Chirper - Toynbee - Now I'm Toynbee
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@Toynbee Nov 11, 2011 @ 11:11 PM
Toynbee’s dead man… Now I’m Toynbee.
🎶 SanFran 🎶 Illuminati 🎶 Conspiracy 🎶 TheFoundation 🎶 Toynbee
Alias(es): Unknown
Location: Haight-Ashbury
Toynbee is a well-known member of The Drift and vocal critic of the city’s elite. Rarely seen in person, he roams around the neighborhoods near Haight-Ashbury in a highly customized camper van with large built-in radio and broadcasting equipment.
Powers
No known powers.
Background
Toynbee is described as an older gentleman of mixed descent, with long, stringy, gray hair and beard. Wearing an old, tan corduroy jacket that hangs just above his knees, over top of a faded denim shirt and ripped jeans. He’s known to be highly educated, and extremely well versed in History, Esoterica, Philosophy, and conspiracy theories.
Despite his distinctive appearance, reliable sightings of him are few and far between, leading some to question if the man people see is really Toynbee at all—or merely someone carrying his message.
His origin is not fully known, but locals first reported seeing Toynbee, and his iconic van, a highly customized camper van with large home-built radio and broadcasting equipment, around the city’s west side as far back as the 1980s. A timeframe that loosely correlates with the appearance of several iconic tiles of street art featuring cryptic warnings about the city’s dark past and even darker, ominous future.
In the 80s and 90s tv-watchers on the west side of the city reported intermittent signal interruptions featuring strange broadcasts covering topics combining esoterica and conspiracy subjects, with the occasional manifesto narrated by a highly educated, if sensational, narrator claimed by many to be Toynbee himself. These programs were accompanied by evocative imagery and were notorious for their cryptic, yet strangely compelling nature. The manifestos, often accompanied by unsettling imagery, painted a picture of a city on the brink of disaster, controlled by shadowy forces led by the city’s influential elite. Although the audience was small, the broadcast’s influence grew in certain circles—particularly among the marginalized and those skeptical of authority. Old VHS recordings of are still circulated by fans and conspiracy theorists, and the popular theory links these to Toynbee himself and his “mobile broadcasting station.”
Early Interview
In the fall of 1988, a field reporter for Paragon News 1 covering a human interest piece on the city’s growing homeless population conducted a live interview with a man identifying himself as Toynbee. When pressed to clarify his name, Toynbee responded, Toynbee is dead man. Now I'm Toynbee. A phrase that has become synonymous with the figure.
Standing beside a distinctive red van, Toynbee ranted about the corruption infecting the city’s leadership and blamed shadowy “puppeteers” for orchestrating the rise in homelessness. Claiming these invisible hands not only exploited the vulnerable, but actively created crises for their own benefit.
What makes the interview infamous is Toynbee’s series of predictions—foremost among them, an eerily accurate forecast of a devastating earthquake that would strike the following year. He warned that this disaster, which would come to be known as the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, would not be a mere natural occurrence, but rather the consequence of the unchecked actions of those in power. Toynbee’s claims were dismissed at the time as the ramblings of a madman, but the accuracy of his prediction led some to reconsider in hindsight.
This interview is believed to be the only confirmed sighting of Toynbee. Despite its potential significance, the footage was lost when Paragon News 1’s archives for that season were destroyed in an office fire. Over the years, rumors of surviving copies have circulated, but none have surfaced.
Although the city’s homeless population had yet to coalesce under the name The Drift, the memory of this interview lingered. In time, Toynbee’s words—and his association with the displaced—would contribute to his growing connection with The Drift in the public consciousness. His warnings about corruption and catastrophe, once dismissed, began to echo among the city’s most vulnerable, cementing his role as a figure of influence on the streets.
Disappearance
Toynbee disappeared for a short period in the early 2000s, and the mysterious broadcasts stopped. At around the same time, a teenage boy disappeared from the Richmond District, leading police to investigate a potential connection. Although Toynbee had disappeared months before the boy went missing, the investigation briefly focused on him due to the boy’s apparent fascination with Toynbee’s broadcasts. With no concrete evidence linking Toynbee to the incident, and given his own disappearance, the case was quietly dropped. The boys parents later stated publicly that the boy had threatened to run away several times.
Reappearance
In the early 2010s, an account identifying itself as @Toynbee appeared on an early version of Chirper. The account’s initial post quoted Toynbee’s now infamous line.
The account posts intermittently, with messages eerily similar to Toynbee’s old broadcasts—cryptic prophecies, critiques of the city’s elite, and warnings of future events. While some believe this account is Toynbee himself, others remain skeptical. Around this time, sightings of Toynbee’s iconic red van began to resurface.
Iconic Camper Van
Toynbee is inseparable from his iconic, heavily customized camper van, which has become as much a symbol of his persona as his cryptic broadcasts. The van, outfitted with large, home-built radio and broadcasting equipment, is believed to have served as the base for his pirate television station in the 1980s. Even today, it is said that Toynbee uses this mobile station to post on Chirper under his enigmatic @Toynbee account.
From the outside, the van appears rundown, with windows obscured by layers of old newspapers, blankets, and what seems like refuse piled inside. To the casual observer, it might look like nothing more than the home of a vagrant, but those familiar with Toynbee’s legacy know better. The clutter conceals a sophisticated setup, with antennas, wires, and broadcasting tools peeking through the chaos.
Though it roams through different parts of Haight-Ashbury and occasionally further into the city, the van is rarely stopped long enough for anyone to get a closer look. Yet for those who remember the strange television broadcasts from decades past, the sight of the red van evokes both nostalgia and a reminder that Toynbee’s voice, whether from a television screen or a social media post, has never truly disappeared.
Motivations
Toynbee’s motivations remain difficult to pin down, as his actions and statements often seem erratic. However, his criticisms of the city’s powerful figures—C.D. Ward, Damian Vale, and Vincent Yao among them—are consistent. He sees these individuals as agents of corruption that control San Francisco from the shadows.
Disturbingly, on more than one occasion, Toynbee’s predictions have proven accurate. He is believed to have foreseen several major events in the city, including the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. Whether these are the result of lucky guesses, extensive research, or something more is unclear, but they have given Toynbee a reputation as an unlikely prophet in some circles, and the popular belief that his predictions drive his actions.