Phantom 1979

MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER The feature story in this issue is another from the prolific pen of Claes Reimerthi and who might you expect to capture the brooding imagery of a dark arts, supernatural plot for Fantomen? Kari Leppänen, is an easy fit for this type of material since he has owned this unique style over many years and a plethora of Phantom stories. The murder of Grigori Rasputin, Russia’s infamous “Mad Monk,” is the fodder for a great

FREW PUBLICATIONS PTY LIMITED AS TRUSTEE OF THE HERO AND DEVIL UNIT TRUST ABN 22 635 668 711 POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 2206, Clovelly West NSW 2031 STREET ADDRESS Unit 13/77-79 Bourke Road, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Australia Phone + 61 (0)2 9261 8122 email: dudley@frewpublications.com.au Web: www.phantomcomic.com.au

historical tale that blends fact and legend. The best-known account of Rasputin’s murder appears in Yusupov’s memoirs, published in 1928. The prince claimed to have invited Rasputin to his palace to meet his wife, Irina, then served him a platter of cakes and numerous glasses of wine laced with toxic potassium cyanide. To Yusupov’s astonishment, Rasputin appeared to be unaffected by the poison. The desperate prince borrowed a revolver from Grand Duke Dmitri, the czar’s cousin, and shot Rasputin multiple times but was still unable to kill him. As Yusupov later wrote, “This devil who was dying of poison, who had a bullet in his heart, must have been raised from the dead by the powers of evil. There was something appalling and monstrous in his diabolical refusal to die.” Rumors that circulated in the immediate aftermath of Rasputin’s death suggested water was found in his lungs, indicating the “Mad Monk” had ultimately died by drowning. Rasputin’s rise from the peasant ranks to spiritual advisor and faith healing guru to the czar and his family followed by this disturbingly macabre assassination certainly lends itself to inspire boundless magical and mythical conjecture. Rasputin’s last appearance in a Phantom story

Cover: Fantomen9/2019 Artist: Luca Erbetta

Rene White - Director Glenn Ford - Art Director Dudley Hogarth - Publisher

Kayleigh Martin - Office Manager Alan Ho - Production Assistant Front Cover Art: Tadam Guerz Printed by James Yeates Printing Bairnsdale Victoria Distributed by Are Direct Sydney Melbourne Auckland Pre Press - Frew Publications Pty Limited This is the 2007th edition. Published on 12/09/2024 The Phantom © King Features Syndicate Inc. 2024 ™ Hearst Holdings, Inc. New York NY USA World rights reserved CONTENT ADVISORY: Please note that this publication is a direct reproduction of historical content and is presented in its original form. As such, it may include negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. Frew Publications Pty Limited first published The Phantom 09 September 1948

The Mad Monk Grigori Rasputin

was in in issue #1836 “The Angel of Retribution” prior to that in “The Dark Chalice” parts 1 and 2 (#1833 and #1834) and even earlier in “Rasputin’s Puzzle” (#1705) The end of “The Seventh Icon” gives us an indication of Claes Reimerthi’s intention to take the character further. Perhaps another writer might pick up on that idea in time? Our final story is the wonderful “Operation Domino” part 3 by Duncan Munro with art by Fabio Alves. The Phantom and Anders Larsen have been captured by German soldiers in Yemen of all places, so camels and sand storms are a given I’d imagine! Fare thee well, till it be morrow!” Dudley Hogarth, Publisher at Frew. NB: All back issues of Phantom, Phantom’s World, Giantsize and Kid Phantom as well as our Trade Paper backs are available direct at www.phantomcomic.com.au Coming Next: On Sale 26th September 2024

Issue #1980 “The Mystery of the Mali Bex” and “Operation Domino” p4

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THE SEVENTH ICON Writer: Claes Reimerthi Artist: Kari Leppänen

sarajevo, june 28, 1914...

...and thus ignites the spark that caused the first world war...

student Gavrilo Princip opens fire on Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife...

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© 2024 King Features Syndicate, Inc.™ Hearst Holdings, Inc.

First published by Egmont, Scandinavia Fantomen 9/2019

no, grigori rasputin! I bring gr fitings from fat he r ili o d o r!

Mean whilein the ru ffi an city of Pokrovskoye...

out of the way, you old h a g!

a l m s, g r a ci o u s si r!

... w h a t! ?

...burnin h e fi!

help! help! ca fi a doctor!

A fi

ff h!

a hundred years later... in venice.

forgive me! I was thinking of the past!

W h at i s i t, grigori? you su ddenly s eem lost in thought!

the pastis gone!it doesn’t ma tter anymore! give me more champagne and come back to bed!

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almighty khunda, come to us! may you bring discord, destruction and chaos to our world!

the ancient brotherhood of khunda’s temple occultists and worshipers of the great serpent...

Meanwhile, on a small island off the west coast of italy...

our enemies are strong, but they will never defeat us! this night we shall punish one of them, without mercy!

bring up the icon!

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in venice...

it’s done! the icon’s destroyed and the trapped

..grigori!

argggh!!

demon has been set free! our enemy has only two lives left now!

oh my god! he’s dying right before my eyes!

grigori! grigori! can you hear me?

unnnnh...

thank Heaven you’re alive! I-I was sure you would die!

there’s nothing to joke about! you scared the life out of me!

an icon has been destroyed! whoever

uggh.. k-keep quiet!

did it will try to destroy the two remaining icons as well, if I don’t stop them!

I-I...did!

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I’ ff stay up a fi ni ghtif I have to. I’ dd unpack them and get the iconsin place for the exhibition!

present day, mo rristown.

the boxes from the museum in venice have fina ffiy a fiived, bo fi!

it’s about time! the exhibition opens tomo fiow!

several hours later...

eh!? what is this? anicon without the usual saint portrait!it l llks more like a demon, I think!

and you’re late, mi tt b r ll k s! o v e r ti m e ?

he eeo, Fred! you’re early t o ni g h t!

the clock is way past midnight! but this is the last b o x!

it’s not on the list of Exhibits! I n eed to contact the museum in venice for c l a ri t y!

a moment later...

I’ ll putit here, where no one can mi ss n o tici n g i t!

it’s rea lly grotesque, but at the same time fascinating!

I might as we ll u se i t! I’ m s u re i t wi ll i n te re s t the visitors t oo!

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wei rd!it felt like someone was staring at me!

... h u h! ?

I’m probably ge ffing tired! time to go home and crawl into bed!

the next day, at n fin...

...and with that I o fiicia fiy declare the exhibition open! co me onin!

over there!... in the mi file display b ddth!

do you s ffit? whatif we we re mi s l e d!

That night...

you s ee? the security here

T h at’ s i t! thereis no doubt about i t!

is a joke!it was so easy to fix the alarm and the electronic l o c k!

are you sureit’s the right d tt r ?

w e’ ee come back t o ni g h t!

wait and you’ ll s ll!

we sti ll have to take care of the night watchman!

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r e a d y! here he c o m e s!

a tt r ll h!

I have him!... quick! the gas!

s ll!

inside the building...

time for some co fi dd! Perhaps Fred wi ee join me!

... h u h! ?

y a w n!

! !

I’m starting to f fil the e fiects of

working t wo nightsin a row! I can hardly k ffp my eyes open!

t hie ve s!?... in my museum? where’s Fred?

stop there, li ffile mi fi!

the alarm goes straight to the police! we must go!

...Hit the a l a r m!

d a m n!!

B a n g!

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they must have b fin nearby! they showed up so fast!

damn! here come the cops!

what bad luck! I could strangle that gi r l!

no time for that! we n ffid to get out of here f a s t!

D o n’ t Wo fiy! I’ fi shake them o ff!

I rea fiy hope so!

l ddk out! they’re catching u P!

h e ee!!

r ai li n g!... watch out!!

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it sank like a rock!

p ffir souls! the riveris ten meters d fip here! they wifi d r o w n!

several hours later,in the pale dawn light...

why did the thieves stealit? there must be many mo re valuableite ms here at the m u s e u m!

it’s strange! we’ve not b ffn able toidentify

the same aftern fin... we found thisin the thieves’ car when we recove redit! we thought you’d want it back!

the men! you didn’t recognise them by ANY CHANCE?

I’ve noidea, so fiy! but I’m sureit was thisicon they were l ddking for! they went straight to that s t a n d!

Theicon! thanks so m u c h!

I’m pre eey sure I’ve never s ttn them b e f o r e!

Does this drawing MEAN anything TO Y O U ?

S O ll Y, NO! WHAT’ SiT For?

Can I k llp this one? I know a retired profe ssor whois an expert on religious symbols! He might know what this symbol stands for!

Both men had this symbol ta ll eeed on their forearms

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same evening...

where did I put my mobile n o w ?

fi e k!

half past ten! time to stop, girl! you’re becoming a te ffible night o w l!

a moment later...

so, the last 24 hours has b fin a bit of a ro ffer coaster, as you cani ma gine!

n-n o...yea h! for a moment I thought the thieves were b a c k!

so fiy! did I scare you?

i n d fi d! is theicon backin the museum?

it’s with an expert on religious symbols! he’s promised to take a closer l ddk at both theicon and the snake ta ee tt!

what a c oincidence! heis ca llin g n o w!

mi n e r v a ? the things you

can’t say more on the p h o n e!...

asked me to l llk at... it’sincredible! co me o ve r i eee di ately!

c li c k!

a l a n ? what did you fi n d ?

he hung u p!

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eh!? who are you!? what are you doin gin my h o u s e! ?

damn! he k n o w s!

the ta ffi fi!... you are khunda c u l ti s t s!

calm down now, grandpa! let’s just get t h e i c o n!

it s fims we’ fi have to ki ff you after a fi!

wait, youidiot! don’t sh ddt!

o k a y...

how much does he know? how did he find out? he comes with us, we n eed to i n te tt o g ate hi m!

a couple of minutes l a t e r...

e h! ? that car s llms to bein a h u ll y!

a l m o s t there! alan lives just around the c o r n e r!

they must have kidna lled him! s llif you can find t h e i c o n!

they came from alan’s h o u s e!

and the d eer is wide open! we’ ll probably be t ss late!

it L llks like he put up a stru oole!

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do you recognize this?

it says here that it’s the symbol of the serpent god khunda, an evil deity who demands human sacrifice!

it’s gone! the men who t ffik alan must have taken it t fi!

the symbol the thieves had t a fi fied on their a r m s!

w ai t!...

it has b ffn worshipedin the far east for nearly four thousand years!

butit can’t sti fi exist t o d a y!

not a ddording to these notes which I gue ee are the profe ttor’s! there’s a te mple on a s ma llisland o ll the coast ofitaly!

for some reason modern sect members ca me he re to steal theicon! when they failed at the museum, they simply tried again!

“...just what I’m going to find out! I’m heading to Italy on the next flight!...”

but why are they l eeking for theicon? and why did they Take alan away?

in the mi llle of the night...

with some luck I should be on theisland by the evening!

tomo ssow I’ ll landin Ro me! then I’ ll rent a car and drive south along the coast!

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a sma fi motor boat takes the m out to theisland of snake cultists...

meanwhile, a private plane lands on a sma ffi airfield so me wherein southernitaly. aboard are the profe fior and his kidna fiers...

theicon! fina ffy! you’ve served our cause w e fi!

anicon was recently dest royedin glastonbury! * so this is the last one!

when we destroyit, our ene my wi dd have to pay the ultimate price for his double cro ee!

we wi ll find out! we have methods that can make stones talk! but he has to wait! lock him up!

he knows about our brotherh ttd! he recognised our t a ll ll! but ho wis that po eeible?

and this man? why did you bring him here?

it’s morei mportant to dest roy theicon! we perform the ritual tonight on the fu ss m lln!

same evening...

if minerva’s friendis ri ght, the brotherh lld’s temple is on thatisland!

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* s ll phantom #1834 (2019)

I could’ve taken an easier route up to the vi fia, butit’s probably guarded!

this place stinks of evil even from a distance! best to be p r e p a r e d!

there’s a sma ffi harbour on the other side of theisland! but I prefer to sn fikin the back way!

I don’t think this wi fi be!

H o we ve r...

I can pick him o ff from h e r e!

if the profe fior is here, they’ dd probably k eep hi m prisonerinside the vi tta! there’s only one way to find out!

No! the master wants him alive, for inteRro gation!

... h u h! ?

u g H!

O h, a trap!

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Quickly! knock him out!

huggh!!

we lock him in with the other

there you are!

only just in time! he fought like a lion!

nice work, nick! you got him!

guy! the ritual begins soon! brother caldas certainly won’t want to be disturbed right now!

what do we do now?

a moment later...

!!

unnh...the fact is I’m a

who’re you? What’s with the mask? are you one of them?

friend of minerva! I’m here looking for you!

you shouldn’t have come here! these people are dangerous! they

I got dressed up to get past the guards! as you can see, it worked perfectly!

they wanted to get rasputin’s icon! I just happened to be there!

khunda’s brotherhood! I’ve

read your notes! but I don’t understand what they’re after!

belong to an ancient sect!

17

I might as we ffi te fi the whole story! if nothin g else,it wi fi pa fi the time!

“...in1914, gri gori rasputin was almost ki ffed by an a fia ddin! thatincident made hi m think!”

rasputin? the rasputin?

“...he was convinced that he was destined for great d eeds! but premature death would destroy everything!...”

“...rasputin was a s ttker who was a llracted by the teachings o llered by magicians, healers, and me eeiahs!...”

“...he was the fo llower of the prophet daniel fili ssovic who had died on the cro ll and resu llected several times!...”

“...fili llovic taught him how to cheat death! he showed him how to tie his life force to seven ma gicalic on s!...”

“...together with the autopsy a few days later, it cost him four of his li v e s!...”

“...it was a wise decision! on the fateful night of the sevent rrnth of december 1917 he was poisoned, shot dead and drowned!...”

“...in everyicon there was a de mon i mprisoned!if rasputin were to die, one of theicons would be destroyed and the demon released!...”

“...and rasputin would be resu ooected, with six lives left to live!...”

during the ru ssian civil war, rasputin lost the re mainin gicons and they disa ppea red! today the reis o nly o ne ic o n lef t!

Yes! and these people are going to

t h e one stolenin mo rristo wn!

I’m so rry, but that sounds a li ttle far fetched!

destroyit toni ght, in order to fina lly ki ll him!

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these madmen believeit any way,

I’m l ffiking for a way out! this is a storer fim, not a jail ce fi! there has to be a way!

Don’t you think I’ve thought of that already!

whetherit’s true or not! they are going to destroy theicon toni ght!...uh... what are you doing?

s o fi y, what did you s a y... ?

! !

s ff! don’t you hear that S o u n d ?

s t r a n g e! itis co mpletely desERTED! where i s e ve r yo ne ?

you were right! it s fims the ritual has begun!

bring up t h e i c o n!

h dd...so methin g is wrong! Theicon isn’t responding to the spe ee!

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have I done something wron g? maybeif I redoit...

you’re a f ffil, caldas! did you rea fiy think I was

r a... r a s p u ti n!

your pathetic ritual failed because I got to theicon first! the magical bonds that existed bet w finit and my life no longer exist! I have undone t h e m!

going to let you get away with this?

... h u h! ?

nonsense! do you rea ddy think those pitiful weapons can hurt m e ?

rasputin!... this wi fi end b a d l y!

down on the fl ffr! now! otherwise we s h fi t!

I made s u r e i t sho wed upin mo llistown by s mu lllin gitin a package! I knew that anicon exibition would

it worked! your men stole theicon and I could fo llow them here to your hi d e o u t!

making the iconine eeective was

I wanted to s ss the si lly l llk on your face when the ritual failed! now I wi ll destroy you!

not enough! I wanted to s tt who my enemies are! so I layed a trap, with it as a bait!

catch your a eeention!

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your wormy snake god wi ffi

witne fi a fi of your deaths this night!

s h ff t hi m!

y o u think so! you may have forgo fien so methin g! without the icons you can die like any m a n!

G - G o n e! ? b-but how...?

h-he went up in s moke, ri ghtin front of us!

I might... never have b fin there!

... h u h! ?

... a n d you did just t h a t!

n - n o !... n dd o !

w h a t...! ?

I told you You would die toni ght!...

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f fi l! to belie vei s... to die!

u h ffi...

avenge our leader! ki fi hi m !

h- h e... h e ki fied brother c a l d a s!

g - g o n e a g ai n! i t’ s witchc raft!

nonsense! he must be

here somewhere! search the whole h o u s e!

c o m e! time to l e a v e!

s t o p, otherwise I’ dd s h ee t!

l ffk! in the ga fiery! There are moreintruders!

! !

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B a n g!

B a n g!

B a n g!

c o m e! these lunatics wi ffi show no m e r c y!

B a n g!

B a n g!

M a y b e, it’s best not to know!

hu fiy up! there’s nothing we can do here - except get shot!

my g fidne fi! what’s going on in there?

can’t believe we got away from the island! I was sure I would die there!

I have a f ffling that the events of the night wi fi clear out the evil that was there!

... h u h! ?

t h e r e’ s the pier! I have a car n e a r b y!

2 3

d o n’ t wo ffiy! I’m not going to hurt you!

we wifi m fit again as enemies one day - I am sure! but I have taken care of one enemy tonight, that’s enough bl fidshed for now!

you!? how could you get here before u s ?

I bring a sma ff souvenir! so you wi fi remember how my enemies f a r e!

it’s just a trick! he plays with our minds!

eh!? where did he go? he disa ddeared before our eyes!

two days later...

the story you told about the seveniconsis incredibly fascinating! but do you rea lly thinkit’s true?

who knows? the sect definitely belie ve d i n i t! a n d that was their d o w n f a ee!

con gratulations! I read that the exhibitionis a great su eee tt!

yes! and of a ll objectsitis the de monicon that interests people the most!

and as for rasputin, I think

he’s right! our paths will m sst again! and when that ha llens, I must be prepared for the very worst!

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SHIFTING SANDS CHAPTER THREE O P E R A TI O N D O MI N O

interestin g costume, He ff P h a n t o m.

Red Sea, Ju ne1940.

The sku sss were great until your lot co-opted them.

The Phantom and SOE Operative Anders La fien have b fin captured by German soldiers.

I don’t find you amusing, my purple friend.

in the company of German Profe fior Karl Faber.

Writer: Duncan Munro Artist: Fabio Alves Editor: Gle ffi Ford

*S fi ‘The Bu dda n eer s’in Fre wi ttue1976 - GF

Port of Al Mukha, Yemen.

Where are we - Mocha? Since whenis Der FÜhrer i n te re s te d i n c o ee ll ?

Fo rtunately, I sha ll not have to endure you for long.

Where we are going wi ll s lln be of no concern to you, Geist*.

* G h o s t

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We ffi this could be a short war after a fi.

{ m u m b l e }

Don’t lose faith, I suspect that hound Kohl barks for a higher master.

Stand down. Load them on the trucks. We move now. Schne tt!

S fin the trucks are rumbling acro fi the desert.

if they were going to ki ss us, they’d have doneit at sea. They’ re under orders.

I don’t getit. The Arab tribes are mostly neutral. Where is Je lly ge eeing local su llort here?

Neut rality? These tribes haven’t agr lld on anything

for a thousand years Anders...

G o fi e n Hi dd e l !

“Loyaltyin these desertsis a mira ge.”

Y ee r g h !

S u ff e nly...

2 6

With a thunderous roar the desert dunes come alive.

A l a l u h A

h h h !

! Y a h

k b a r

M o v e A n d e r s !

T u e f e l ! *

TA ffiATA fiA i

CHIK CHIK

* D e vi l s !

I told you, I do not find you hu mourous!

So! Ru ffing like the dogs you are!

S fims these chaps want to talk with you. We were giving you some privacy.

2 7

Fur sie

u ffi

fi...

! ?

The FÜhrer despises l ffse ends. Now to tidy two more.

That solves our German problem. How’s your Arabic?

Lord Montague didn’t o fier that cla fi.

Those Krauts won’t hold out long without a leader. Let’s double round behind them and find cover.

these are Gha fiu – Bedouin raiders who a ddack caravans.

2 8

try There! the oasis.

watch out! Somone else thinks it makes good cover!

“The Phantom strikes like a cobra, swift and powerful” - Old Jungle Saying.

A tactical decision. Whatever Faber held in his head, if the führer can’t have it, no-one can.

Why did Kohl shoot the scientist?

Ufff!

THUD!!

What do you suppose he knew?

?

A tribal raider is about to discover…

...that all that glitters...

29

...is not gold.

!!

!!

I doubt it, but Fritz is

After salvaging supplies...

The effect of the blast is devastating...

definitely working on something. No wonder they went to all this effort for Faber.

Why is the ground glinting?

Heat from the blast. Turned the sand to glass.

What was that? An atomic explosion?

--must stay off the roads. if the Hun has local support, we run the risk of capture. We’re on the wrong side of the Mediterranean.

Aden! That’s hundred of miles of open desert, mountain tribes. This may be our last water, we have no food...

There’s Ottoman territory between us and Suez and many tribal boundaries.

...Aden?

That bedouin… was left to guard her during the attack. she was A prisoner!

!

--and an extra passenger...

Savages!

30

Ki t.

W h e r e v e r we’re going, we should move s ffn. The sun is se fiing.

I was c o u n ti n g on that.

Why, so we can travelin the c fil of the ni g h t ?

M a - n a r.

No, so I can figure out which wayis east.

On through the night they travel.

!

Aden lies beyond those

mountains and the tribes who guard t h e m.

As the sun rises on a new day...

Oh great. I was hoping a fi we had to contend

S ffi ms the desert sti fi holds some surprises for us.

with was the unfor givin g d e s e r t.

But bring on treacherous mountains and feudal tribes.

3 1

The sandstorm blocks out the sun, they push on.

The camels su ffiumb to the conditions. Sti fi they pre fi on.

harsh sand tears at them.

Li k e sandpaper … Must shield M a n a r.

I’m starting to think we were safer with the Nazis.

And on through another long night …

As the sun rises the next morning …

!

W h a t t h e..!

Q a f ! *

Hard to imagine anyone fighting over this desert.

* S t o p

Great entrance fe fias. Butif you plan to rob us, you may be disa ffointed.

3 2

@ # & % !

R u n !

3 3

L

C

I

C

K

!

S O C K

A quick escape...

…is short lived.

E n o u g h n o n s e n s e !

T S ffi fi! T S fi

VI P P VI P P

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Ghost Who Walks - I warned you what would ha fienif you ever returned to these l a n d s.

T h a n k s D a d.

L ffik for the nexti n stal me nt of this adventurein ‘ SiLENT RU fiiN G’.

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