A postmortem account of Silver Water, Inc.'s breakthrough communication with sperm whales and the tragic events that transpired off the coast of Baja California Sur in August 2022...
By September, 2021, Eona spent progressively longer spans of time away from the team site and more time in social isolation from her pod.
Hey! A quick tip on reading footnotes in Substack: if you use the browser or the Substack application, you can click on the footnote number to navigate to the footnote and back again. Very, very easy.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
The terms between CETO and Muckraker were hashed out on his private jet1 from Oslo to Los Angeles. The fundraising coup was a Pyrrhic victory for Lovington. Within three months, Lovington lost control of CETO.
In retrospect, the terms of his investment were warnings hidden in plain sight. Muckraker made the donation contingent on three individuals loyal to him being seated on the board. From there, his takeover of CETO progressed surgically.
Muckraker alienated the major contributors. Breakdowns with long-time sponsors created an exclusive dependency on his funding. Alphabet was out. Gates was out. CETO lost National Geographic. NG was a limited financial sponsor, but NG’s video and reporting were the public-facing window into the project.
Muckraker released Donny “ZZ” Lardon, NG’s photojournalist and de facto project documentarian. Lardon had been embedded with the team since the Montego center was opened in 2019. Lardon was a highly-regarded and experienced diver. An imposing man in stature at 6’ 5” with a barrel laugh and a “ZZ-Top beard,” Lardon was beloved by the team and celebrated for being the first free diver in the water with the Montego pod.2
Eona’s final ‘alphabet dialogue’ exchange in early September, 2021 prior to a three-week disappearance from the team and her pod.
1×
0:00
-0:11
The whales had grown closer with Donny than any of the other divers on the CETO team. Lardon’s arbitrary firing was extremely damaging to morale. The reasons were never in dispute. Donny didn’t believe Muckraker was ready for a free dive and Lardon refused to document or join a unsafe dive for publicity and media support.3 The team had never seen Lardon so infuriated.4 Problems with the outboard ultimately led to the dive’s cancellation, a development that generated its own speculation.5
Text exchange between Alice Lovington and her husband Mark Sanders, October 12th, 8:28PM PST 2021.
At the same time Muckraker dismantled key relationships and morale, he stalled the promised access to GreetUP compute time. He had left himself a loophole in the deal thrown together on the Gulfstream ER. He gave himself sole determination of the readiness for the team’s use of the GreetUP network.6
Lovington called the situation a “chicken and egg.”7 Well into September, the team remained reluctant to question Muckraker. Lovington privately asked the team to be patient and “support Muck.” In one-on-one conversations, she insisted, “He gets the vision. He’s made an enormous commitment to CETO. Let’s figure out what he needs. It’s cultural. We’re not getting something right.”8
Muckraker’s media communications were humiliating to the team. Everywhere he could be quoted in the media and on GreetUP, Muckraker disparaged “our disappointing results since the ‘alphabet dialogues.’” [italics for emphasis] Despite the buck-stops-here personal pronoun, an insinuation was transparent: the results could be placed at the feet of Lovington’s leadership and the capabilities of the data science team.9
Problems were developing in the water, too.
By early September, Eona refused to continue exchanging the alphabet with the team. “I’m not sure if she’s a kid who’s tired of your trick or a parent who’s tired of playing it for you.” Eona spent progressively longer spans of time away from the team site and, more concerning, time away from her own pod.10 The mood that had been so hopeful and expectant only a month and half prior grew dark. They were “dead in the water.”11
In late October, the dialog between Lovington and Muckraker broke down during an external “code review” with Muckraker’s outside team. Lovington complained furiously behind closed doors with Muckraker that it was humiliating for her team. “I didn’t know it was your team, Alice. Because it’s not your team. I’m paying a fortune for nothing right now. Get me results and then it can be your team,” Muckraker countered.12
Afterwards Lovington minimized direct conversation with Muckraker. Communication passed through Alice’s assistant, Jimmy Vinzano, her administrative assistant and leadership confidante.
On October 28th, 2021, made a decision that continues to impact her. In flagrant violation of CETO board governance, she spoke secretly with CETO counsel to discuss potential actions against Muckraker to force compute access on GreetUP. Over the course of a two-hour phone call, Lovington learned her options were limited, if non-existent.
Call me Ishmael.
Switching from Muckraker to Muck.
Muck learned about the meeting. Speculation was rife on who tipped him off. No definitive determination has been made. The matter led to a no-confidence vote on Lovington’s continuing as the Director of CETO. She was forced to recuse herself from the vote but remained confident with the team that she had the votes to get through it. She did not.13
Call me Ishmael.
Muck fired Lovington over Thanksgiving weekend.14 She was notified by text during Thanksgiving dinner. During a simulcast interview segment on the Joe Logan show, Muck texted Lovington he was releasing her effectively immediately. Muck read the text exchange out loud on his show as Lovington responded in real time. Lovington was unaware the exchange was being broadcast.15
Text exchange between Alice Lovington and Noel Muckraker, November 23rd, 2021.
Jimmy Vinzano was released immediately afterwards, also by text. Unlike the communication with Lovington, his dismissal was not mentioned on air.
The following exchange took place between Joe Logan and Muckraker during the texts with Lovington. The tone and humor remained sophomoric and aggressive throughout by both Logan and Muckraker. Logan, however, exhibited uncharacteristic discomfort.
Exchange between Joe Logan and Noel Muckraker on “Thanksgiving” broadcast of November 23rd, 2021.
Muck: Holy shit. She’s fucking pissed. She sent 19 middle fingers. I’m sending her an emoji turkey.
Joe: Oh, man. [laughs]
Muck: They need a big pink dick emoji. You should be able to send someone a big dick emoji when they fuck you 19 times. [background laughter]
Joe: Who wouldn’t want to work for a boss sending you pink dicks? [laughs] No lawsuit there. Nothing to see. Everyone move on. [riotous laughter]
Muck: The program’s gotten too big for her. The work’s too important. We’re setting sail. The ship has a new captain. Ahab on deck, motherfuckers. Pass the blunt.16 [laughter]
Muck: Are you gonna come diving with me, Joe? I’m serious. Serious invite. I’m already staying down two minutes. The science on breathing underwater is crazy, absolutely crazy. I’ve looked deep into it. I know everything about it. I had no idea.17
THE SHIP
Within 72 hours of Lovington’s dismissal, Muck filed a petition for the dissolution of CETO’s non-profit status.
Without Lovington on the board, the votes were not available to counter the “hostile takeover,” nor was there sufficient management leadership on the team to protest. Later, Lovington insisted Lardon was dismissed first because he might have rallied the team after her own firing.18
Muck reconstituted Silver Water as a corporation.
With the exception of a single robotics engineer, Susan Johanson, who resigned after a 1200-word post on CETO’s #allhandsondeck Slack channel,19 the team’s personnel barely changed. The core team was now composed of twenty-three members, including underwater acousticians, administrative and marketing support, various marine scientists, a robotics engineer, site location liaisons, three free divers, three marine operators, four machine learning engineers, the data science lead, and a theoretical analyst.
Under threat of legal action, the reconstituted board forbid Lovington to resume contact with the team in “any way, shape, or form,” but she kept her word on trying to sue him until she was dead. She is currently litigating four different Silver Water suits and countersuits against her and continues to be harshly criticized in social media for her “disastrous impact on CETO.”
Gulfstream G650ER. The "ER" in Gulfstream G650ER stands for "Extended Range." It can fly up to 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 kilometers) at a speed of Mach 0.85 or up to 6,400 nautical miles (11,853 kilometers) at Mach 0.90, making it one of the longest-range business jets available. It features a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.925 (around 982 kilometers per hour or 610 miles per hour). Despite its speed, the G650ER is designed with fuel efficiency in mind, optimizing range and performance. It typically accommodates up to 19 passengers in a comfortable and customizable environment. Options for the cabin layout include multiple seating configurations, a variety of entertainment systems, and high-end furnishings.
Donny is quoted as saying “somebody has to get in the water first to take the picture of the first person getting into the water.” Citation appeared in National Geographic online edition cover story, November 14th, 2019.
Sperm whales can be dangerous, even unintentionally. Their autolocation “clicks” can exceed 200db, loud enough to blow out human eardrums. Sperm whale autolocation and communication codas can communicate at astonishing distances, even up to a thousand miles. Even Lardon had to be careful. Early on he ran afoul of the pod’s alpha bull. He used a flash to take a picture of “Caesar,” the pod’s alpha, and he was struck with so much force by a click on his outstretched palm that his hand and the side of his face were numb for four hours. “It was like swimming in jellyfish.” The protection of the camera in front of his head may have saved his life.
Overconfident in his security as a fixture of the CETO team and NG’s involvement, Lardon criticized the billionaire’s mental and physical readiness for a free dive first privately and then publicly. He didn’t want Muckraker in the water until he was safe. He didn’t realize how humiliating Muckraker would find being criticized.
The CETO dive team used Zodiac inflatable and rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) for their power range, fuel efficiency, and ease of maintenance. The outboards were from Evinrude. Team selection of the Evinrude was determined by the options analysis decision matrix high-priority requirement to facilitate quiet operation.
Muckraker joked that the agreement was like a movie deal and he recorded on “the back of a cocktail napkin” and then photographed it for the attorneys. August 21st, 2021, 3:42AM, GMT. Admitted into evidence for Silver Water Inc. vs. Lovington et al.
Muckraker requested a code review from the data science team after the deal and questioned the team’s modeling. The team knew Muckraker was as “out of depth” with the data science as he was “out of his depth” in the water. An undercurrent of contempt for Muckraker was escalating.
There a variety of reasons a sperm whale will leave her pod and spend time in social isolation: commonly in the search for food or to spend time free-floating or “logging” to conserve energy. Generally, male sperm whales are most likely to isolate, often to mate where there is less competition or establish their own pod hierarchy. None of these reasons explained Eona’s isolation. She wasn’t logging, and the squid population was abundant in 2021 in Montego Bay. There was even speculation that she was being shunned by the pod, although this is conjecture.
Janek, Pietr. “A Coda: Breakdown in Montego.” New York Times, April 27th, 2022. Marcia Leibovitz, a long-time advocate for Lovington and the project, voted against her as did Harry Winter. Leibovitz’s husband shortly thereafter began a lucrative consulting contract at Muckraker’s Tucson chip manufacturer. Lovington considered this treasonous, but expressed less surprise at Winter’s betrayal than Leibovitz’s. “He never said a word in a board meeting for two-and-a-half years. He couldn’t raise his hand without bursting into tears. Total wimp. You can’t trust wimps.”
After the holiday weekend, Muck positioned the takeover on GreetUp as a last-ditch effort to save CETO. He pivoted to open disparagement of Lovington’s vision and credibility.
It is unclear if there was illicit drug use during the November 23rd broadcast. Multiple references were made to it, but if so, then it was consistently off-camera.
The Mammalian Dive Reflex (MDR) enables extended periods of submersion particularly at lower depths. This counterintuitive effect is pronounced in all aquatic mammals and in humans. MDR is triggered by immersion. It helps conserve oxygen and optimize the body's physiological functions during submersion.
Several dominant phenomena are observed in MDR: decrease in respiratory rate; spleen contraction releasing red blood cells into circulation; vasoconstriction which redirects blood to essential organs; and bradycardia, a decrease in heart rate. The MDR reflex is observed in free divers, diving birds foraging underwater, and neonatal birthing. The most significant early breakthroughs in sperm whale communication was facilitated by free divers spending extended periods of time with the whales. Free diving was a necessity as scuba equipment and equipment disturb their echolocation at considerable risk to the divers. Without MDR diving techniques, the relationships with the whales would never have developed and CETO wouldn’t have existed.
Johanson became untouchable as a robotics engineer and took “persona-non-grata leave” until the events of August, 2023 shifted the narrative around the managerial health of Silver Water.
The story kept building like a volcano , lava gurgling below. Waiting.
I held myself back from what I was compelled to do. Scroll down to the end to find out what happened to Eona and
why. Then start from the top. I know , would have been shameful. What does she have to ‘say’ about all of this? I am left hanging and totally invested.
The story kept building like a volcano , lava gurgling below. Waiting.
I held myself back from what I was compelled to do. Scroll down to the end to find out what happened to Eona and
why. Then start from the top. I know , would have been shameful. What does she have to ‘say’ about all of this? I am left hanging and totally invested.
( Yeah, fuck Muck, he sounds familiar)
"emoji turkey" haha
you have more footnotes than DFW (not a bad thing 😇)