Hello, I’m Paul Franks, a Leeds-based, retired History teacher, and I’ve written a conspiracy-thriller called ‘A Dive Into Darkness’. In this original podcast series, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the book and its four-year writing process, from inspiration to publication, and beyond.

In Episode Three of ‘A Dive Into Darkness’, ‘The River’, I will introduce you to the book which led me down a very deep, 8-month long, rabbit hole.

As I said in Episode Two, in June 2020 I discovered a Youtube video that examined the theory that HIV had been the product of flawed polio vaccine trials in Central Africa in the 1950s.  The main proponent of this theory, Edward Hooper, produced a 1000+ page book called ‘The River.’

The product of nearly a decade of research, writing, redrafting and editing, ‘The River’ was published in 1999. Although it led me down a rabbit hole, there is no denying ‘The River’ is a mighty tome, diligently researched, with over 100 pages of notes and references.

This is how one reviewer described it on Amazon: ‘The origin of the AIDs epidemic has been one of the major scientific riddles of our time. Edward Hooper's The River is a brilliant piece of scientific journalism that attempts to offer some worthwhile answers and, in doing so, raises some uncomfortable questions. "The biotechnological advances of the last 25 years hold out tantalising promises of human advancement and happiness, but they also confront us potentially with the greatest dangers our species has ever faced." Hooper certainly manages to clear the ground, demolishing a lot of the standard hypotheses on how the AIDs epidemic started. Instead, he produces one that has, at the very least, the merit of being directly falsifiable, however controversial and productive of litigation. In doing so, he raises important questions about the public ethical accountability of scientists, the use of human beings in experiments and the use of animals as the source for vaccines and transplants. If he is right, the attempt in the 1950s to tackle one major epidemic, polio, has inadvertently produced another even greater plague; and even if he is wrong, he has raised some important questions. This is not just a scientific investigation, of course; it is an important human story and Hooper's interviews with many of the scientists involved in tracing the origins of the epidemic are smart and humane. This is a crucial book that no one interested in the issues it raises can afford to ignore.’

The heart of Hooper’s hypothesis is that HIV was a man-made creation, and the reason it struck such a chord with me was because, in 2020, the origins of Covid were being hotly debated, with many professionals unwilling to accept the official bat-cave theory, instead preferring to focus on a lab-leak hypothesis. I spent 8 months exhaustively trying to find evidence that supported Hooper’s theory 100% and connected all the dots. At the end of those 8 months, I just could not find that evidence. Edward Hooper was, I am afraid to say, a useful idiot for the ‘HIV causes AIDS’ mafia. Although he did not agree with the official HIV origin myth, that wild-living chimpanzees in southern Cameroon were a natural reservoir of the closely related simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs), he still believed absolutely that AIDS was caused by a deadly virus called HIV. However, by the end of February 2021, I had incontrovertible proof that the scientific basis for ‘HIV causes AIDS’ was a house made of sand. However, by then I had already written one book, and had started work on a second. Neither of them was called ‘A Dive Into Darkness.’

Thank you for listening to Episode Three of ‘A Dive Into Darkness.’ I hope you enjoyed it.

In the next episode, I will tell you about my first book, Race!, written in less than four months, during the summer of 2020.

Till the next time, goodbye and happy reading.

‘A Dive Into Darkness’ is available both as an ebook and paperback, with Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-dive-into-darkness-paul-franks/1145527746?ean=9781917129855 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dive-Into-Darkness-Paul-Franks-ebook/dp/B0D32DP97S  

http://www.aidsorigins.com/wp-content/uploads/The-River-by-Edward-Hooper-2021-edition.pdf ‘The River’   

  ‘Origins of AIDS’ documentary.

Hello, I’m Paul Franks, a Leeds-based, retired History teacher and now debut author.

I’ve written a conspiracy-thriller called ‘A Dive Into Darkness’ and in this original podcast series, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the book and its four-year writing process, from inspiration to publication, and beyond.

In Episode Two of ‘A Dive Into Darkness’, ‘A Big Disease With a Little Name’, I will begin discussing the events which inspired me to write a book.

It’s June 2020 and the UK’s virus-triggered lockdown is starting to be eased. I’ve just had an overnight stay in Leeds LGI hospital, nothing to do with Covid, rather an inflamed gallbladder. My teaching job is on hold, I’m feeling grotty, and, because of the lockdown, I can’t go anywhere. As always, I turn to the radio for something interesting to listen to. After flicking through the BBC schedules, I stumble upon ‘A Big Disease With A Little Name’. The blurb tells me the programme remembers ‘the early years of the AIDS crisis, as told by the people who lived through it, from patients to medical staff, activists and politicians.’  

Born in 1963, I was 17 when the AIDS crisis began in 1981, but, despite living through the first AIDS decade, when it was rarely out of the headlines, I was ashamed to realize I knew very little about the disease, or its cause, HIV. I decide this is the perfect opportunity to find out more and, so engrossing do I find the content, that I listen to all 10 episodes off the bat. I’ll come back to three of those episodes at a later date.

From childhood I’ve always been interested in researching the origins of things, finding out about the first of anything. Obviously, this trait stood me in good stead as a History teacher. Other personal characteristics that History teaching developed were my refusal to take things at face value, to take official accounts with a huge pinch of salt, and to examine alternative theories and test their validity based upon the evidence provided. For example, having researched the events of 9/11 for the best part of five years, I concluded that the official narrative and explanations of that event, as an Al Qaeda operation, were seriously flawed, and some alternative theories of an ‘inside job’ had more credibility.  

As is my wont, I quickly become obsessive about finding out about the cause of AIDS, and soon after I begin my quest, I type ‘AIDS conspiracy’ into Google. One thing quickly leads to another, and I discover a Youtube video that explored the theory that HIV had been the product of flawed polio vaccine trials in Central Africa in the 1950s.  Very interesting, I thought.

Thank you for listening to Episode Two of ‘A Dive Into Darkness.’ I hope you enjoyed it. In the next episode, ‘The River’, I will tell you about my 8-month exploration of a rabbit-hole, a very deep rabbit hole.

Till the next time, goodbye and happy reading.

‘A Dive Into Darkness’ is available both as an ebook and paperback, with Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-dive-into-darkness-paul-franks/1145527746?ean=9781917129855 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dive-Into-Darkness-Paul-Franks-ebook/dp/B0D32DP97S  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000jvrf/episodes/player?page=1 ‘A Big Disease With A Little Name’

Hello, I’m Paul Franks, a Leeds-based, retired History teacher and now debut author.

I’ve written a conspiracy-thriller called ‘A Dive Into Darkness’ and in this original podcast series, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about the book and the four-year, book-writing process, from inspiration to publication, and beyond.

In Episode One of ‘A Dive Into Darkness’, in order to give you an overview of the book, I will read its synopsis.

‘It's March 29th, 2027 and the French Presidential election is looking more like a coronation than a contest. The favourite, Hervé Parcelle, is wondering what, if anything, can go wrong.

Meanwhile, Anne-Sophie Montreau is wondering what, if anything, can go right in her life. Languishing in emotional limbo, her only wish for her 40th birthday is to enjoy a stress-free meal with her best friend. However, even that small wish is denied when her godfather reveals long-buried family secrets.

Over the course of the next five days, compelled by life-or-death necessity to journey into the dark world once inhabited by her father, introvert bank cybersecurity analyst Anne-Sophie, transforms herself into an extrovert rogue hacker. As she struggles to track down the perpetrators responsible for her father's demise, she uncovers the greatest medical-science scandal in history and a conspiracy that has deceived the planet for 40 years.’

Thank you for listening to Episode One of ‘A Dive Into Darkness.’ I hope you enjoyed it.

In the next episode, I will discuss the events which inspired me to write ‘A Dive Into Darkness.’

Till the next time, goodbye and happy reading.

‘A Dive Into Darkness’ is available both as an ebook and paperback with Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-dive-into-darkness-paul-franks/1145527746?ean=9781917129855 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dive-Into-Darkness-Paul-Franks-ebook/dp/B0D32DP97S

Hello, my name is Paul Franks, a Leeds-based, retired History teacher and, now, debut novelist. I’ve written a conspiracy-thriller called ‘A Dive Into Darkness’ and in this original podcast series, I’ll tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the book and the book-writing process, from inspiration to publication, and all points in between.