Investigations surrounding the mysterious illness known as 'Havana Syndrome' dominate conspiracies of covert geopolitical violence, and the threat of a so-called secret weapon has only increased following the discovery of its effects on one particular scientist.
It was seemingly inevitable that countries would find new and frightening ways to conduct attacks in geopolitical power struggles, and one particular illness has taken center stage in recent years.
Referred to as 'Havana Syndrome', this mystery malaise affected a number of officials at the US embassy in Havana, Cuba, began to feel a number of strange symptoms — particularly those associated with cognitive decline.
These have since been grouped as anomalous health incidents (AHIs), with victims suffering from a wide range of horrible side effects including nausea, vertigo, intense headaches, and insomnia, alongside long-term pain and even impaired sight.
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This was explained in great detail by Marc Polymeropoulos, a former government officer who claims to have developed the illness while staying in Moscow, and he's one of many cases across 15 countries.
One thing that Polymeropoulos and countless others have claimed, however, is that the illness originates from a mysterious device, which has since been purchased by Homeland Security and the CIA for investigative purposes while shrouded in secrecy.
Polymeropoulos has claimed that "if the [US government] has indeed uncovered such devices, then the CIA owes all the victims a f***ing major and public apology for how we have been treated as pariahs," and a previous incident involving a Norwegian scientist appears to point towards just that.
As reported by the Washington Post, one researcher who was skeptical of the hypothesis that a device could cause an illness like Havana Syndrome decided to obtain a similar device and test it on himself, albeit with unexpected horrific results.
The top-secret research project was intended to disprove claims from many, yet the device capable of emitting powerful microwave radiation left the scientist with a brain injury.
Officials from the Pentagon and White House visited Norway after the latter's government informed the US about the experiment, yet they claim that it doesn't exactly match the symptoms seen among victims of Havana Syndrome.
What this does suggest, however, is that weapons such as the one used by the researcher are capable of producing life-threatening illnesses, and while it might not have had the same results, it does add fuel to the flames of many who have theorized about the existence of a powerful weapon used by foreign adversaries.