Background
Based on a true story that unfolded on Usenet bulletin boards, this new opera is a gripping portrayal of a paranoid mind that raises unsettling questions about a society under surveillance. —from the programme notesThe text of the work is based on Mike Corley's experiences and theories, as shown in his Usenet posts and on his website.
Mike Corley is an Information technology specialist residing in the United Kingdom. He has a long history of posting Usenet messages detailing how MI5 has allegedly bugged his home, watched him via his television and is sending people to follow him around and harass him. These messages are often crossposted to many different newsgroups. His claims of being persecuted by MI5 (the Subject: line of his posts) have led to claims that he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He has claimed in his posts that television personalities are often talking about him in code and are part of the MI5 conspiracy. He has been banned from posting through Google for his abuse of Usenet and has been similarly barred from most Internet service providers in England, an assertion which Corley refuted in August 2012.
Read more about this topic: MI-5 Persecution
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