The Mysterious History Of Plum Island
Not even its citizens know for sure what goes on in this place.
There are places that, by their situation, make them exotic, others have romantic legends, and others are shrouded in mystery, paranoia, and conspiracies.
Today we will talk about an island where history has been shrouded in the shadows of national security, giving rise to numerous conspiracy stories.
Plum Island
Plum Island, located in Suffolk County, New York, is home to the Plum Island Animal Disease Control Center (PIADC), established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1954.
The center aimed to investigate animal pathogens to protect farmers, ranchers, and the country’s food production chain.
Its origin is the disease outbreaks (especially foot-and-mouth) in Mexico and Canada in 1954.
Plum Island was formerly attached to the Army, which developed several research programs at the Fort Terry complex on the possibility of attacking livestock with biological weapons.
After being taken over by the Department of Agriculture, the facilities expanded.
Two laboratories establish, Building 257 and Building 101, which studied more than 40 animal diseases foreign to the U.S. and those native to the country.
Research programs include developing diagnostic tools and vaccines for livestock diseases.
A program to upgrade both buildings was initiated in 1977 but canceled the project in 1979.
The renovation would not resume until 1990, after Building 257 was closed, moving operations to a renovated and expanded Building 101.
Despite these renovations, the facility’s future is up in the air.
It originally planned to close and replace it with the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. Still, the latter’s construction delays due to security flaws in the design.
Because of the nature of its research, access to the island and the facility restrict.
The Department of Homeland Security is currently responsible for the center’s security.
After the history, let’s move on to the conspiracy theories that can enliven our games.
Nazi Origins Of The Project
According to this theory, one of the founding scientists was Erich Traub, head of the laboratory at the Reichsforschungsanstalt (für Viruskrankheiten der Tiere) on Riems Island.
Prof. Dr. Otto Waldmann headed the Reichsanstalt; Traub was vice president and answered directly to Heinrich Himmler.
In the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. government decided to take in Nazi scientists working on state-of-the-art projects so they would not fall into the hands of the Soviet Union.
In this way, under Operation Paperclip's auspices, Traub arrived in the United States in 1949.
From that year until 1953, he worked at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda. After that post, he returned to Germany.
During his stay in the USA, he explained the Nazi program of using animal diseases as biological weapons.
This information served as a basis for the government to found the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.
In 1958, Traub offered to direct the Plum Island laboratories, but he turned it down to continue running, leading the Loeffler Institut in Tübingen.
From that moment on, theories about Nazi involvement unleash since many of the PIADC experiments corresponded with Traub’s work.
The project of infecting the livestock of the Soviet Union to destroy its economy, a plan developed by the Army in Plum Island in 1950, would be placed in this context.
Since Traub visited the island frequently and the laboratory on Riems Island also worked in this direction, conspiracy theorists see a clear connection.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is an infectious disease affecting various human organs, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by ticks.
It is the central tick-borne disease in Europe, but it does not diagnose in the USA until 1975.
Since the Germans experimented with ticks infected with various diseases, it is unsurprising that multiple authors want to see a link between the Plum Island programs, the Nazis, and Lyme disease.
The Montauk Monster
In July 2008, the decomposing body of an unidentified creature washed up on the beaches of Montauk, New York.
Since that date, at least two bodies with similar characteristics have washed up on the region’s beaches, and connections have been quickly made with Plum Island nearby.
That has led to theorizing that programs are being developed on the island to create new animal species or to hybridize humans with animals to develop super-soldiers.
The problem is that the similar characteristics are that it was a mammal, and the body was decomposing.
Zoologists attribute its strange appearance to decomposition and water erosion that removed the fur and some of the animal’s flesh.
The problem is that those who have found the bodies cannot state where they are, so independent experts cannot examine them.
Hacker Attacks
Both the FBI and the NSA claim that they are aware that Russian cybercriminals have been able, on occasion, to access critical sectors of the country, such as nuclear energy.
However, they have never carried out an attack.
Fearing that this situation could occur at some point, Plum Island has become a gigantic laboratory that works to learn how to condone any cyber attack that could affect them.
Once you lose control of electricity, it is easier to get it working again.
Getting it during a cyber attack is even more difficult, as you can’t rely on the devices you need to restore power to that network.
Not surprisingly, taking control of electricity means controlling light, running water, or transportation, which would create a chaotic situation.
In this way, DARPA designs two’ war games’ twice a year, setting up different scenarios.
These are perfect simulations of various attack attempts that are unknown to the experts and which, once they arrive on the island, they must try to resolve to avoid any situation that could pose a problem for the population.
Once finished, the successes and mistakes are analyzed to improve when establishing a protocol.
The United States is aware that one of the greatest threats it faces has to do with hackers.
Suppose cybercriminals can take control of part of the network.
In that case, security could be compromised, as could generate chaos with decisions as simple as turning off the traffic lights in a city, cutting off the drinking water supply, or destroying the Internet, a situation that could generate social instability that would be very difficult to control.
Sources:
https://www.espaciomisterio.com
https://www.elconfidencial.com
https://divulgadoresdelmisterio.net
Thanks for reading!
Rocio Becerra