"The New York Times has attempted to explain one of the still unexplained pieces of the bizarre web of Zizian "murder cult" deaths, just as a Solano County trial for two of the cult's suspects gets delayed until next year. The full picture of what the Zizians were up to during their years either self-sequestered in solar-powered box trucks in Vallejo, or in the case of others, sequestered in Vermont or in a pair of condos in North Carolina, remains murky."
"A few clues have emerged, which mostly just translate into theories of their thinking and motivations. The strict veganism, for instance: Leader Ziz (born Jack LaSota) and other members of the group were likely compelled by the idea that, if we are facing a future in which AI entities gain control over us, we have to set an example for how we treat lesser creatures, and not kill them for food."
"One mysterious figure who is now dead because of her involvement with Ziz and the others, Ophelia (born Felix, and still known as Felix to her family) Bauckholt, a German national math prodigy who was in the US on an HI-B visa, and was making something like a $500,000 income working as a quant trader and analyst for a Manhattan firm."
A group led by Ziz lived off-grid in box trucks, Vermont, and North Carolina while pursuing esoteric experiments and strict vegan practices. The group engaged in drug use, intense blogging, and fringe attempts to control brain hemispheres. The veganism linked to the group reflected an extreme extension of Rationalist and effective-altruist ideas, motivated by fear of an AI-dominated future and a duty to preserve sentient life. One member, Ophelia (born Felix) Bauckholt, was a German math prodigy on an H-1B visa earning roughly $500,000 as a quant before dying amid the group's activities. Investigators have not confirmed links among the six deaths, though money and resources to sustain off-grid experimental work appear central.
Read at sfist.com
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