Given the turmoil at the end of the twentieth century, it’s understandable that many people cannot remember the exact sequence of events that lead to the world we now know.
Hundreds of thousands dead in wars and rioting, the foundations of all the major religions shaken, the thought that the living must share the world with the dead … all these events make for a world that someone living in 1996 could never have imagined. Here is a quick timeline of those events.
The Discovery |
|
| Dec. 12, 1992 | Ricardo Simone, a Brazilian martial artist, is injured during an aikido tournament. Placed on artificial respiration, doctors believe him to be brain dead. His sister Dr. Antonia Simone, a brilliant neuro-physiologist, believes her brother to still be aware, based on random EEG readings his doctors reject. |
| April 10, 1996 | Dr. Simone makes her first “black box” terminal that incorporates many of the designs now common in all AfterNet terminals. Her terminal monitors extremely low electro-magnetic and gravimetric fields in an attempt to capture the thought patterns of her brother’s brain. She conducts laboratory trials with her brother and other patients at Johns Hopkins University, with promising results from other patients but nothing from her brother. Further tests show her terminal can detect the “thoughts” of test animals subjected to intense pain. The university’s animal testing policy review board, however, learns of her “unorthodox” experiments and revokes her tenure. |
| July 25, 1996 | Dr. Simone, apparently now irrationally consumed by her attempts to talk with her brother, has assumed the identity of a reclusive scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center. That scientist’s body is later discovered. |
| March 19, 1997 | Antonia Simone, now working at the Palo Alto Research Center as the slain scientist, commits suicide after attempting unsuccessfully to communicate with her brother, Ricardo. She is 53 years old. |
| March 20, 1997 | Ms. Simone’s body is discovered by rescue personnel. On the computer monitor next to her body, they see the now famous words, “What took you guys so long? I’ve got the most important news.” |
The Announcement |
|
| May 10, 1997 | The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, announces at a press conference that they have evidence of the existence of an afterlife. Shalala describes Dr. Simone’s research, the discovery of her body (notably leaving out the details of her criminal activities) and the fact that researchers are able to communicate with her through the medium of her terminal. Understandably, the announcement is met with skepticism. However, Dr. Simone’s association with PARC means the events of her death, and the technology she developed, were quickly disseminated on the internet. |
| May 14, 1997 | Research institutions around the world announce that they have investigated Dr. Simone’s research and have found that her technology is theoretically tenable. However, no one is able to reproduce her ability to use the terminal. |
| May 17, 1997 | PARC announces they believe they know why no one else has been able to use the terminal. They theorize that Dr. Simone’s terminal is calibrated for extremely low inputs. Apparently the living can’t produce such low levels of input; only the dead “soul” is capable of this. PARC, with Johns Hopkins, will be recruiting volunteers among the terminally ill to participate in further trials. By this time, worldwide reaction to the announcement is mixed. America responds mostly with late night TV hosts making jokes, the Christian right denouncing the Clinton administration as being “gullible dupes” and the Republican majority calling for yet another special counsel.  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., however, on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, makes his own announcement that his office has spoken with PARC representatives and believes the research is sound. McCain, at his press conference, urges the president to consider creating a cabinet level department to further research into “the afterlife.” |
| June 15, 1997 | Johns Hopkins University, no longer working in cooperation with PARC, announces a volunteer who had been trained in the operation of the terminal, has been able to produce identifiable reading on the terminal a 15 hours after her death. |
The Furor |
|
| June 16, 1997 | The Johns Hopkins announcement is the verification the world needed. The Time magazine cover story for this week is an interview with Dr. Simone where she describes what it’s like to be dead. The prospect is unsettling. See the general FAQs for a description. |
| June 17, 1997 | Meanwhile, the Vatican has announced it considers the claims of an “eternal limbo bereft of the redemption of Christ” to be anathema. Several Buddhist leaders, including the Dalai Lama, however, says the concept of a afterlife isn’t inconsistent with their faith and counsel patience. “Perhaps the spirit of the deceased will find a new home and this is only a moment in the journey,” said the Dalai Lama. |
| June 18, 1997 | The Archbishop of Canterbury echoes the sentiments of the Vatican and questions the science behind the discovery. The Indian government assures its citizens it will not mobilize the military to control riots at the U.S. embassy in Mumbai. The Japanese Koshitsu Shinto (Shinto of the Imperial House of Japan) announce that these “spirits” are no different than the ancestral kami that the Japanese have always revered. |
| June 19, 1997 | The Indian government declares martial law in Mumbai. |
| June 21, 1997 | President Bill Clinton addresses the United States in an evening broadcast and recaps the events of the past few months and announces that the Department of Health and Human Services will be the agency responsible for furthering research into the afterlife. He counsels America, “We stand at the brink of understanding. Our bridge to the 21st century may be the appreciation of a larger world. The people of that older world still has much to teach us if we are willing to listen. Let us not give in to fear. Let us not give in to denial. Let us instead accept what we cannot deny … that death may only be a beginning.” |
| June 22, 1997 | Even the Republican leadership appears comforted by the words of the president. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich tells the New York Times, “I believe the president has for once said something I can agree with. We have to investigate this discovery. Think of the possibilities. The intellect of this great country need never be lost. What if we can speak with Einstein? What if we can ask Lincoln what he would do about affirmative action? I almost hate to say it, but this goes beyond mere partisan politics.” Unfortunately the president’s words do not have as much effect around the world. Many countries either believe that the U.S. is pursuing an unfathomable agenda and have concocted the story, or else the U.S. is concealing information about the discovery to gain an edge. Responding to this, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright announces she will be addressing the United Nations to assure the world that the U.S. is releasing all technical information. Also, Microsoft Corp. announces it has lost contact with its divisions in India. The Indian government asks major religious clerics to calm the people. |
| June 25, 1997 | Microsoft, Apple Computer, Intel and IBM announce a consortium that will work with PARC to refine the “black box” terminal. A new name – ethereal computing – briefly gains vogue. Which is replaced by computing for the dead and then necrocomputing. Although Microsoft officials say they have regained contact with Microsoft India (the Indian government has reported widespread power failures when employees are unable to report for work because of rioting), it is obvious India is handling the situation badly. The untouchable class (which they officially are no longer called) is especially volatile; their only hope of rising above the bottom rung of the social ladder is the belief that when they die, their souls might ascend with each incarnation. |
| June 30, 1997 | Researchers at CERN, the high-energy particle physics research center in Switzerland, had been working with scientists at PARC even before the announcement. Their announcement that they have made contact with a researcher who had died in an industrial accident two years earlier makes shockwaves around the world. Dr. Olaf Bols described how he had died after tripping over a wire while preparing a test on a particle accelerator. His essence had lingered at the laboratory for those two years, trying desperately to come up with a way to contact his fellow researchers. When they assembled a “Simone device,” he finally had his opportunity. |
| July 1, 1997 | Indian rioting leaves 100,000 dead. |
| July 2, 1997 | Pakistan forces attempt to regain parts of Kashmir. Critics accuse Prime Minister Narwaz Sharif of taking the opportunity to strike while India is in chaos and of covering the fractures among his own party. |
| July 3, 1997 | India responds with an airstrike where a tactical nuclear weapon is used near the city of Islamabad. Pakistani forces were gathered nearby and there are reports of thousands dead. Secretary of State Albright flies to the region to attempt peace talks. The New York Times reports that U.S. armed forces are on a “heightened state of alert. Although there are has been no formal announcement of a threat elevation, Pentagon sources confirm that commanders have been told to expect violence.” The newspaper also reports that the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt would be returning to the Mediterrean despite being due for an overhaul at Norfolk, Va., shipyards. |
| July 4, 1997 | Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pervez Musharraf seizes power from Sharif and announces the withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Kashmir. |
| July 6, 1997 | Secretary Albright announces a cease fire agreement between India and Pakistan. |
| July 8, 1997 | A letterbomb sent to Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., kills an administrative assistant. Another bomb kills a researcher at Stanford University. Although researchers at the Southwest Research laboratories in San Antonio, Texas, are studying the Simone terminal, the Boulder office is not. Neither is Stanford. |
| July 9, 1997 | Other letterbombs are intercepted at the Pentagon and at the Speaker of the House’s office. A letter sent to the Washington Post claims Simone is the anti-Christ and that further research is a sign of the apocalypse and that the “end of days is nay [sic].” This is the first hint of the millenial hysteria to come. |
| July 25, 1997 | Terrorists drive a truck bomb into barracks at a U.S. airbase in Saudi Arabia. A videotape sent to the Cairo Times later that day says the U.S. is trying to deny the “path to Jannah,” or heaven. The attack kills 54. |
| Aug. 1, 1997 | HEW sends a pamphlet to all Americans about the discovery and advice on how to use an “afterlife” terminal. |
| Aug. 3, 1997 | The British Medical Journal The Lancet releases its estimate that about 500 billion people have been born, lived and died since the emergence of the homo sapiens species. A quote: “We think we’ll need more of those terminal thingees.” |
| Aug. 4, 1997 | More letter bombs are sent to research facilities around the United States. The FBI says several groups are behind these attacks. In New York City‘s Times Square a man sets himself on fire. He carried a sign: “The dead have risen.” In France, a riot outside Notre Dame cathedral leaves 25 dead. |
| Aug. 6, 1997 | On the U.S. television show 60 Minutes, Carole Lazenby, a spokeswoman for Dr. Simone, describes Dr. Simone’s experiments, her death and discovery. She makes a plea: “Dr. Simone never wanted this,” referring to the worldwide pandemonium. “She wanted desperately to be able to talk with her brother. She never intended the world to end.” She later tells reporter Ed Bradley that they have not be able to talk with Ricardo Simone. On being dead: “Dr. Simone tells me being dead is very, very busy. She’s working with scientists around the world trying to improve communication between the living and the dead. And she’s talked to Dr. Bols at CERN.” |
| Aug. 8, 1997 | HEW announces they will be establishing a website for the “distribution of knowledge about the Simone terminal.” Also, HEW has more plans to publicize the efforts at contacting the dead. |
| Aug. 10, 1997 | Billboards are seen in major U.S. cities, instructing the dead to proceed to research center. Riots break out in these same cities. |
| Aug. 11, 1997 | The Tokyo Institute of Technology reports success with a Simone terminal. Dr. Seiiji Funakogi, the scientist who built the terminal, voluntarily killed himself. In a note left to colleagues, he wrote, “Only someone intimately familiar with the workings of the terminal will be able to operate it. Who better than I?” |
| Aug. 13, 1997 | In Kunitachi, Japan (a city in western Tokyo), police find 45 people, all under the age of 25, dead from suicide. They left a note asking that a Simone terminal be brought to the location. |
| Aug. 22, 1997 | Ms. Lazenby, respresenting Dr. Simone, speaks before the select Senate Special Committee on Aging, telling the senators, “Life doesn’t end at death. The responsibility of the government towards its citizens continues, maybe forever.” The senators appear visibly concerned at this prospect. |
| Aug. 25, 1997 | In Kunitachi, Japan, scientists report that the Simone terminal left near the site of the mass suicide has recorded activity, including the Japanese words “moshi moshi,” a common telephone greeting. Although Dr. Kenji Watanabe, the lead researcher (and the assistant to Dr. Funakogi) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, suggests that although it’s likely that the terminal data comes from the suicide victims, “with continuous occupation in the Tokyo area stretching back to the Stone Age, who knows how many souls could be in the area. It’s staggering, really, when you consider the numbers.” |
| Sept. 1, 1997 | A bomb destroys the U.S. consul’s office in Mumbai, India. A videotape sent to The Times of India claims the attack is in response to the “U.S. lies about eternity and a condemnation to a meaningless existence.” |
| Sept. 3, 1997 | British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking in the House of Commons, says, “The people of the United Kingdom will not deny the evidence before us. This nation, so rich in history of king and commoner for thousands of years, owes the recognition due to those who have gone before. We will not turn our backs towards them. We will seek out ways to communicate and bridge the gap between life and death. I am therefore proposing a Cabinet level minister who will work to further these goals. “I propose these goals not simply for the benefit of the dead, but for all. Think of the knowledge lost to us – the scientists, poets, painters and authors – who still have much to tell us. I for one, look forward to the thoughts of a certain former prime minister, even if he stood for the Conservative Party [laughter].” |
| Sept. 6, 1997 | In a round table discussion at Loyola University in Chicago, the mental stability of the dead is questioned. Father Justin Hogarth S.J., a clinical psychologist with the Archidocese of Chicago, said, “Let’s face it, death can’t be a pleasant existence – that is, if we’re assuming for the sake of argument that this afterlife does exist, and which is not the position of the church but it is an interesting philosophical question. “Now where was I? Oh yes, let’s say you died five years ago. For all that time you can see the world around you but you can’t interact with it. You see your wife remarry. You see your kids grow up. The world moves on without you. Let’s say your in Chicago. You’re surrounded by millions and yet you’re alone. And as far as you know, this is an existence only you share. You don’t know that millions, billions, share their own little slice of hell. I’m speaking of hell metaphorically, not theogically. “Anyway, who among us wouldn’t go mad. And what about someone who died a hundred years ago? Or a thousand?” |
| Sept. 11, 1997 | Another success is recorded at PARC. Dr. Lucinda Williams, the scientist killed by Dr. Simone, makes verified contact when someone notices the apparently random string of numbers they are recording matches Dr. Williams Social Security number. |
| Sept 16, 1997 | The District Attorney’s Office for San Mateo County in California announces that they are dropping further prosecution against Simone for Dr. William’s murder. “What are we going to do, arrest her, put her to death? We have no recourse under the law,” said Anita Reynolds, assistant district attorney. |
| Sept 17, 1997 | Carole Lazenby at a press conference in San Francisco, tells reporters, “Dr. Simone is deeply sorrowful and anguished over her actions. She was clearly under a great mental strain, the demands of caring for her brother and her desire to give the world a gift … she lost her grip on reality. She clearly lost of the distinction of right and wrong.” Meanwhile, attorneys for the family of Dr. Williams announced they believe legal action could be taken against the estate of Dr. Simone. Meanwhile, protesters outside PARC carry signs, reading “Death is no excuse” and “Simone the butcher.” On national radio call-in shows, people are divided as to whether Simone should be punished. Some propose that she should not be able to benefit from the rewards of her discovery, although talk show host Don Imus says, “Yeah, like how. She can’t spend money. Other than her brother, she has no family. Who would benefit? And have you considered who knows more about this technology than her? Come on, people, we need her.” In Italy, the national newspaper La Repubblica has a story that many funeral services are reporting a drastic decline in funeral services, many families opting for “basic disposal of the body. Cemetery space is almost non-existant in Rome anyway so cremation is common, but now many families aren't offering viewings and churches are reporting a sharp decline in memorial masses.” |
| Sept 29, 1997 | The National Institutes of Health reports U.S. research agencies are working with about 25,000 verified “entities,” contacted through Simone terminals. The news surprise many because only a handful of successful contacts make front page news. A Washington Post story explains, “The researchers get thousands of threads of background chatter on each terminal at each facility and they are operating on the theory that each ‘frequency,’ for want of a better word, represents a unique individual. Only a very few frequencies, however, represent intelligible messages … a word here, a number there. And a very small percentage of those messages can be linked to a specific person.” |
| Oct. 5, 1997 | A car bomb is exploded near the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, but the vehicle was apparently involved in an accident which prematurely detonated. Nine people, all Kenyans, were killed. |
| Oct. 6, 1997 | In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, police find another car bomb, presumably destined for the U.S. embassy there. U.S. Secretary of State Allbright tells reporters, “We believe a radical organization called al Qaeda is involved. And we believe the leader of that group to be Osama bin Laden, a former Saudi businessman who has been linked to the attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.” |
| Oct. 7, 1997 | The satellite news network Aljazeera, operating in Qatar, shows a videotape of a man believed to be bin Laden indirectly laying claim to the embassy bombings, although the tapes were made before the attempts because the speaker talks of the deaths of “many American infidels.” The speaker also denounces the U.S. for spreading lies “about our reward in paradise being an empty promise and their absurb technology for spreading these lies.” |
| Oct. 8, 1997 | President Clinton at a White House news conference announces that bin Laden has been killed in an attempt to capture him near Khartoum in Sudan. “Our intent was to arrest him, but a cache of weapons exploded and he and several of his lieutenants were killed.” Although Clinton said Army Special Forces had raided the al Qaeda training compound, witnesses to the attack said they saw a “streak of fire” destroy the buildings, leading to speculation that stand off weapons fired from aircraft carriers or bombers were used. A Pentagon spokesman said the witnesses “obviously saw our forces destroying the compound after the raid when a F-117 Stealth aircraft was used to explode any remaining stockpiles of weapons at the site.” |
| Oct. 10, 1997 | Secretary Shalala announces that “our best estimate at present is that we've verified 156 people in the U.S. as being the dead people they say they are. We know that other countries have also reported many more.” She added, “Obviously there is no end in sight. Potentially anyone who has ever died is out there. I know the president will be talking with the U.N. to further our research. This goes beyond just the United States.” |
| Oct. 29, 1997 | The ABC Evening News profiles evangelist Johnny Swiles at his Memphis, Tenn., church. “Swiles has attracted ever growing crowds who hang on his every word. Swiles’ warning of the ‘end of days’ and ‘the dead have risen’ and ‘day of judgment’ are obvious references to the research on communicating with the dead. What isn’t clear is Swiles’ stand on the research, whether he considers the research the cause of the apocalypse or a symptom.” |
| Oct. 31, 1997 | “The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, has always been a popular tradition in Mexico,” according to a CNN reporter, “but this day will long be remembered as the wildest on record.” Unfortunately the reporter is wrong. Although the festivities draw record numbers, each successive Day of the Dead is even more popular. However, Mexican revelers remain largely peaceful. In the U.S., however, major riots break out in New Orleans, Detroit and Los Angeles. Thousands are reported dead in each city. In Memphis, Swiles preaches outdoors to a crowd of 50,000, although the service is peaceful. A protest march in Washington, D.C. draws 25,000, the protestors urging the government to spend more on afterlife research. In Redmond, Wash., Microsoft CEO Bill Gates urges Congress “to establish a network through the internet that will allow the dead to talk with the living and with each other.” Interim Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs, speaking with Gates via a satellite hookup from San Francisco, agreed. “Our lives are apparently a blink of the eye. We've got to work together to make our deaths something meaningful. We’d like to all believe we’ll live forever, but this reality is staring us in the face.” |
| Nov. 1, 1997 | Cities across the U.S. report widespread rioting, acts of vandalism, suicides, homicides. In Denver, a fire started by rioters burns almost two blocks in the lower downtown area. Martial law is declared in Detroit. President Clinton addresses the nation that night on television: “I urge all Americans to look into their hearts for guidance. If you’re religious, please view these events as part of God’s design for us. If you’re not, please be tolerant of those of us who are – our beliefs are being shaken, our understanding of what it means to be Christian is being stretched. Please be calm and be assured that the government will be doing its utmost to research this communication with the dead.” |
| Nov. 7, 1997 | In the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that almost 5,000 people died over two days of rioting. |
| Nov. 10, 1997 | Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee speaks at a regional council meeting and “applauds the people of India for regaining our good senses and showing the rest of the world how to handle a crisis.” Although rioting in India had left many dead early after the initial announcement, several religious leaders have suggested that there is no evidence that all souls are doomed to a noncorporeal existence. That, and strict martial law has kept the sub-continent quiet. |
| Nov. 18, 1997 | The consortium of computer makers announces Simone terminals should cost about $150,000 apiece when mass produced. Later that day, a Taiwanese company promises to begin shipping in mass within two months at a cost of $25,000 apiece. Industry analysts are doubtful of both announcements. |
| Dec. 1, 1997 | The United Nations releases a report estimating that approximately 500 billion dead people inhabit the earth. |
1998 |
|
| Jan. 1, 1998 | The New Year begins without incident in the United States. In Japan, however, there is another mass suicide in Kobe, with 157 people dead. In Mumbai, India, 60 “untouchables” set themselves on fire after telling onlookers they have nothing to lose if the afterlife exists. |
| Jan. 5, 1998 | In London, the House of Commons introduces a bill to “ensure internet access to all the citizen of Great Britain, living and dead.” |
| Jan. 6, 1998 |  Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, speaks at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco and addresses the proposed terminal’s capabilities: “Yes, right now the cost of a single terminal is somewhere around $150,000, but remember, a single terminal should be able to maitain 1,000 simultaneous connections. Remember, these are not personal computers and at 200 pounds apiece, they’re not portable, either. But they are intended to be cost effective.” |
| Jan. 20, 1998 | In his state of the union address, President Clinton applauds “the American people for their good judgment in face of world-changing realities.” He outlines his agenda on the issue of the afterlife: $2 billion to “research, investigate and promote” ways to communicate with the dead; a further $2 billion to “speed the outreach of the internet and ensure all Americans can access it quickly and easily”; and “work with the United Nations to ensure that all nations will have fair and unrestricted access to the afterlife technology and show the world that the rewards of American ingenuity can be enjoyed by all.” |
2000 |
|
| Oct. 3, 2000 | The first presidential debate in Boston. As predicted, the afterlife and how to pay for the infrastructure needed to allow the disembodied access to the internet is the primary topic. Gov. Bush maintains that it won’t be necessary to increase taxes to pay for the infrastructure. “We don’t need to burden living, hard-working Americans with paying for the dead.” Vice President Gore counters: “It’s not the living supporting the dead like these are two different ethnic groups. The living will become the dead. We’ll all be in this situation, sooner or later, whether my opponent recognizes that fact or not.” Moderator Jim Lehrer asks Bush whether he stands by remarks he reportedly made questioning whether the disembodied truly exist. “Jim,” Bush said, “those remarks were taken out of context. Of course I recognize whether the dead exist. Of course I recognize that fact. But you can’t tell me that’s going to happen to me or to you. It’s not a certainty.” “I don’t think anyone ‘deserved’ being … ‘disembodied.’ It’s just a consequence of death. And unlike a comment I heard last week [referring to statements from Andrew Card, co-chairman of the Republican National Convention], I did not invent the afterlife. But I do recognize the potential challenges and the rewards. The challenge will be an ever growing number of people who will want their rights recognized after their deaths, even if we only start with the people who are alive today. And the rewards will be the insights those same people can offer us, the living.” Lehrer asks Bush and Gore if their religious beliefs would help them forge policy on this issue. “I would pray for guidance,” said Bush. “I have talked to spiritual leaders on this and asked for their guidance. And I think my beliefs have helped me, but I also believe I can act in a way that is good for this country regardless of my beliefs.” Gore said, “I won’t deny that my beliefs were tested. I grew up believing that the good go to a just reward after they die. And despite all this, I still believe that. But like many people who serve in government, I must learn to face and accept the reality of a situation.” Returning the first question of the debate, Lehrer reminds the candidates that they have not actually said how they would pay for the infrastructure. Gore said, “I’m glad you’ve returned to this because it is an important question. You’ll find on our website our plans to spread the cost proportionate to the usage we would expect from an individual while alive. A retired grandmother from Des Moines right now does not use the interet as much as a CEO from a Fortune 500 company. And after death, I don’t think that proportionate usage will change. I think the wealthiest one percent should shoulder the burden for this.” Bush responds, “I don’t know about you, but my mother probably uses the internet more than I do [laughter]. Now as to your question: I think the efforts that industry have already taken points us in the right direction. We hear everyday of advances that these companies are making in making these terminals smaller and more affordable. I think government should applaud these efforts … see what they need … help them along. Not hamper them with a crippling tax burden.” |
| Nov. 2, 2000 | Election Day. Gov. Bush and Vice President Gore retire to their respective campaign headquarters and the nation votes. Turnout is unusually heavy and in many states polls remain open long after 7 p.m. Political commentators maintain the race is a mandate on the status of the disembodied. Early on, exit polls favor Gore although the race remains tight. As expected, Gore’s strength lies in the northern states and on the West Coast. Voting irregularities in Florida are reported where a mix of voting systems and a confusing “butterfly ballot” is blamed for some miscast votes. Political pundits have a field day blaming the voting problems on the disembodied. By 7 p.m. East Coast time, news shows are obviously favoring Gore although Bush appears confident before his supporters, saying, “Well, if he can’t take his own state, then I think the momentum is on our side.” However, Gore is given the win in Tennessee, his home state by 50,000 votes. By 10 p.m. EST, the slide continues for Bush with his only hope a win in Florida. |
| Nov 3. 2000 | Although Florida recounts continue for the next two weeks, Gore remains at least 2,000 votes ahead of Bush. Although with 1,034 votes less than Bush nationwide, Gore is elected president by the electoral college. |
| Dec. 27, 2000 | President Clinton with President-elect Gore announce that the main portal for the disembodied to access the internet will be called theAfterNet and that the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the service. “I have asked Secretary Shalala to remain with the department after Jan. 20 and she has agreed to do so. She has done a remarkable job and I believe she will serve as a very visible reminder of the ties between my administration and that of President Clinton.” |
| Dec. 29, 2000 | U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announces that the U.N. will be working with the United States to create theAfterNet. The top-level domain will not be a U.S. dot-gov address but be dot-net, with individual “flavors” of theAfterNet appearing with country-specific addresses. |
2001 |
|
| Jan. 24, 2001 | U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) submits HR 1032, later known as the AfterNet Equal Access law, to the second session of the 106th Congress. The bill would promise “free, fair and equal access to the internet for all Americans, regardless of sex, national origin, political persuasion, criminal history, ethnicity or corporeal status.” |
| May 8, 2001 | President Gore signs the AfterNet Equal Access law in a White House Rose Garden Ceremony. |
| May 15, 2001 | Gore signs the AfterNet Stipend law that extends Social Security benefits for two years after death, after which the benefits continue as a private investment account. |
| Sept. 12 , 2001 | At 12:01 a.m. MDT, theAfterNet is offiicially launched. |
The database "timeline.db" interuppted: error 1404
