THE MEETING
The airlock to Overseer Prime David Herrel was a simple, durable construct, and it hummed with a low grind as it opened. Such airlocks were designed to isolate rooms, sectors or even entire facilities in the case of an ICE failure, and was often the distinction between an accident, and a tragedy.
Inside the office, room sat both David and his acquaintance, a thin figure with a shaved head, taller than either man with a slight womanly figure sitting in a chair too small for her. In the dim light and glare, he could faintly make out the tell-tale port of an Aratamite “Chemmer”, and Horus shivered at the apparent wrongness he felt of the strange other-thing.
Turning from the spy or perhaps even turncoat, David spoke with a husky smokers voice, the scent of a strong mushroom wine apparent as he spoke.
“The man of the Hour, Horus. This is Maxim, her real name doesn't matter, just like my tea. She is a SEEM, and do not worry, they are in for the glory.
Blinking at the implication, Horus nodded. The code-speak David had used to inform him that the woman to his side was both in for the “Glory of Merethia” and sneaky, whatever that meant.
Seeing no reason to stop speaking, David only just began winding up “Just after her “augmentation, --
David hated that word. As if the corrupting dehumanizing process of turning a man into
Other was anything but a betrayal to a moral society.
-- She supposedly walked off with perhaps the largest Intelligence dump on the Bureau of Enhanced Operations on a level we do not have with any other agency in Aratam, except for the Ministry of Public Spaces.”
It was true, the Aratamites had less control over their own gardens and parks than their weapons of war. Another reason Aratam should be sacked.
“Before you ask, I cannot explain why I have done so without going into details of concepts you cannot understand.”
It was Horus’s turn to stare, to which he promptly rubbed his forehead before speaking.
“Don't get me wrong here, I am one hundred percent greatful that you did this, but you caused the entire echelons of the NecroState to ding their bells loud enough for us to hear them because of the BEO?”
“Dont question her li--”
“Do not think for a second that the BEO is some two-bit affair like your idiots that run your Grizzly police divisions or the bean-counters at ORACLE. They are intertwined into Astral Affairs with a knife, and they are closing in to cut the wrappings of a doorway that should stay shut forever.”
“Pardon?” said Horus.
“It means that if Aratam doesn't get burnt to the ground right now, something will happen, A Wrent-- A breach into the Astral with apocalyptic consequences will be made, most likely in the form of a detonation that would turnt he island into ash.”
David scrunched up his pig-like face, like a sow disgusted by his morsels. He thinks she lied.
Horus spoke before David, “What exactly do you think we could do about your supposed evidence anyway? Latest projections theorize that Aratam is gonna get rolled out of their outer territory and into their city-scape within the next five years anyway.”
“In five years, The Hub is gonna be infested with "Anomalies" and horrors unlike the entire Earth has seen, especially once the more esoteric Astral methods start getting abused by desperate mad men.”
Seemingly done with the woman, David’s cogs finally came up with a thought, “Where is the evidence, exactly? The story is nice and all, but I have our analyst here and ready to process it all, and if not him than his teams could help.”
David did a pointed look at Horus before turning back to the former SEEM.
Sliding out a large manila package from her messenger bag, the Acquaintance slid the package into the middle of the table.
inwardly, David cursed. She was searched thoroughly after her border crossing into MAGMA, and no such folder had been reported.
“This package contains the sum total details of the BEO’s shadow war with the Cult of Abbadon. It starts from their reveal in the lighting raids of the Black-boxed facility of the Black Chambers to the entire conflict in detail until the operation shifted after another Operator sacrificed himself to key a door closed. Chances are, the Cult of Abbadon is scattered to the ground and it might just be possible to contact them as your forces strike the HUB.”
Horus took the package, and broke the seal, peering into its contents.
MAID IN THE MIRROR
This document is a pamphlet, made of a thick stock card paper and 4.25 inches wide and 6 inches tall closed. the Symbology is consistent with markings that subtly reference the cult of Abbadon, case notes attached to the document from the "Manila Drop" confirms it.Enclosed within the pamphlet is a picture of a woman in a mirror, staring towards the reader, an enigmatic smile on her lips. Underneath the document is a series of questions to bait the curious and the fallible into a new beginning.
Attached to the pamphlet is a cleverly hidden knife made of blackened glass, as thin as a fingernail but sharp enough to pierce the skin.
( ... ) “DO YOU DREAM OF A BETTER LIFE, WHERE YOUR SENSIBLE MIND IS NOT DECEIVED BY THE NOT-SO-REAL BOUNDARIES?”
“THE
BEO IS LYING TO YOU. ANYONE CAN BECOME ENHANCED, JUST DREAM.”
“CUT THE SMALL OF YOUR FOOT, AND GO TO THE MAIDEN IN THE MIRROR.” ( ... )
The document is very persuasive, the picture and the promise of power was alluring. From the attached case notes, hundreds of Aratamites attempted the ritual, and most failed the process before the BEO intervened on both the cell and the dropped pamphlets. The Scrying Glass cell was dismantled following a short, intense battle in an abandoned paper factor.. the investigations afterward ran deep, almost every example of this document was taken and burnt.Most.
INTEL REPORT: THE CURSE OF SMOOTHED FLESH
One of the few rare medical reports in the Manila Drop, this document is a title page to be forwarded to a hospital for higher level Necro-Physicians regarding qurantine measures of the disease. attached to it is the gritty resource reports detailing everything known about the disease, ranging from autopsy reports, medical trials and live subject testing along with diagnostic diagrams and pictures. ( ... ) a psychopathological degeneration in the Alembic system of an individual's Astral presence theorized to originate with incidental exposure to low-level realm activity.
Theorized to spread by REM sleep within a 10 feet range within an infected, or fluid contact via blood membrane (ears mouth eyes) The disease has an unparalleled ability to spread in close quarters environments, such as the Necrostate lower Divisionary areas. Caution should be made for any infected persons to have separate sleeping quarters the non-infected
subjects infected with the onset of CSF engage in self-destructive behavior by picking at any open scabs or open wounds, chewing on nails on their feet and hands.
conditions will progress into continual itching, removal of hair on head and limbs along with the removal of nail tissue. afflicted tissue eventually even without the subjects intervention, the wound exhibiting anomalous damage, analogous to foreign tissue rejection. It is to be noted that once all nail tissue is removed, the final stage of the disease will begin irreversibly, and the option for final treatment begins.
final symptoms of the disease is a compulsion to pick, chew or remove the flesh and bone of the fingers and toes, progressing up towards their torso until it is no longer physically possible to continue degenerative behavior. Subjects restricted from this behavior will plead and beg for any restraints present to be removed. After a period of 7 days from the onset of the nail removal, the disease will no longer display major activity in the Astral Alembic system or symptoms. The subject will still show minor activity that is sufficient for spread by REM sleep. It is unknown for how long an individual may spread the disease via bodily fluids, and all individuals who have been infected by this disease should be barred from blood donations.
( ... ) outbreaks of CSF have occurred in Necropolis districts SOUTH-3, SOUTH-4 and WEST-7 with ongoing quarantine measures with questionable effect, research on prevention methods are ongoing. ( ... )
The notes on the "Astralography" is filled with terminology that appears to have been fabricated by the Aratamite medical field, and we are not so fortunate to have an "Astral Specialist" of the medical variety with us to translate. the leading hypothesis among investigating staff is that the disease was either caused by the beginnings of a "latent awakening" event on the Aratamites side or a "homegrown" bio-weapon made by the Cult of Abbadon. The divisions at the Factory are too precise to let anything like this out of their labs.
THE SPHERE
A hollow sphere made out of a type of glass with notable impurities of mercury, silver, bismuth, and lead. the amount of each impurity implies a special mixture was prescribed. the sphere's walls are 1/4th of an inch thick, and the radius of the sphere is 3 inches. In the bottom of the sphere are two electric terminals. When electricity is applied, a pale-peach coloration is emmitted. spectroanalysis indicates large quantities of helium-3 and an unknown gaseous substance that emits several esoteric emissions upon the application of electricity; several researchers report headaches and lucid dreams in the days after observing the sphere lit with electricity. This device is theorized to be a component of a much larger machine, most likely based off of a CryoTank.
It is unknown how the Helium-3 or the anomalous substance was acquired, and no known component recovered from Aratam equipment utilizes either Helium-3 or the substance in its function.
the design of the sphere is inconsistent with recovered components and design dogma of Aratams Cryodivisions, implying that it was fabricated by the Cult of Abbadon, rather than stolen off of military hardware. attached (heavily censored) documents state that this component is a "Mental [REDACTED] projector", a component of CoA "Dream Tank", a type of device similar in purpose to the isolation tanks of Aratam. One distinct difference noted from Aratams astral program and CoA's is the utilization of Spice and its derivatives. It is theorized that no intact Dream Tank has been recovered by the BEO.
The "Holy Grail" of Aratams Astral division was accomplished by a second rate terrorist group, who had the manufacturing power to utilize rare and unknown materials. What we have speaks volumes about the BEO and their little war, but I cannot help but feel like we are missing half the picture.
THE SWORD
The blade was first sighted upon subject Maxim after an incident, thought to somehow be cleverly smuggled in using SEEM mind tricks. At first, the weapon was thought to be a mere historical curio carried by Maxim, further analyzation (at a distance, maxim forbids closer examination) lends to the possibility that the blade may have some sort of hidden potential.
Physically, the sword can be classified as a Bastard Sword, a double-edged blade reaching 88 cm (33 inches) long, with a shine similar to that of a black Scrying mirror. Conflicting reports state that the blade may instead have a metallic sheen, almost to the point of being blinding. An attempted photo of the blade broke the camera in use. Security personnel did not actually notice that Maxim had the weapon in its sheath until Incident 003958A-IU, despite passing through 3 separate checkpoints.
No attempts to confiscate the blade has been made due to both the nature of its wielder and the "easy" de-escalation after the incident. Maxim continues to offer higher level strategic information for our purposes, and no action will be made unless the situation significantly changes.
Possibilities of additional anomalous behavior of the weapon are almost certain.
A weapon made by neither Aratamite or CoA hands. Where did it come from? We have to research further into this.
THE REEL
A Footage reel consisting of sounds and video recorded during the lightning raid on the Aratamite Black Chambers. It first starts recording with rows upon rows of tanked individuals, all of them gurgling and thrashing in their restraints. Some tanks are filled with dead subjects or, horrifyingly, a red mist. Screams echo out from the middle of nowhere as the camera continues to record in exquisite detail the deteriorating situation for approximately 8 hours. It is moved several times by a filmmaker, moving from the cryo-divisions to some of the various hallways, a cafeteria, a barracks, an Armory, some sort of reactor room and finally a panic room.
The filmmaker was then killed by an unknown entity two hours into the beginning of the film, by a seemingly man-shaped shadow who had proceeded to butcher the rest of the individuals with the filmmaker. the "shadow" is likely a person doctored out of the film, however other possibilities are considered with the anomaly. The individual had picked up the camera and used it to record the various debaucheries along a large proportion of the facility with its fellows. until a brief combat with SEEM Operators in R.A/M.P armor escalated a brief firefight and slaying the camera wielder, and pushing forward through the rest of the facility. A map of the Black Chambers, as well as other actionable intel, is being fabricated by analysts based on the recording.
We still don't know what the Black Chambers is. We don't even know how large the facility is. The footage focuses on combat and individuals rather than useful things like procedures and artifacts. We noted 6 separate instances of Aratam forces utilizing unknown methods of generating anomalies that are not deployed in the greater battlefield. The Cult of Abbadon was estimated to cause around 46% of the anomalies recorded in the film. I did not personally watch the whole of the film, I stopped after the man splitter incident.
[six hours after the meeting between Maxim and Horus in the Overseers office, all parties reconvene after looking over, copying and sending away bits of the package to the relevant parties.]
Overseer Prime spoke first.
"I can see some potential in this."
"On the backs of madmen and murderers who are just as depraved as the Aratamite Astral Division?" Horus shook his head at the revelation.
"We cant leave everything to the tinker-fiends in the deep places, even they are blind to the simple possibilities of it all."
"I doubt you're gonna go very far."
"They said the same thing with the anti-Torch initiatives which /I/ spearheaded, thank you very much."
"You and yours simply do not have the stomach or the lack of restraint to "push the envelope." The "Cutting Edge" is filled with horrors, the very process of accessing puts us at risk to "Other-Things" that would snuff humanity and blot out the stars the very chance they can. No, Only the divisions and bureau's at Aratam could make that choice."
Hour thought for a single moment, before slumping forward, 'What about the Soviets?"
Thoughtfully, the very dangerous weapon stroked her chin.
"We're all doomed if the civilized polities find out whats is all the ruckus about in the Black Chambers, then."
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Topic: Mad Arms Race - Core Thread (Fall 1965: Final Design Phase) (Read 18731 times)