Type/stage 1: People feel like "something isn't right," but keep an open mind as they seek answers to questions.

Type/stage 2: People feel as if "there's more to reality than meets the eye," are skeptical about official explanations, and start to seek out alternative sources of information.

Type/stage 3: Mistrust of authoritative sources of information increases to the point of definitive belief that some official narratives are untrue. As a result, people continue to seek information and engage with like-minded people from whom they gain a sense of belonging and group membership. They're also more likely to get involved in "political action."

Type/stage 4: At this point, nearly all official and mainstream accounts are rejected so that people turn away from the mainstream in favor of affiliation with an "enlightened" community of conspiracy theory believers. Non-believers are dismissed as "sheep" who are "asleep."

Type/stage 5: In the final stage, authoritative and mainstream accounts are rejected to such an extent as to embrace belief in not only improbable, but frankly supernatural explanations for events (e.g. aliens, lizard people, etc.). At this stage, conspiracy theories and delusions may begin to overlap with self-referential aspects.

The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.

New blood tests for antibodies could show true scale of coronavirus pandemic
By Gretchen Vogel
March 19, 2020

How many COVID-19 cases have gone undetected? And are those who had mild cases of the disease—perhaps so mild they dismissed it as a cold or allergies—immune to new infections? If so, they could slow the spread of the burgeoning pandemic. . . . [shortage of tests] . . . But scientists also need to test a person's blood for antibodies to the new virus . . . they can tell whether a person has been infected in the past because the body retains antibodies against pathogens it has already overcome.

. . . Almighty God, as millions mourn the deaths of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and those who died with them, we think about life's brevity, uncertainty, and legacy. Remind us that we all have a limited time on earth to leave the world better than we found it. As this Impeachment process unfolds, give our Senators the desire to make the most of their time on earth. Teach them how to live, Oh God, and lead them along the path of honesty. May they hear the words of Jesus of Nazareth reverberating down the corridors of the centuries, and you shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free."