Two fighters that would crash within the Triangle in 1945. Fourteenairmen, including Taylor, set off on the training mission when equipment began to fail. The crewattempted to land on what was believed to be an island in the Florida Keys, but they weremistaken and led further out to sea, where they presumably ran out of fuel and crashed. Taylorwas at first blamed for the failure of the mission, but was later cleared. However, Taylor neverreceived word of this and is desperate to clear his name and bring honor to himself and the othermen lost.

9. Adam Martin was a 26-year-old, married crewman of the converted T2 naval oil tanker, SSMarine Sulphur Queen in February 1963. Martin’s wife had urged him to be cautious aboard theship given its treacherous cargo of molten sulfur and history of poorly managed safety hazards.Martin had gone aboard on the routine voyage nonetheless because as a debtor, he needed themoney desperately. Departing from Beaumont and rounding Key West, the Triangle was up to itsusual shenanigans. Martin washed up on the island burnt and radiating a toxic glow from head totoe. He spends his days cursing like a sailor at the creditors and cost-cutting barons of businessthat sent him on this voyage. A fun fact of Adam that he likes to share with the newbies is hisability to glow in the dark.

10. Dan Burack was a hotel owner living in Miami, FL. He was a very successful businessman anddecided to take a trip with a friend aboard his cruiser, the Witchcraft. He didn’t intend to go far;he wanted to see the Christmas lights along the Miami shore. On the night of December 22,1967, Dan radioed a distress call to the Coast Guard that his boat was sinking. He sent up a flareand waited, having been reported to be fairly calm on the distress call. The Coast Guard arrivedwithin the hour, but the boat, Burack, and his friend Reverend Patrick Hogan were nowhere to befound. Now Dan is trying to take his chances building a business in the Triangle. He wants toprovide safe lodging for the people lost. What will he do when everyone suddenly wants toleave?

11. Perry Cohen was a 14-year old boy who went missing with his friend Austin Stephanos in Julyof 2015. They went on a fishing trip together in the 19-foot boat that was found a year later, butthe boys were never seen again. He is known in the Triangle to be very thoughtful, generous, andspirited. Many people within the Triangle surprisingly look to Perry for guidance, setting him upto become the next leader of the society. With boating and fishing knowledge, he is sure to havesome plans to survive and get out of the Triangle.

12. Jennifer Bluman was a CEO and event manager looking to get away for Mother’s Day with herboyfriend and two children. That plan went awry on May 15, 2017, when her plane lost contact

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Cotopaxi


with Miami air control The wreckage of her MU-2B aircraft was discovered by the US CoastGuard, but bodies were never found. This doting mother and businesswoman (girlboss?) cannotbe stopped. She knows her kids are nearby; she just has to find them and her boyfriend beforeescaping the Triangle. Using her skills of organization, management, and planning, she thinksshe has finally figured out where her family is and how to get home.

13. Barry Andrew was celebrating his retirement on a cruise when he suddenly fell overboardwhilst in the Triangle. Miraculously, the 50-year old survived, with his Hawaiian shirt andBermuda shorts all in one piece! The retired insurance salesman isn’t sure what to make of theragtag group of lost citizens, but they are not happy to know he is from the year 2021. How willthey figure their way out? Can he make it back to his cruise?

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Bermuda Triangle Background Guide - UGA Model UN

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