In the last years of his life, William Burroughs paid a visit to fellow writer Whitley Strieber, hoping to initiate some form of contact experience before he 'passed on', suspecting, as Strieber still does, that 'they' are somehow involved in death and dying.

On their first meeting, Burroughs found Strieber disturbing, claiming that there was something insectoid and "mask-like" about his face. It turned out that Strieber had been stung, in the face, by a wasp.