The Pharmgen Research Corporation

May 25, 1938- The Disappearance of Rebecca Höss.

A major scandal which consumes American media throughout the summer of 1938. The subsequent investigation centers upon Derleth Hall, a lecture hall closed for renovations since 1935. A suspect, Daryl Collingford, 18, a freshman, was found described as "nude, covered in a clear, mucus-like substance, in a state of severe mental distress."

Rebecca's clothes, also covered in mucus, are found on the unused stage, within an elaborately designed pentagram, among paraphernalia suspected for occult purposes. Questioning of the suspect yields little information. Notes taken by Detective Howard state the incoherence of Collingford's statements, other than to rant repeatedly, "The Goat took her."

Interviews with students and faculty by Arkham PD detectives Ramsey Howard and August Phillips bear few leads. Most interviewed deny any relationship with the victim beyond professional or platonic. She was well regarded as a scholar and instructor.

A few professors admit some intimacy, but following investigations clear them of involvement in the disappearance.

Investigations of a secret student society, the Mystic Order of the Outer Dark, create a scandal due to the prominence and wealth of the members' families. The Höss disappearance serves as the catalyst for the Order's dissolution. Ramsey Howard admits in an interview, conducted years later after his retirement, by Arkham Advertiser journalist William Amorare, he and Phillips strongly believed the Order was involved in Höss' disappearance, but were ordered to back off by their local chief and the D.A.

Howard would blame pressure from the member's families, including the Höss. He further admits the investigation uncovered numerous sexual affairs on Rebecca's part, with both faculty and students, including members of the Order.

He concluded Daryl Collingford was "Just some rich, stupid kid who got mixed up with that dame. She used him for whatever pervert thing she was in, something to do with this Orgone stuff. I don't know what happened, but the kid's mind got broke. He might have killed her, but no blood, no body, just that weird snot." From recently uncovered tapes in Amorare's files.

Daryl Collingford is committed to Boston State Hospital for the Insane. His gruesome suicide three months later, makes statewide headlines. He is found in his cell, throat cut with his own fingernails. "Beware the Black Goat," written in blood on the walls.

The following years would see the Curse of Rebecca Höss, as it is popularly known, owing to the mysterious deaths of many former members of the Mystic Order. Causes range from accident to murder, to a mysterious necrotic disease, Miskatonic Rot, spread among some members. The Disappearance of Rebecca Höss remains a mystery to the present day.

July 1938- Anton Höss dies. He is sixty-five. He is found at the desk in his study. The cause is listed as a stroke.

The shock of losing two family members within months of each other sends the family reeling.

A reading of his will leaves the bulk of his fortune and estate to Samantha, ten million each to Erich and Michael, and eight million plus several stock options to Henry. Among the charities Anton supported, thirty million is left to be distributed among several eugenics organizations.

November 1938- Kristallnacht. German and Austrian Nazis launch a massive pogrom against Jewish citizens, families, homes, and businesses. Among the targets are members of A.E. Stein's extended family. The German government announces the seizure of Jewish owned businesses, including branches and subsidiaries of AES Pharmaceuticals.

A.E. Stein spends considerable amounts of money to help his family and other Jews flee Germany and Europe. He is only partially successful.

September 1, 1939- Germany attacks Poland, beginning World War II in Europe.

November 12, 1939- Anton Michael Höss (November 12, 1939-present) is born to Erich and Katherine.

January 1940- Chairwoman of the Board, Samantha Höss announces several new long term initiatives for the H-T Corporation. Among them: extending and signing new government contracts, in anticipation of an increase in military spending. It further deepens the relationship between Höss-Teague and the U.S government.

A shift away from agricultural supply to corporate farming. By the 1950s, H-T Corp will become the largest corporate farming company in North America.

A massive increase in funding for its research and development branch, H-T Laboratories, renamed Anton Höss Laboratories in 1942.

January 20, 1940- Samantha Höss assigns Henry Teague the task of quietly divesting the company of its holdings in Germany and Austria, and instructs Erich, acting Chief Financial Officer, to assist ( i.e make sure he complies).

The divestment, as noted in her diaries, stems from fears over interference with the US/H-T relationship, and possible seizures of assets by the German government.

"It was a gamble on Mother's part. Yes, I admit, the family were close to the Nazis, but Mother played the long game. She placed her chips on the US." Erich Höss, interview conducted August 4, 1980.

Samantha's actions stand in contrast to other US companies which maintain relations and investments in Germany, even through the war.

February 1940- On advice from William Donovan, Erich and Michael Höss decline an invitation to join the German-American Bund. Michael changes his mind shortly after, estranging him from Erich.

It is later revealed his act was at the behest of Donovan, under direction from Roosevelt. The purpose: to infiltrate the movement and ascertain their threat to national security.

It is through the Bund, and contact with German gestapo agent Freiherr Ulrich von Gienanth, and aviator Laura Ingalls, that he is able to arrange a trip to Berlin. His official mission is to observe the Nazi government. His actual purpose is to seek out the Thule Society, rumored to have gone underground after its dissolution in 1925.

Some sources allege in the two months spent in Berlin, Michael did contact the Thule Society. Such stories remain unsubstantiated. What is known, he found, to his surprise as admitted to his brother after their reconciliation, several members of the defunct Mystic Order living as expatriates. Any possible connection to the Thule Society is pure speculation.

It is also rumored Michael returned with a mysterious list of individuals, which he promptly handed over to Donovan. The names remain unknown to this day. Michael promptly leaves the Bund soon after his return.

May-June 1940- The Fall of France.

July-October 1940- The Battle of Britain.

August 6, 1940- Hiro Miyazaki is promoted to Captain.

September 4, 1940- R. Douglas Stuart Jr. establishes the America First Committee. The AFC goes on to attract many celebrities and other prominent figures, including Charles Lindbergh, Lillian Gish, and future presidents John F. Kennedy, and Gerald Ford.

Erich Höss joins at the invitation of Lindbergh, and at the behest of Donovan. Erich acts as Donovan's eyes and ears in the organization. He quickly proves his usefulness, identifying German spies like Laura Ingalls, and exposing attempts by Communist organizations to infiltrate the movement.

Erich's membership affords him opportunity to cement relations with prominent politicians and businessmen.

October 1940- Michael Höss embarks on a year long tour of the Pacific, establishing contacts throughout the area, and reporting his observations to Donovan.

November 1940- H-T Corp signs a lucrative research and development contract with the US Army.

--AES Pharmaceuticals signs a contract to supply US military hospitals across the US, Canal Zone, Philippines, and US Territories. The lucrative deal makes up for the loss of business and capital to the Nazis.

March 11, 1941- The United States enacts Lend-Lease. H-T Corp and AES Pharmaceuticals are among many businesses which benefit, shipping thousands of tons of food and medicine to Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and other allied nations.

It is noted among some historians, various people, including members of the military, government, allies, and employees begin referring to AES Pharmaceuticals as AES Pharma.

April 1, 1941- Wilhelm Reich arrives at Miskatonic U to conduct further studies in Orgone energy. He had fallen out recently with Albert Einstein over experiments with "Orgone accumulation." Einstein found no results of significance.

Questions of Reich's mental stability are already circulating at that stage. His incessant letters to Einstein do not help matters. He believes a more receptive community will be found at Miskatonic. He is correct to an extent.

Reich spends the next month dividing his time between the New School and Miskatonic. He later confides to Erich, as noted in Erich's diaries, Rebecca had corresponded with him for over a year, until shortly before her disappearance, and shows him letters to that effect.

Erich does not mention the letters' contents, but does take possession, and refers them to Donovan.

William Donovan refers them to President Roosevelt and Albert Einstein. All three dismiss the contents as unsupportable at least, the product of a disturbed mind at most.

It is rumored, however, the contents of the letters correspond with alleged research conducted by the German Wehrmacht, based on material collected by Michael Höss.

While Rebecca's findings are officially dismissed, it must be noted that several months later, Miskatonic U receives a massive influx of cash, scientific equipment, and personnel from H-T Corp, under the supervision of the federal government. The purpose is secret, albeit later rumored to be connected to the Manhattan Project.

Rumors the project was actually related to Orgone energy persists for decades, dismissed as crackpot conspiracy theories.

May 1941- Wilhelm Reich loses his position at the New School, owing to controversy over his curative claims regarding the Orgone Accumulator.

--H-T Corp establishes four new farms near newly constructed military bases in Illinois, Iowa, Alabama, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Ostensibly designed as a convenient source of fresh food to the bases and facilities, rumors of their actual purpose as biological warfare research facilities persist to the present day.

June 22, 1941- Operation Barbarossa. Germany and the Axis launches invasion of the Soviet Union.

August 12, 1941- Roberta Selene Höss (August 12, 1941-present, later Roberta Höss-Redfern) and Samantha Everdine Höss (August 12, 1941-?) are born in Washington DC to Erich and Katherine.

September 1941- Erich Höss is asked by William Donovan to join the newly formed Office of the Coordinator of Information. Created under the auspices of the federal government, under a plan by Colonel Donovan himself, its purpose is to "coordinate strategic information," with assistance from the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

--The Hösses relocate to Canada, ostensibly to oversee H-T Corp, Toronto. Erich's training at Camp X begins shortly after.

October 1941- Michael returns from his tour. He submits his report to Colonel Donovan who passes it to President Roosevelt. The opinions expressed in his report concern the Japanese capability to launch a Pacific offensive. It expresses his strong skepticism regarding US, British, and Dutch armed forces' ability to stop such an offensive. "The armed forces of the mentioned nations are under supplied, under trained, too complacent, and too inclined to vastly underestimate the capabilities of the Japanese." His report is cited by historians as one of the most accurate assessments of the situation prior to December.

November 1941- Michael moves to Canada to begin training in the COI.

December 7, 1941- Japanese naval forces launch a surprise attack on the US Naval Base, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Simultaneously, Japan launches a general offensive across the Pacific.

December 8, 1941- In a speech before Congress, President Roosevelt asks for and receives a declaration of war against Japan.

December 11, 1941- Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. US Congress declares war several hours later.

--The America First Committee votes to disband.

--H-T Corp publicly pledges the use of all its resources to the war effort. Samantha Höss' declaration, a recreation of her husband's pledge, is filmed for newsreels.

December 12, 1941- Wilhelm Reich is arrested by the FBI as an enemy alien. His three week incarceration is attributed to mistaken identity with a similarly named individual, found with a copy of Mein Kampf and communist literature. Reich is released and his file is closed in 1943.

A story his actual release came as a result of a secret visit to J. Edgar Hoover by William Donovan, and an unnamed Army officer, is dismissed as mere rumor.

January 1942-1945- The Höss brothers complete their training. They will go on to serve the COI, later renamed the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), in various capacities through the rest of the war: Erich in North Africa, Italy, and Europe; Michael in various stations throughout the Pacific Theater.

--Erich's fluent German and expertise with disguise allows him to infiltrate German occupied zones in North Africa, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, and France. His career as an OSS case officer, in declassified documents, is considered stellar.

--Michael's duties in the Pacific include Coastwatching, scouting, courier, intelligence gathering, assassination, and sabotage. The price on his head levied by the Japanese testify to his effectiveness. Declassified documents describe him as one of the OSS' most versatile and effective agents.

--H-T Corp and AES Pharma continue to expand.

December 8, 1941-May 8, 1942- Battle of the Philippines.

7 January 1942-9 April 1942- Battle of Bataan.

11 March 1942- MacArthur, under orders from Roosevelt, escapes the Philippines.

9 April 1942- The Bataan Death March (alleged documents detailing transfer of some surviving POWs to a mysterious facility in Manchuria, known as Black Section, remain unsubstantiated).

8-15 February 1942- Fall of Singapore.

5-6 May 1942- Fall of Corregidor.

4-8 May 1942- Battle of the Coral Sea.

4-7 June 1942- Battle of Midway.

13 June 1942- The Office of Strategic Services is formally established by Presidential Order.

25 June 1942- Samantha Höss, who knows Donovan as an old friend, offers several H-T farms for use as training facilities . . . among other things.

November 1942- Wilhelm Reich purchases a farm in Dodge Pond, Maine, and names it Orgonon. Several facilities are built over the following six years: two cabins, a laboratory, and an observatory.

Note: a popular conspiracy theory states the site was originally an undisclosed corporate farm owned by H-T (Anton Höss) Laboratories; that the property contains far more extensive facilities, built in secret underground during WWII, with substantial government help; that the rumored Orgone Project was secretly moved and reestablished on the farm, from Miskatonic U, owing to mysterious accidents and disappearances at the original site.

While the site today is a museum and holiday destination, it is also popular with conspiracy theorists and other fringe adherents.

Lack of documentation, however, and other evidence of construction, or rumored access to underground facilities, keeps such discussions entirely in the realm of the implausible (albeit rumors of mysterious disappearances, and strange nocturnal activities persist to the present day).

2 December 1942- The first human-made self-sustaining nuclear reaction is initiated at the University of Chicago.

January 1943- Chungking China- Michael Höss receives intelligence of a secret project, operating under the auspices of the IJA, located in the city of Harbin, Manchu'kuo (Manchuria). He is especially piqued by references to a mysterious "Black Section" within the project.

Michael believes it connected to an investigation he's presently conducting, regarding rumors of mysterious disappearances: women, POWs, internees, and others across the Japanese occupied zones, and China. A recent breakup of a kidnapping ring in Chungking, and subsequent interrogations of the suspects, establishes several crucial points within the intel. Michael passes the information to Colonel Donovan, who informs President Roosevelt.

5 January 1943- George Washington Carver dies. Among his papers are notes regarding his consultancy in H-T Laboratories. Some gaps indicate several papers may be missing. The incomplete picture of his tenure breeds speculation and conspiracy theories to the present day.

February 1943- Michael receives orders: gather intel on this Unit 731, its personnel, its mission, with specific focus on its Black Section.

March 1943- Wilhelm Reich begins construction on his laboratory. It is alleged a section of the laboratory, a hidden chamber, is actually a large advanced Orgone Accumulator. Such rumors are strongly denied by the US government and Reich's descendants, and scoffed at by historians.

Recently uncovered papers reveal Reich discussed a theory regarding Orgone energy's potential: the transformation of the human body to its ideal form; a theory, he admits, first posited by Rebecca Höss.

March 1943- AES Pharma begins production of penicillin.

--Anton Höss Laboratories opens a division, specifically to research and supply the OSS, and US military, with organic based non-lethal gases, for possible use in clandestine abductions.

April 1943- Chemists at AES Pharma come up with Bovacine, a product designed to aid expectant mothers with milk production. A joint project with Anton Höss (AH) Laboratories, Bovacine proves extremely profitable for both companies.

Chemists at AES Pharma had built upon research at AH Laboratories, examining milk production in cows. The joint project marks the beginning of a relationship between AES Pharma and AH Labs (a shortened name used by employees), which strengthens and develops through the war and after.

A.E. Stein's diaries reveal his uneasiness with the partnership, given the Höss' controversial associations, and the current situation regarding his own extended family, still in Europe. Erich Höss' role helping surviving members of Stein's family out of Europe, during and after the War, remains a secret for decades. Revealed documents suggest the reasons may not have been completely altruistic on Erich's part, given subsequent events.

Years later, revelations regarding Bovacine's role in certain deformative side effects, in a small sampling of women, cause controversy.