Alex hit the snooze button to silence the screaming coming at him from his phone’s alarm. He wasn't sure if this was the third or fourth time. So, he peeked once at the time, and decided he needed to get up if he was going to be at work on time. He had been employed as a Local Land Charges Officer for the Leicester City Council for the past several years. Unfortunately, his track record had not been ideal. He frequently misfiled charges against incorrect homes and addresses on several occasions, and he was habitually late. Alex feared he was close to losing this job.

He rolled out of bed and put on his daily "uniform" of khaki trousers, a pale blue oxford button down shirt, brown leather belt, and his favorite brown leather derbies. He brushed his teeth, and his thin and balding hair enough to look presentable, though he often sported a grey flat cap to hide this embarrassment. He sniffed himself, and decided a small dash of perfume was enough to pass muster for the day, or the morning, at least.

Out the window he could see that it was a grim, but typical Leicester early autumn morning with muddy, overcast skies and a light rain coming down. He sighed at the dismalness of it. He was likely running late now, so he eschewed his French press and instead opted to brew a cup of Satan's Brimstone Darkest Hell Roast, an exotic and expensive treat that he was delighted to find in K-Cup format from an online specialty coffee shop.

As the Keurig worked scalding water through the over-roasted bean dust, Alex picked up his tablet to read the latest headlines, check his email, and see if there was anything interesting going on in the world. As his coffee finished brewing, a story caught his attention. He grabbed the cup from the Keurig and sat back down with his tablet. He thought it said something about Hitler's Diaries. When he finally got back to looking, he saw that the headline read "Hitler's diaries to be destroyed". This took him a little by surprise... he had not been aware that Hitler had any diaries. How interesting they must be. Why were they being destroyed?

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Minutes later, he had learned that these were not authentic diaries penned by der Führer himself. Rather, these were a series of 60 or more books created by a fraudster. After educating himself about the entire Hitler diaries hoax and ensuing debacle, he wondered more about Hitler. There was a frequently spouted story about Hitler escaping the war into Argentina, or maybe the

South Pole. Had Hitler escaped? Or did he and Frau Braun take their own lives when they realized there was no escape? His mind raced at the idea of Hitler continuing to live in isolation somewhere in a remote South American village, or the freezing landscape of Antarctica. A surviving Hitler, "What would that be like?", he thought to himself.

Moments later, he was searching for other survivors of Hitler's family. Did his parents survive? Did he have any siblings? Did they change their name after the war? Alex James was suddenly intrigued by these thoughts. Then his phone made a sound. He looked down at it and realized he had been swimming in this idea for close to thirty minutes, his coffee was cold, and he was definitely late for work now. He picked up his phone to read a text message from a colleague that read "r u thinkin bout comin round the office tday mate?". He quickly replied, "on my way now - auto trouble".

He bookmarked the site he was reading on his tablet, grabbed his cold coffee and a rain slicker, and bolted out the door to head in to the office. All the while, his mind still on Hitler. Then he thought about other people - were there relatives of Stalin still in Russia? Relatives of Mussolini in Italy? Was Mussolini connected to the Sicilian Mafia? Did the Bilderberg group exist before World War I and II? Did they influence it? His mind continued to rattle around in this way until he completed the 20-minute commute to the office.