We barreled down the 101—a juggernaut on steroids burning through the marine layer like torch pipes on parade.

A week up in Sovang was restive. It was like taking a ream of sedatives and knocking that back with a Coke Zero. Nothing was stirring, not even a robot dog.

Slow news week.

But we rolled into the OC and the fireworks hit like Disneyland in the newsroom.

First there was the bombing in Palm Springs. Then the Mexican Navy ship in New York Harbor crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge. Saturday was turning into must-watch TV.

The bombing in Palm Springs is a head scratcher and hits a little too close to home for comfort. We were considering a trip there this past week, but decided on Sovang instead. The reports stated that four people were injured in the blast and one killed—the one being the bomber himself.

Updates on the story have revealed that the bombing suspect is 25-year-old Guy Edward Bartkus. Responders arrived on the scene at North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs at 11:00 a.m. local time. The debris field was 250 yards in size, described by Palm Springs Police Chief Andrew Mills as a “massive crime scene” with “blocks of debris.”

“This was probably the largest bombing scene that we’ve had in Southern California,” according to to Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

The blast tore through the American Reproductive Centers (ARC) fertility clinic, but apparently its lab was undamaged. ARC confirmed that no staff members were injured and eggs, embryos and other reproductive materials were not affected by the explosion.

The Feds are treating the case as an intentional act of terrorism but what would inspire this heinous act? The FBI are claiming that Bartkus held nihilistic views and may have harbored antinatalist leanings. According to Davis, “The subject had nihilistic ideations, and this was a targeted attack against the IVF facility.”

Antinatalists believe that it is wrong to have children.

The FBI are scrutinizing Bartkus’ online presence, which includes writings and recordings which describe himself as a “misandrist” and “promortalist.” Bartkus has apparently claimed that, “Basically I’m anti-life … and IVF is like kind of the epitome of pro-life ideology.”

According to the FBI, Bartkus wanted to livestream the bombing.

Bartkus is a fruitcake of a very tall order, there’s no doubt about that. What else do we know about him? Authorities say he is a resident of Twentynine Palms, a town located 50 miles north-east of Palm Springs. Twentynine Palms is home to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, the ‘world’s largest Marine Corps training base.’

Marine spokesperson Yvonne Carlock told the LA Times that Bartkus was not a member of the Marines, though they could not verify that “he had any other affiliation with the base that might allow him to access explosives.”

Leonard Perez, a retired LAPD lieutenant, told the LA Times that the bomb “could be either a homemade device or it could be a military-grade explosive. He’s from Twentynine Palms, and so my question would be: Is he ex-military? And that’s one of the questions that investigators will have to determine: did he have access to those materials?”

Curiously, no one in the small town knew Bartkus, or even seen or talked to him.

Bartkus has been linked to a website connected to the bombing, which claimed a case for “a war against pro-lifers.” The website states, “Here you can download the recorded stream of my suicide & bombing of an IVF clinic.”

It goes on to site its philosophies including: “Abolitionist veganism: The opposition to all animal use by humans. Negative utilitarianism: The idea that we should act to minimize suffering rather than maximize pleasure in the world. Pro-mortalism: The philosophical position that it is best for sentient beings to die as soon as possible to prevent future suffering.”

In addition, it appears that Bartkus operated a YouTube channel titled “Indict Evolution.” Since the bombing incident, YouTube terminated the channel. A spokesperson for YouTube, commenting on the account “Indict Evolution,” stated, “We terminated channels associated with the suspect.”

As of Sunday, the channel went off line. Apparently, the channel contains videos displaying an interest in homemade explosives, chemicals and radioactive materials. Titles of videos included “Uranium ore next to Geiger counter” and “Thorite from thorium mine.”

The father of the bombing suspect—Richard Bartkus, 75, told the New York Times that his son liked to build toy rockets when growing up and once burned their house down while playing with matches. He added that the boy had a penchant for building stink bombs.

While I was researching this story, I came across an article titled ,”Was ‘efilism’ the extreme ideology behind the Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing?” My eyes read ‘elfism’ and I thought the bomber identified as an elf. Or maybe he was into cosplay and/or Dungeons and Dragons—certainly a Tolkien fanatic. Upon closer reading, I realized the word was in fact ‘efilism.’

I’ve covered some strange views but this was something new to me.

According to Google, efilism is “an anti-natalist ideology, meaning it opposes the continuation of human reproduction. It’s derived from the word “life” spelled backward and centers on the belief that procreation is ethically problematic due to the implications of continuing life on Earth. According to NBC News, efilism is part of a larger group of anti-natalist philosophies that question the value of continuing human existence.”

The subreddit r/efilism was shutdown hours after the Palm Springs bomb attack by Reddit administrators. The subreddit r/antinatalism is sill up though, and started a discussion on the situation asking, “Efilism sub NUKED, this is why Antinatalism sub has stricter rules.” It posted the following:

“To those who complained that this sub is too strict and censors too much, well, now you know why.
Also, antinatalism is VOLUNTARY birth prevention; it is NOT efilism or promortalism
Similar to extinctionism, sure, but NOT through coercion or force and especially NOT with violence.
The FBI is probably monitoring social media for these keywords now, so think twice before you say whatever is on your mind.
Yes, I strongly suspect the Nuking of Efilism sub is due to the Palm Springs bombing attack of the IVF clinic. I don’t know if it’s because of something they have posted or just Reddit admin trying to be “pro-active/pre-emptive” due to law enforcement getting involved.“

Andrew K. Arnett is a writer/researcher and author of the book The Crowley Conspiracy available on Amazon.