23
LEO02 - No. 161
The number 23 is significant in the coffee trade for esoteric and practical reasons. Esoterically the number 23 is heavily associated with the “23 Enigma,” a belief in which the number 23 holds great power, possibly equal to that of 8. Though, unlike 8, 23 is often associated with dark, sinister, or chaotic happenings, many link the number with Eris, the goddess of strife and discord. Practically speaking, the number 23 is well known in the coffee trade due to the Astoria 23rd Agency.
On record, the Astoria 23rd Agency gets its number from how many divisions it has, “23.” Though this overlooks the Divisions of X-Ray, Yankee, and Zulu, the reasoning is that these Divisions are not core divisions of the Agency. X-Ray is a third-party hired to handle clean-up. Yankee is closer to a three-letter Agency than the 23rd Agency. And Zulu… well, Zulu is indeed arguably its own separate entity. Additionally, the Astoria 23rd Agency recently acquired a 27th Division, Division Ampersand, also known as the Astoria branch of the Cafe and Diner.
So, it can be assumed that the Astoria 23rd Agency gets its name from elsewhere, but where exactly? There are three predominant theories. The first and most commonly accepted theory is that the Agency is named after its founding date, November 23rd, 1963. The second theory is that the Agency specifically leans into the occultism surrounding the number 23. While it can be thought that 23 is tied to discord and chaos, 23 can also be thought of as everything as 2+3=5, and 5 is, well, its own article waiting to be written. The final theory is one that I cannot mention in its entirety here for fear that it could be true. What I can say is that some consider the number 23 to not only be tied to Eris but a much, much older entity.