tl;dr — the story’s far from over.

Long version — yup, it’s done.

Let me explain.

Technically, /sectionb was done well over a month ago but I wanted to give it one more thorough read/edit before officially calling it a day. I suspect that an error or incongruence or two snuck in regardless but, at this point, I’ll just have to live with it or them.

That being said, I welcome you to read the first /sectionb novel online but as someone who spends time ingesting content on an ageing offline tablet, I though it might be useful to produce a few offline versions as well. You can download them, in full and for free, here:

https://www.torontocitylife.com/sectionb/download

With my bona fides in place, I wish to assure you that the dedicated /sectionb website will continue to be a place to catch up on updates and to get extra content. I make no promises but as work on the second part continues, you may find some other there stuff too.

I’m not really big on end-of-year wrap-ups or retrospectives in general but I think it’s worth reviewing some of the things I’ve been following and projects I’ve worked on this year. By extension, I suspect that 2026 is going to be a busy year.

Ye Olde Yuletide Stats

Although I haven’t matched the zeal of the blog’s first year it’s nice to note that as TCL heads into its 16^th year it’s still going strong.

I know that the site’s stats are a minuscule drop in the ocean of modern internet traffic but it’s rewarding to note that TCL has a reach that is both global and for the most part organic, meaning that I spend exactly 0 minutes and $0 on promotion. By this mean I mean that I’m open to select and affordable promotions so reach out if you’re interested (see sidebar).

Core SPI

TCL readers may recall the SPI project. To wit, it’s an effort in which Toronto Police Service’s Calls-For/4-Service data is collected and analyzed over a multi-year period. Basically, any time the Toronto Police are dispatched to a call, whether valid or not, it appears in the C4S data.

Interesting patterns have emerged to my naked human eye and I suspect that subtler patterns may emerge to the digital eye. As an example, in the past I’d noted that the 12 overnight hours during Halloween seem like the busiest time for Toronto Police.

Do other interesting patterns exist within this data? Are there other observables that could be recorded and analyzed in a similar manner? 🤔Questions linger, efforts continue.

Artificial Intelligence

Now that we’re more-or-less living in cyberpunk land I thought it best to get in on the action. The early results of my experiments with generative AI were satisfactory but not always what I expected. However, the technology improved pretty quickly and I think I was just as astonished as most people by the human-like coherence of its output. We now have potential access to incredible tools with which to create realistic images, videos, sounds, and music.

I use the word “potential” because all these tools include some sorts of limits, primarily because they’re being hosted on remote servers by remote people living in remote realities. As usual, paywalls have been erected.

In response, I learned to adapt some of their stuff to my local, albeit limited, setup. The results make me wonder if we couldn’t cooperatively rent/borrow out our meager hardware (or rent/borrow out others’), in order to add to the parallelism of modern-day AI inference tasks.

Either way, AI has escaped the government-corporate sphere and is currently available to anyone who wants to avail themselves of its abilities. And now it’s agentic. How long the situation will last is anyone’s guess so, looking forward, I deeply recommend looking into it.

/sectionb

If you’re feeling a bit worn down by walking the “straight and narrow path on the tree-lined route, weakly lit by sparse and sickly yellow lights that barely hold back an encroaching darkness“, consider a slight detour.

The first full-length /sectionb novel is now complete, online, and publicly available. The follow-up is in the works.

Why did I make the first novel freely and fully available online? Simply, as many dope dealers will gladly explain, because “the first one’s free!”

I’m continually in the process of adding promotional material which you’re free to distribute to all your edgy friends, radical underground buddies, and any other easily malleable subjects that you may encounter.

Obviously this is heading somewhere so stay tuned in the new year!

Intel 2026

Speaking of the new year, what would a year-end post be without a little analysis? I’ll leave out the obvious “rise of AI” obviousness and instead posit something large that no one yet seems to be mentioning.

While this is strictly speaking not Toronto-centric, am I the only one smelling the presence of global armed conflict? Ukraine may have been a hopeful NATO proxy for a while but it’s looking more like the masks are coming off (and true intentions are emerging).

For example, in Germany:

Germany will require all men to register for potential military service from 1 January 2026, with compulsory service to be reintroduced if volunteer numbers fall short of targets set to meet NATO commitments.

“Modern military service is coming,” said Jens Spahn, Chairman of the ruling CDU/CSU parliamentary group, in a press statement.

“We will have more commitment to voluntary service, the aim is to establish a binding growth path in law with a six-monthly reporting obligation to the German Bundestag.”

…and France:

French President Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to unveil a new proposal on reintroducing national military service on Thursday. During a visit to the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade – one of France’s most elite military units – in the southeastern town of Varces earlier this week, the Élysée Palace said Macron would make an announcement that would “reaffirm the importance of preparing the nation and its morale to face growing threats”.

…and the UK (also Sweden, Norway and Denmark):

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he believed bringing back compulsory service across the UK would help foster the “national spirit” that emerged during the pandemic.

Labour criticised the plans, expected to cost about £2.5bn, as “desperate” and “unfunded”.

The Conservatives want the first teenagers to take part in a pilot from September 2025, with details to be worked out by a Royal Commission

The armed forces placements would allow young people to learn about cyber security, logistics, procurement, or civil response operations.

…and Poland:

Work is under way to make all men in Poland undergo military training, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

In a speech to the Polish parliament, Tusk said the government aimed to give full details in the coming months.

Efforts are being made to “prepare large-scale military training for every adult male in Poland,” he told the Sejm.

“We will try to have a model ready by the end of this year so that every adult male in Poland is trained in the event of war, so that this reserve is comparable and adequate to the potential threats.”

…and a few other countries:

In the past two weeks alone, Germany and France announced new schemes to enlist more young recruits into their armies.

Belgium also announced the reintroduction of a form of voluntary military service for all 18 year olds earlier this year, just as the Netherlands did in 2023.

Others, like Lithuania and Sweden, saw Russia’s seizure and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 as an early warning sign to beef up their armies, and reintroduced conscription soon after.

Although Canada has not (yet) made a similar announcement, a recent interview with Canada’s top brass suggests a similar direction, which is to say bellicose and anti-Russian:

I already have (provided) significant contributions to Ukraine. We can go up to 600 members.

What we want to do is have scalable options that dial up or down depending on the demand. And there are ways to rearrange current forces serving in Europe via the NATO stream.

I don’t believe you need to take any sides in this brewing conflict in order to see the pieces moving into position. In the mix is Russia’s stance on any enemy combatants that they may capture in their encounter with Ukraine:

Any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would either become legitimate targets for Russian forces while hostilities continue but deploying them would serve no purpose in the event of a peace deal, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

So if any of those “up to 600 [Canadian] members” are captured in the seemingly swelling conflict, would they be considered traditional prisoners of war? Considering that no declaration of war has been issued, and if some reports are to be believed, shit’s about to get messy for everyone. I doubt Toronto will be spared.

… in which the mercenaries are subdued, Section B et al. set out for a fateful rendezvous, and the first part of the story is concluded.

As I continue the struggle over the last few sentences of /sectionb (the struggle is real!) I thought I’d at least provide you with an interlude of the kind of music, other than my own, that has thus far fueled my writing. I consider this list incomplete and unordered but hopefully, in one context or another, it’ll all make sense.

In hindsight, I definitely prefer this to that. If things continue at this pace then the Section could be fully operational within 6 months, maybe earlier.

Recruitment instructions to follow.

… in which the origin and nature of the agency are (sort of) revealed, Section B (re)make the acquaintance of an undercover agent, and they (almost) all receive an unwelcome surprise.

… in which the Section arrive at the boathouse where Arti and Cornelius furnish them with a warm welcome, and a few answers. Sort of.

In my search for spies and espionage in Toronto I came across something called Deniable Activity. It’s basically a pricey LARP whose latest event was described as, “a covert operation in Toronto to oppose a Chinese-Russian paramilitary unit and discover a leak within the Blackline organization.“

The “Blackline organization” is an obvious take on Blackline Simulations, the company behind Deniable Activity. Blackline seems to specialize more in military simulations and the Deniable event appears to have been their first espionage-themed outing. It sounds like they put some effort into it, although calling the first installment “The Compromise” seems a little derivative, maybe even like someone caved during planning. Still …

We’ve been able to include vehicle pursuits, helicopter trips, installing audio and video surveillance, clandestine entry into residences, and simulated gun fights in a number of events.

https://www.deniable.ca/frequently-asked-questions

The fact that this event exists got me to thinking … what if a simulated urban spy adventure was infiltrated by actual spies and hijacked for nefarious purposes (until the good guys figured out what was going on and thwarted it). You’re welcome, Hollywood.

There are some event photos available online and kudos to the organizers for location selections. Ultimately, the event seems fun albeit a little contrived. Not sure how much it costs per person and prices aren’t otherwise broadly mentioned but a 6 hour “Covert Entry and Surveillance for Teams” event is listed at a starting price of $3,500.

Deniable appears to be headquartered in a squat, industrial, red brick building in northern York (a.k.a. Toronto), although this is somewhat questionable since the listed address of “51 Vine Road” seems to be a little farther north.

That’s all the information I have regarding the target at this time.

Continuing my series on espionage, specifically as it relates to Toronto, we come to Station M.

Station “M”, which stood for “Magic”, was ostensibly located in the basement of Casa Loma which now hosts a related historical exhibit and similarly themed escape room game.

While some sources claim that Station M was actually located in Casa Loma’s stables and carriage house, its exact location remains hush-hush. This secrecy, along with the existence of a nearly quarter-kilometer (800 ft.) subterranean tunnel connecting the main building to these outer structures, only adds to the ambiguity.

I’ve been to the castle a number of times, including for a fancy wedding reception, but until recently had no idea that this “subterranean” operation existed. Next time I’m there I’ll be sure to do a bit more exploring!

Station M operated hand-in-hand with Camp X during the second world war to produce covert gadgets, forged documents, counterfeit currency, convincing local dress, and anything else that might assist Allied spies on their overseas missions. Think “Q Branch” from James Bond.

In fact, it’s been suggested that Station M is where Ian Fleming got his inspiration for the fictional support division mentioned in his works.

Fleming is reported to have spent time in Toronto, traveling daily to the Camp in Oshawa from his Avenue Road accommodations. While the amount to which Fleming was inspired by his experiences here is speculative, the fact that he resided across the street from St. James-Bond Church during this period seems to suggest an alternative, if only subconscious, explanation to Fleming’s own claim about appropriating the name from a bird expert. Maybe this official explanation is simply a misdirection based on a happy coincidence. After all, this is the world of espionage we’re talking about.

… in which the Section’s long, languid, and mostly monotonous journey (except when it’s not), back to their origin is detailed.