The Future arrived Yesterday

The Prepper Diaries

In the field by Robert Wood

The distance between the whitewater falls of Iceland and the polluted streets of Oslo is a Galaxy. I have been in a white house and seen rainbows of gold in the eyes of an economic expatriate.

- The Panama papers have given us answers, I thought. Yet another crooked Islandic politician have been crucified by his own greed. The word “Panama” is a native word for “abundance of fish”, and the revealing papers hooked ravenous finance sharks. One of the obese, pale whites was pulled bleeding out of the turbulent water by an investigating Islandic reporter and an enraged population.

Honest politicians?

I came to the white, shabby house stuffed with updated information about Islandic economy and the ousted Prime Icelandic Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson in my head. And, as expected, Gimli Sigurdtorsson was without mercy when I kickstarted the interview about the current crisis in his homeland. True to his Viking heritage he was brimming over with contempt for the current political scandal and ruling party.

- Are there any politicians on Iceland that are not corrupt? I asked in the hope of shaming the man on behalf of his countrymen. I felt mean because I had wasted way too much time in the Dark Web tracking down this gold prepper and smuggler.

- Very few, maybe three… no, two. But, the Prime Minister is… Yes, just listen to him trying to get off the hook.

- Three honest politicians? Then you are lucky. In Norway we don’t have any. The worst is the despot controlling The Central Bank. He has transferred our Global Pension Fund to American speculators and the manipulators in EU. Norway has become a vassal state…. And yes, I did listened to your Prime Minister on TV when he was trapped shitting in his own nest. I was Rolling On the Floor Laughing my head off. Something is rotten in the Republic of Iceland, Gimli.

One, two and 3D

Gimli nods sadly. He is a computer specialist and a gold and silver prepper. He delivers whatever you can pay for within animated advertising, information and propaganda. The Icelander converts his 3D knowledge into Norwegian kroner as fast as he can earn them.

- A whole Brave New World is opening up for designers with new ideas and the will to sell their skills to the highest bidders, Gimli exclaims in broken Norwegian. - I prefer working for the government. They need sophisticated propaganda designed to take attention away from what is really important for the people. The right propaganda manages to twist our perception of reality.

The Art of Riding Two Horses

- Seems to me you are riding two horses at the same time, I say looking at the water-cooled computers at his enormous desk. –You are working for our government. And you dislike governments.

– A man has to live, answers Gimli with a shrug of his shoulders. –You have to handle your own scoundrels yourself. – Besides, I got a mission which justifies the means!

A Mission From Mammon?

- I lost faith in Icelandic politicians and bankers in 2007 when Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir bank collapsed. I also lost my savings, my customers, my house and SUV. That is why I now work in Norway. As you know, the Icelandic government did not take over the banks to shelter the rest of the economy. The State let the three banks fail and my country was insolvent.

– But what has this to do with your “mission”?

– As you know, quite a lot of people all over the world are buying silver and gold. The Icelandic krone is worth next to nothing today. Our krone has become the Zimbabwe dollar of the North. Our currency is without value outside Iceland, and that makes it near impossible for us to buy investment silver and gold in Iceland. My country has no market for precious metals. People buy luxury items and don’t worry too much about the future. However, we must buy foreign currencies if we want to reinvest in overpriced silver and gold.  Investment coins are dead cheap in Norway compared to what I have to pay in Iceland. You Norwegians don’t even have Value Added Tax on the coins.

– Yes, that’s a well-known conspiracy, but what is your main goal? I ask impatiently.

– My mission is to get as much gold and silver into Iceland as possible! Legal and illegal. I convert my surplus earnings to gold and smuggle the precious metals into Iceland whenever I visit my family. I sell the 24 carat precious metal, with a small profit, to trusted friends. We know that it is just a matter of time before we get another financial crises and our Icelandic paper money turns into colourful toilet paper!

The Golden Eagle

The digital 3D-designer pulls the pen from the holder and let it flow over the Intuos Wacom board. An animated golden eagle takes flight from an American Eagle Gold Coin on the computer screen. The Eagle soars like a miniature nova over the digital landscape in concert with the designer’s smooth hand movements. Then he lands the eagle on the gold coin and allows the bird to melt into the metal surface from which it took flight. – The golden eagle morphing out of the gold coin and returning is for me a symbol of the everlasting value of gold. The Icelander smiles smugly. He knows his trade.

Confusion and Zeitgeist

I leave the bitter computer-wiz with the feeling that Gimli’s philosophy is typical for many precious metal preppers. A kind of fearful Zeitgeist, for the fearful few, hidden in the shadows of the Deep Web. A fetid sub-trend which hasn’t broken into mainstream. We are not talking about Doomsday and das Untergang, but unsaid fear of an upcoming economic upheaval. A crisis Gimli is trying to guard against by buying silver and gold. He himself has become a kind of symbol. When you are beaten hard and often enough by greedy banks and unjust political tax systems, you will redefine what you are doing with your hard earned money.

Best and Worst

Profile

Pseudonym: Gimli Sigurdtorsson

Profession: D3 Digital designer

Age: 35 years

Education: Architect

Favorite prepper scenario

Yet another economic meltdown in Iceland

Favorite prepper tool

My brain

Worst prepper trap

Smuggling too much and getting caught

The worst being a prepper

Spend too much time thinking about gold and silver prepping
Would really have liked to have
A safe place to store silver and gold
Favorite prepper item
Any kind of 999/1000 – coins and bars