A puzzle wrapped in an enigma and steeped in mystery... the phrase has never been more apt for anything like the S.V.V. Is it a game? An esoteric order? Perhaps a recruitment tool like cicada3301? The answer to all of these is yes and no. Loosely translated as "fellowship of the flying vulture" the name links it to the constellation Aquila (the eagle) and its brightest star Altair, which was called "Vultur Volans" by the Romans.

First Introduction

I first heard of this group after a sequence of strange psychic events (not uncommon among their participants I hear) and quickly became intrigued. I had lately been interested in the latest cicada3301 puzzles one clue of which had led to a website of a group known as the Department of Convolution. Full of strange and seemingly indecipherable codes, their "about" and "research" sections had some cryptic writings that would seem like gibberish to most but I understood much (but certainly not all) of it due to past experiences that had taught me a lot about the nature of consciousness and our existence. They also referred interested parties to the website of the S.V.V.. Their website had an application that was written in a mysterious code. Being the techno-wizard cybermage that I am, I was naturally enthralled. However, at the time I was working a regular full time job and had lots of coding projects to do as well as then being in a committed relationship that also required much of my attention and I didn't have the time to spend decoding the message. However, that was all about to quickly change.

A Few Weeks Later

A few weeks later I had decided to quit my job to focus on developing our lovely blockchain related tools full time. Being so busy, I had largely forgotten about the S.V.V. in the interim until I did a rare check on Twitter and saw that the S.V.V. had released an android app. I downloaded the app and showed it to my then-girlfriend. Within an hour she came across some posts here on steemit by @fortified where he describes some supposed leaks by a DoC/SVV insider linking them to a low quality porn website and such political figures as DNC insider Huma Abedin as well as talking about some alleged disappearances of succesful SVV candidates stretching back to 1967 and always happening on years ending with 7. While I was reading the posts she also found some strange YouTube videos that at a cursory glance seemed very dark and disturbing. She was immediately turned off by it but I was still intrigued-- whoever had written those words I originally read on the website was definitely a highly enlightened person who knew more about the mysteries of the universe than anyone I have ever met. That and the psychic experiences that led me to them led me to secretly decide that I would pursue this further until I at least knew more about it and just wouldn't tell her.

After a few more weeks

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to be going well. I had buried myself into a project trying to get it done as quickly as possible and hadn't had much time to think about the S.V.V. other than when they would send an update to the app which would always include some mystical and cryptic occult reference. The the proverbial s%*t hit the fan. The woman I had loved quickly turned on me, trying to sabotage the project I had worked so hard on in the last couple hours before completion that would benefit both of us and doing many things to hurt me that I choose not to discuss. Needless to say, we broke up and I finally had time to turn back again to the S.V.V.

I soon learned that the disappearances had been debunked. The porn site had something that read along the lines of "you need to find something better to do with your time" and I soon began to suspect that these were intentional blinds designed to steer the unworthy away from the S.V.V. Unlike cicada3301, which presented a series of technological puzzles in order to recruit people with technological skills, the S.V.V. also included deep spiritual teachings requiring much self reflection and people that lacked these qualities as well as the intuition to lead them beyond these traps were not meant for this path. Whatever force or entity that had first led me to them had now cleared all the obstacles standing in the way of me following this path. It had led me away from a job I hated and only did to help take care of a woman who apparently was incapable of love and only sought to manipulate me to doing what I truly love and to a path that will lead me to an awareness I could never have dreamed of.

So, the question still remains, what is the S.V.V.? That is a question I have only just begun to answer and possibly will never know the full answer to. It is probably something different to everyone, and like anything thing truly full of life, is constantly evolving and changing so even if you did answer it at any time the answer would be different the next time. Til next time, happy steeming!