Finals:
2 Contestants, 1 Round
From many, two. David and Cindy. But now comes the big question: Who's the winner? To find out meant delving into 10 rounds of statistics, information, and fantasy voter psyche. I was in for several nights of work, beginning the instant in Round 10 when i knew Chrissy was going to go. I spent the time on exile night before Chrissy was eliminated compiling stats on anything- ANYTHING- I thought would have any impact on a final decision, from recent trends (Cindy was rising, David was falling) to how many challenges they won (8-2, David) to their voter markets (Cindy had the Pac Northwest and northern California, and David had the Beltway and mid-Atlantic).
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Number crunching came first. We'll run through this like Nick Bakay would do a Tale of the Tape.

Safety Stones used. David: 12. Cindy: 7, plus one anti-stone that wasn't offset. Advantage Cindy- she needed less help to get here.
Average finish. David: 2.2. Cindy: 2.7. Advantage David.
Most votes recieved in 1 round. David: 35,736 in Round 8. Cindy: 32,913 in Round 7. Advantage Cindy.
Challenges won. David: 8. Cindy: 2. Advantage David.
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Then the intangibles.

About Cindy: She had beaten David head-to-head in Florence, but then again, David had beaten everybody quite often. (Advantage David.) She had voted Friend in Tora Bora, but provided a good reason- despite her getting her decision from the TV show. (Advantage push.)
Then you had David. He was a strategist, obviously, but then again, he was pretty much tried and convicted in the voting scandal in a recent round. (Advantage Cindy.) He never reached his goal of 20 Safety Stones, but he had won more than anyone else, just the same. (Advantage David.) He was the only contestant- or host, for that matter- to find the horse lineups in Monte Carlo, but offsetting that was his falling for the trap in Warsaw. (Advantage push.)
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Head-to-head intangibles came last.
Worst move. Cindy: Voting Friend in Tora Bora. David: Votegate. Advantage David- he did manage to get some people exiled, which was his goal.
Best move. Cindy: Winning an inoculation in Mexico City. David: Trading 2 anti-stones to Cindy. Advantage David.
Role in the voting scandal. Cindy: Informant. David: Culprit. Advantage Cindy.
Strategy. Cindy: Look out for number 1. David: Look out for numbers 2 through 12 and whack 'em like a Soprano. Advantage David.
Recent trends. Cindy: Rising. David: Slipping. Advantage Cindy.
Grab Bag results. Cindy: Plus 1. David: Minus 1. Advantage Cindy.
Voter market- voters who might vote for their area hero. Cindy: Pacific Northwest, cut into by Stephen, Greyson and Royann, and to a lesser extent, Jacinto. David: Beltway and mid-Atlantic, cut into by Toby- who's from pretty much the next town over- and to a lesser extent, Andrew. Advantage David- voters will have had more time to embrace David than to embrace Cindy.
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So there you have it. It's all so simple when you break things down scientifically. In a squeaker of Delayed Flight proportions, the advantage goes to David. But hang in there, Cindy, the important intangibles- recent trends, role in the scandal- are leaning your way. Until next time I'm Aaron Allermann, reminding you the numbers... never lie.
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But of course all the numbers weren't in yet, to say nothing of audience votes and Safety Stones. After Chrissy was exiled, aside from all the murmuring between the final 3 (Chrissy made various good-bye remarks), that freed up more numbers...
Times finished ahead of the other. David: 6 times. Cindy: 4 times. Advantage David.
First place finishes. David: 2. Cindy: 2. Advantage push.
Audience votes. David: 32. Cindy: 7. Advantage Cindy.
Total votes recieved. David: 201,196. Cindy: 211,219, counting Round 2 wherein she won inoculation. Advantage David by 10,023 votes.

This threw me in a few new directions. It would almost take until Sudden Death to figure it out.
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I had little time to do so. The minigame in the Galapagos was already set to go. Chrissy was simply to pick a number from 1-4, and the number she picked would decide who got 2 stones, and whether those stones were of the anti variety or the Safety variety. As it turns out, David got 2 anti-Stones.
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David (Australia): NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Er, I mean, congratulations, Cindy.
I guess there's no way in hell I'm trading those two anti-Stones away, am I? =)
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Well, now there was nothing to do but analyze all the information I had gathered, and wait for Saturday, October 26th- the night of Sudden Death. By then, I had made my final decision-- which was bound to be affected by the interrogation. Cindy Walsher was to be given a slight advantage going in, but Sudden Death, David's stone advantage, and of course, audience votes were sure to make the difference. As I saw the numbers going, David's for-all-intents-and-purposes 2 stone advantage could overtake the pre-count advantage Cindy had. So it was up to Cindy to either outclass David in Sudden Death, or find enough friends to moot both David's advantage and his cronies.
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Finally, it was time. Cindy and David were called in. A market research question was posed to them to start, about their favorite and least favorite challenges. Cindy picked Mexico City, when she was inoculated, for her favorite. David liked when he found the greyhounds in Monte Carlo. Which Cindy happened to hate. David hated any challenge based on luck, like the Galapagos.
Next, they were asked about the voting conspiracy. David once again denied it, and Cindy revealed Andrew as her informant that set the whole thing into motion.
I then sprung this:
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Aaron: Speaking of Colin,
Aaron: if I were to tell you that after he got left in the desert, he found his way back to civilization, what would you say?
Aaron: And if I were to say that since he was still alive, he wasn't out of the game, and he was in fact about to join us for Sudden Death, would you two believe me?
David (Australia): I would welcome him back into the game with open arms, as long as he didn't try the same shenanigans he used on Greyson. I don't think the game is meant to be a beauty pageant. And the thing of it is, I think Colin is at bottom a good player. He didn't need to do that to stay in the game.
Aaron: And if I told Colin, "Come on in!"...
Yahoo! Messenger: ph_mole (Colin) has joined the conference.
Colin (Canada): Hello
Aaron: Now would you believe me?
David: Yo, Colin?
Cindy (Egypt): Wow Colin, welcome back to life?
Colin: Hey David and Cindy too
David: Congratulations on your rebirth! LOL
Cindy: David, I think we have some answers
Aaron: Well, don't. I was just checking to see how you'd react.
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Colin wasn't really back; I was just pulling a little prank. I let Colin stick around, and as a reward for his cooperation, I'd let him vote in the finals. Anyway, getting back to the interrogation, the two were next asked the most unethical thing they did.
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Cindy (Egypt): Probably when I tried to get Chrissy to turn on David at the end, because I was so convinced it was him. I told her that he was probably picking us off one by one and he would win. Turns out I was wrong.
David (Australia): The most unethical thing I did was encourage Stephen to organize a voting drive, and giving him 5 Safety Stones in return to make sure he wasn't booted. It was a trade. I knew my head was on the block as well.
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Next came the questions the two asked of each other in the Round 10 confessionals. Cindy asked David if he'd lie in Sudden Death to win. Of course David said no, he wouldn't. David asked Cindy "Of the first 9 people who have been exiled, who most deserved to be in the Final 2, and why?" (Notice the words "of the first 9 people who have been exiled".)
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Cindy (Egypt): I would say so. With my ego, I'd love to say I'm deserving to be here. And David, well, he ended up a few rounds ago with 12 safety stones. I was never close to that number. We both played differently to win, and we're here now. So I do think we're deserving.
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Now, is it me, or did that not answer the question?
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Colin (Canada): *Muffles laughter*
Aaron: See, Cindy, "walk" means "to go on foot as opposed to by taxi."
Cindy (Egypt): Not counting myself, I'd say Chrissy and Stephen. They were both hard-core players who played hard and were constantly near the top. Plus I liked them.
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Cindy immediately loses the Mensa vote. The next question asked if they ever felt in danger of being exiled.
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David (Australia): Every single week, believe it or not.
Aaron: You're shitting me.
David: Up to the time Colin was exiled, I was frightened he was going to target ME. And then after that, there were so few people left that anyone could have been exiled at any time. It takes nerves of steel and cojones of brass to play this game, I'll tell you that!
Colin (Canada): Well...I would have targeted you but knocking out Greyson was so much work I didn't lol
Aaron: And constant exposure to the top of the rankings didn' ease you even a bit?
David: Nope... because I was just waiting for the Colby backlash to begin, and sure enough, it did.
Aaron: Well, Cindy, how about you?
Cindy (Egypt): The first week I was terrified. Afterwards, Colin told me he wasn't going to vote for anyone any time soon, except Stephen, so I calmed down a bit. Then when the Voting Scandal started, I was really scared. I felt like a sitting duck.
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I was ready to ask the one good audience question I had, but Colin wanted to ask something. I said 'Go ahead'.

Colin (Canada): In this round...Have either of you plotted with any of the exile players for backup through votes? Or even attempted to contact for that purpose? Dont state names.
Aaron: Cindy?
Cindy (Egypt): Not this round. I only relied on another person's help once, and that was while they were still in the game.
Aaron: Okay, and David?
David (Australia): Flat-out no.
Colin: Well.....I would like to pass out my gratitudes...Cause I would have
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As for the audience question, which came from Joseph, host of Surviving Big Brother's The Amazing Mole Race, he wanted one positive and one negative word to describe each exiled player. I only asked for 3 predetermined exilees apiece.
David described Colin as "Player. Manipulator.", Steve as "Friend. Manipulated.", and Greyson as "Enthusiastic. Mediocre."
Cindy described Andrew as "tolerant, spark-plug", Colin as "Confident. Over-Confident", and Chrissy as "Maternal. Distrustful."
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I next asked the two to name the most unfair exiling of the game. David chose Greyson's ouster. Colin laughed.
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David (Australia): He wasn't behind all the votes to oust Colin, and he was unfairly judged. I would much rather he'd won or lost on his own merits.
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Cindy (Egypt): Chrissy's. She loved playing this game, and the way she went out was crummy.
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I next reused Gerry's Big Brother 3 jury question, because it was a heck of a question: "If you lose, what was the flaw in your game?"
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Cindy (Egypt): That I wasn't nasty enough. I played this game differently from David, but probably just as morally corrupt. People may not like that
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David (Australia): That I didn't take the social side of the game into account, with the audience votes, and relied too much on my own skills (hubris anyone?). In particular, that I didn't quash the rumors that I had a voting conspiracy forcefully or quickly enough. I think people believed that to my detriment.
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And then I flipped the question around- if you win, what clinched it for you? Both replied by saying it was their skills. Finally, came the questions Chrissy asked. David was asked who his biggest and smallest threats were. Biggest threat: Colin, after the 200 votes comment in Round 1. Smallest threat: Nork, who he theorized was only in a dream version of the game. Cindy was asked what her strategy was.
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Cindy (Egypt): Let's see. My strategy in the beginning was to let all the dead wood just go off, and also find a way up into the top tier with David and Chrissy. I just worked hard, and got in good with people, and tried to make them angry at each other so that they would be angry with each other and let me through
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And with that, it was time to tally votes. Of course both Cindy and David used all their Safety Stones. Here now is a transcript of the finale.
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Aaron: You started in a vibrant metropolis along with a group of people. -- Once again, the roster matches the location.-- The two of you stand alone in Antarctica, a country with no permanent population. A population that’s about to be cut in half.
Colin (Canada): Oh..Darn he is back lol
Aaron: One of you is about to win $2 million. The other one will be thrown into the lake behind you.
Cindy (Egypt): oh no
David (Australia): brrrrrr!
Aaron: I will fully calculate one player before the other.
Colin: You said it
David: *grasps Cindy's hand*
Aaron: Colin, who should we start with?
Colin: Can I jump in too Aaron? Since I worked to hard to find my way here.-- Lets go ahead and start with my buddy David
Cindy: *clutches to David for dear life*
David: LOL
Cindy: Do we at least have some blankets right now?
Aaron: David Tepper, 59,293 votes, plus 2 audience votes, equals 61, 293 votes.
Colin: Sure...Look around you...Plenty of blankets of SNOW lol
Cindy: gee, thanks Colin
Aaron: Plus 2 anti-stones and 7 Safety Stones, your grand total is 91,940 votes.
David: Whoa. Thank you, Colin. Wasn't expecting that!
Aaron: Cindy Walsher.
Colin: Wasn't expecting what?
Cindy: Good job David
Aaron: 57,915 votes, plus 19 audience votes, is 76,915. Cindy Walsher, you have used 3 Safety Stones, bringing you to a grand total of...
Colin: Woot Woot lol
Aaron: 99,990 votes. David tepper, you have been exiled. Cindy Walsher, you have won.
Cindy: oh my god
David: WAY TO GO, CINDY!!!!!!!
Colin: Wow....So close
Cindy: thanks Daid
David: *glug glug glug* *turns blue*
Colin: I would like to note...--: I chose the winner
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And with that, the game was over. After 24 challenges, 27 countries, 11 rounds, and 3 months, Cindy Walsher of Seattle, Washington was your winner of Global 24/7.
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Postscript:
About a week after the finale, Cindy contacted me.

Cindy: Aaron, I would like to make my confession
Aaron: What confession?
Cindy: I was the one behind the mass-hysteria voting
Aaron: ...hell, I never would've guessed that.
Aaron: Why didn't you just go after David the first time?
Cindy: I did
Cindy: but then you discounted the polls because you messed up on them
Aaron: Then why not try again?
Cindy: because i thought he'd use his stones
Aaron: If it was me, I'd have just kept plugging away and plugging away at my target until he was gone.
Cindy: I probably should have, but with how everything ended up, I guess it didn't matter
Aaron: You force him to use stones that round, so he wouldn't have them for later rounds. Sooner or later those votes are gonna get through.
Aaron: but yeah, you won and I didn't find you out, so doesn't matter much.

Well, how about that? Cindy was the Mole. David WAS framed. But in a game where it's all in the eye of the beholder, all that mattered was who the suspect was. And what of Troy Baklay?

Aaron: So, did you know this Troy Baklay guy?
Cindy: I sure did
Aaron: You tell him to say David?
Cindy: yes
Aaron: As if I didn't know, but why?
Cindy: because if he said my name, i'd probably end up like david did
Aaron: I meant why David instead of, say, Chrissy?
Cindy: oh, because david was in the lead, and i was still kind of angry over the whole "anti-stones" thing

1 contestant, 0 rounds.