Life imitates Delta Green at the Sunspot Solar Observatory.

It’s ironic. ‘Child porn’ is the go-to excuse that the Feds use all the time in conspiracy roleplaying games when the government wants to explain away an op: “A federal search warrant reveals that Sunspot Solar Observatory was shut down as FBI agents conducted computer forensic searches for child pornography.” Nobody has any sympathy for the victim, nobody gets upset if the investigation isn’t as tight as it’s supposed to be, and nobody wants to look into the matter further.  From a gaming perspective, it’s perfect.

Mind you, I don’t believe that there’s a conspiracy going on there.  But if this was a game, my players wouldn’t buy this excuse for a moment.  Which may say more about the way GMs do games than anything, frankly.

OK, what’s going on with the Sunspot Observatory?

This is weird.

Sunspot Observatory was closed and evacuated Sept. 6 due to an undisclosed security risk. Federal officials aren’t saying why it was closed, and the silence has led to international media coverage and plenty of speculation.

[snip]

AURA released a statement Friday, stating it has “decided that the observatory will remain closed until further notice due to an ongoing security concern. The rest of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) facilities remain open and are operating normally.”

Continue reading OK, what’s going on with the Sunspot Observatory?