My latest investigation has taken an unexpected and slightly uncomfortable turn, because after several weeks examining organisations whose existence remains difficult to establish, the available evidence has led me considerably closer to home.
There is a growing possibility that The Highland Times may, in fact, be the Rebel Alliance.
The theory emerged while examining the modern media landscape, where enormous established organisations operate with substantial resources, large workforces, advertising departments, offices and financial machinery which, viewed from a sufficient distance, bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the Galactic Empire.
The Highland Times, by comparison, is independent, self funded and operates with considerably fewer resources, although it does possess a website, several email addresses and an alarming willingness to have a go.
I specifically investigated whether The Highland Times possesses a Death Star and, having examined the available financial evidence, can confirm that it does not.
As regular readers will know, extraordinary claims require a reliable evidential benchmark, so I returned to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, where Nessie has eyewitness testimony, photographic evidence, an official register and Paige Daley keeping an eye on proceedings.
The proposition that The Highland Times constitutes a Rebel Alliance currently has a Facebook page, approximately 16,000 followers and an editor who appears unwilling to behave himself, which is persuasive but falls some distance short of the standards established at Loch Ness.
Further investigation was required.
The most compelling evidence concerns money, because while enormous media organisations require enormous amounts of it, The Highland Times has somehow decided that everybody should be allowed to read everything it publishes without paying anything at all.
There is no paywall and there never will be one, which means nobody will be permitted to read half a story before being asked for their bank details to discover whether the missing pensioner was found, the road reopened or the council finally fixed the pothole.
This admirable but financially inconvenient arrangement means the rebellion must fund itself elsewhere, principally through businesses advertising to its growing audience, organisations working with it through sponsorships and partnerships, and readers helping spread its journalism across the Highlands and Islands.
Not everyone wishing to support a rebellion has an advertising budget, however, and fortunately following The Highland Times costs nothing, sharing its stories remains similarly affordable, and approximately 16,000 people have already taken this surprisingly low risk step.
The next objective is 20,000.
Readers with particularly strong revolutionary tendencies can also buy The Highland Times a coffee or make a contribution through Donorbox, both of which my calculations suggest remain considerably cheaper than financing an X Wing and should present fewer difficulties when completing a tax return.
I also investigated whether my concessionary bus pass could be deployed in support of the Rebel Alliance, but Transport Scotland guidance appears disappointingly silent on travel aboard X Wings, while the Millennium Falcon does not appear on any timetable currently available to me.
The evidence therefore remains circumstantial, but I am satisfied that something unusual is happening, because an independent Highland publication with no paywall, no Death Star and comparatively modest resources is attempting to build something large enough to challenge an Empire.
Follow it, share it and tell somebody about it, while businesses can advertise, organisations can work with it and anyone who appreciates what it does can buy us a coffee or make a contribution through Donorbox.
The Empire has enough money.
Back the rebels.
If you have any conspiracies you would like Aye to investigate, email conspiracycorner@thehighlandtimes.com
