YOUR EYES ONLY
The following file is considered SEALED and is to remain classified until further notice. Distribution of this dossier is forbidden.
Black Site Clearance required to view. Specialized amnestic assets will be utilized if viewing requirements are not met.
C-148414
Collected Data Dossier
This file exists to inform personnel of operational details in case of a reemergence of the anomalies and entities of interest involved during C-148414, or the extraordinary conditions experienced by the Authority in 1960.
The Authority Black Site is responsible for performing all operations that the Global Directors must not have direct or complete oversight of, for their own safety. C-148414 involves a large amount of highly sensitive data, of which an undisclosed number of Global Directors must remain unaware in order to ensure organizational stability. For these reasons, the following documents have been sanitized for personnel handling.
Gaslighting and information suppression are considered prime directives regarding C-148414. Information may not be documented without express authorisation of a member of the Black Site Internal Intelligence Council or their delegates, and possession of such in recorded or memotic format is to be reported for later sanitization. As memory suppression agents are pivotal to operations regarding C-148414, personnel may only be involved if no predisposition to harmful secondary effects is present. Due to recent events involving the Memotics Department, amnestization of especially sensitive information may not occur in facilities under operation of the Memotics Department, or near recently amnesticized populations. When possible, amnestization should take place gradually and in isolated areas.
If necessary for operation, sanitized memories prior to 1959 and after 1961 may be restored through available material or oral description.
Primary Compilation [13/12/2014]
RPC-013-1 Research Division File.
Registered Phenomena Code: 013-1
Item Type: Object
Lethality Rating: White
Hazard Types: Info-Hazard, Visual, Memory Alteration
Abstract: The anomaly is a short 13-page book with visual properties, under experimentation following a special request from Black Site Department. Development of potential applications is unnecessary.
Safe Handling and Usage: RPC-013-1 is to be treated as a lethal cognitohazard; visual exposure should be avoided.
TESTING BAN: 13/07/2013 - PRESENT
Authority: [IDENTITY CLASSIFIED], Black Site Department
Reason: To prevent potential spread of classified information.
Description: RPC-013-1 is a unique children's storybook titled "Bob's Sleepy Time". RPC-013-1 spans 13 pages, with its first 12 folio exhibiting no anomalous properties. However, page 13 is suspected to contain a visual memetic agent, exposure to which would result in the immediate reception of large amounts of data. Of note, RPC-013-1's contents are unusual for similar non-anomalous books in regards to phrasing and narrative.
The flipside of page 13 contains a monochrome image unrelated to the book's content: this has been determined to not be hazardous on its own, but is placed to accentuate the effects of the memetic agent in question. Attempts to track down the origin of the image have failed. Location pictured and date of photography are unknown.
Discovery: RPC-013-1 was recovered after the disappearance of Mr. Julián Abascal, inhabitant of Mexico City, classified PoI-7916. The subject in question had displayed unusual behaviour towards his son and grandchildren, repeatedly attempting to expose them to RPC-013-1. After his family attempted to contact Mexico City law enforcement, the subject left his home, abandoning most of his belongings save for a small choice of apparel suited for travel. RPC-013-1 was left in possession of his grandchildren, later retrieved by law enforcement and repossessed by the Authority. RPC-013-1's anomalous properties had apparently not been noticed by the police force.
Reports of PoI-7916's disappearance and unusual circumstances involved reached Authority informants in Mexico City, prompting NORTHCOM Authority involvement. Further action regarding operational security was deemed unnecessary, as local news media failed to pick up on the case and Mexico City's high crime rate quickly distracted law enforcement.
PoI-7916 was last sighted by local law enforcement in the Plaza de Constitución (Constitution Square), heading northwest.
RPC-013-1 Addenda.
Addendum 013-1/1: Black Site Testing Request.
EXPERIMENTATION TEAM TRIAL ROUND REQUEST
ISSUING AUTHORITY BLACK SITE REP CLEARANCE BS-4. CONFIRMATION CODE 14#CU-070/448US9634.
SPECIFICATIONS: EXPOSURE TESTING TO WRITTEN TEXT AND IMAGES.
YOU ARE TO DIRECTLY EXPOSE FIRST ROUND OF TEST SUBJECTS 1 - 14 THROUGH PAGES 1 - 13, AND SURVEY EACH FOR BEHAVIOURAL OR MEMORY ALTERATION. LONG-TERM EFFECTS ARE OF NO CONCERN.
SECOND ROUND OF SUBJECTS 15 - 27 IS TO BE EXPOSED TO THE OBJECT VIA INDIRECT MEASURES AND UNDERGO THE SAME PROCESS.
SUBJECTS 1 - 13 AND 15 - 27 ARE TO BE EXPOSED TO CONTENT ON INDIVIDUAL PAGES, WHILE SUBJECTS 14 AND 28 ARE TO BE EXPOSED TO ALL 13.
INDIRECT MEASURES AUTHORIZED: AUTOMATED PENCIL AND PAPER REPLICATION OF IMAGES IN QUESTION VIA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHS. THIS IS SO EXPOSURE TO AUTHORITY PERSONNEL IS AVOIDED.
FOR SECURITY PURPOSES, CONTENT FROM THE OBJECT IS TO BE TREATED AS A LETHAL COGNITOHAZARD BY EXPERIMENTATION TEAM EVEN IF TEST SUBJECTS DO NOT EXPERIENCE LETHAL EFFECTS.
DEVELOPMENT OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS FOR THE OBJECT IS NOT NECESSARY.
YOU ARE TO CONFECTION A SINGLE TEST RESULT SHEET PLUS MAIN FILE AND SEND BOTH BACK ONCE TESTS ARE OVER. NO OTHER RECORDS ARE ALLOWED TO BE KEPT.
Addendum 013-1/2: Per-Page Exposure Test Log Results.
Page 1 Tests
Page Contents: Once upon a time, there was Bob. Bob was a happy man, and he ran and walked a lot around his house.
[Crude drawing of a smiling man with three eyes, presumably Bob, standing outside a house with a single window. Both stand in a green plain. The sun, wearing sunglasses, stares at Bob from the sky.]
Bob liked to walk away from his house too. He did it so often, that he knew just when to return so he would be home before sunset.
[Bob is returning home, running and waving to the sun. The sun is yawning, closer to the ground than the first drawing.]
Test Subject Round 1 Results: No effects are apparent.
Test Subject Round 2 Results: No effects are apparent.
Page 1 contents confirmed INNOCUOUS.
Page 2 Tests
Page Contents: But one day, the sun began setting earlier!
[Bob is jumping from the ground, surprised or scared. The sun is sleeping without its sunglasses, and is close to completely disappearing in the horizon.]
Bob had to run, run home to sleep. But in his haste, he missed his house! And oh dear, he went so, so far off, that the sun set, and the stars started falling!
[Bob is running away from his house. The sky is darkening on the direction he's running toward, and two stars, one six-pointed and the other seven-pointed, begin to fall.]
Test Subject Round 1 Results: No effects are apparent.
Test Subject Round 2 Results: No effects are apparent.
Page 2 contents confirmed INNOCCUOUS.
[TESTS 3 TO 12 OMMITED]
Page 13 Tests
Page Contents: And Bob there arrived at his house, but it was different, and had been ruined. The raining misery had destroyed the entire city.
[Bob's house has been crushed by an immense black obelisk. Instead of a plain, it is surrounded by a cityscape. Bob stares at the rubble with two other similar figures.]
But the spirits have been lifted, the trapped. Bob rested easy, and while his two other friends vanished to the darkness, the obligation in victory sunk in.
[Bob is staring into the sky, seeing the moon in first-quarter phase along with the sun. The sun is faceless. Twelve other obelisks can be seen from other points in the city, dwarfing all other buildings. They appear to be disposed in a circle.]
And Bob spoke once, to the citizens of the city; "Give up your wills, and rest easy now."
[Perspective changes to a human hand drawn over a lever. It is significantly more detailed than prior drawings. Lever position is switched, and a vague outline of the city is drawn in white over a black background.]
Onward they marched, to the Week that Didn't Happen.
[Bob walks downward stairs, appearing to fade as he descends.]
"You shall not wake until the twelfth day sees the moon set, and the thirteenth sees the sun rise." — he whispered to their ears, consciousness drifting deep too.
[A triangular sigil with seven dots drawn across the border. Three five-pointed stars are drawn near each vertex.]
"Let time heal the wounds and erase the memories."
Zero-Five-Zero-One-One-Nine-Six-Zero.
Thirteenfold pattern realized.
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Image contextually nonhazardous. Content unknown.
Test Subject Round 1 Results: Subject #14 dazed during interview. Expresses irritability, avoidance of eye contact, constant fidgeting with hands, and extreme sensibility to sound. Believed to be symptoms of sudden, extreme sensory overload. Interview appears to confirm this. The subject appeared cooperative during previous tests. Of note, the subject was born in 1954.
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Can we skip this? I don't want to talk, head's aching.
Please uh, please lower your voice. You're just screaming at my face now.
I don't know anything more than what I read! I didn't receive anything! Leave me the fuck alone!
Uh… Sorry for that. I'm just tired. A-and you keep being really loud for some reason. I need to rest, please.
Following the post-test interview, Subject #14 repeatedly regurgitated a semi-solid substance with no apparent anomalous properties. The substance dissipated before collection of samples could take place.
Test Subject Round 2 Results: No effects are apparent.
Page 13 contents confirmed HAZARDOUS via direct exposure, set up via direct exposure to prior pages: Secondary exposure is safe.
Following Page 13 tests and communication of results to Black Site Department, a testing ban has been established for RPC-013-1. Subject #14 under surveillance.
Once confection of finalized document is complete, RPC-013-1 is to be returned to Black Site Department.
Involved Researchers: Dr. K. Britt, Head Researcher. Dr. S. Hancock, Assistant Researcher. Dr. G. Maguire, Assistant Researcher.
RPC-013-2 Black Site File.
Registered Phenomena Code: 013-2
Object Class: Gamma-White
Hazard Types: Auditory, Info-Hazard, Memory Alteration, Mechanical
Containment Protocols: Mexican Authority personnel are to report unusually high rates of migraine or headache, as well as general radio jamming to regional NORTHCOM supervisors who are then to relay the information in question to Black Site Department representatives. Black Site Department is responsible for intervention on each given case.
Personnel born before 1960 are disallowed from participating in RPC-013-2 operations.
Description: RPC-013-2 refers to a series of makeshift radio transmission devices produced by PoI-7916. RPC-013-2 instances work simultaneously as jammers and transmitters, overriding any transmissions on a certain frequency, provided they are in a 5km radius. While jamming, RPC-013-2 transmit variable sequences of numbers and phrases, all of which share similar anomalous properties that have not been successfully replicated under any conditions.
In a minor percentage of cases, audible reception of signals transmitted by RPC-013-2 can result in immediate and severe sensory overload, primarily manifesting as migraine, which subdues over the course of 20 minutes. Once this timespan is over, affected subjects will have incorporated large amounts of unfamiliar data. Data received through RPC-013-2 is always highly sensitive, and especially hazardous to operational security.
Of note, these properties are more consistently triggered and powerful in subjects born before the year 1960. In these subjects, amnestic treatment regarding received information is rarely effective. As such, sanitization protocols require extensively damaging the amygdala1 for the same effect as regular amnestics.
RPC-013-2 instances are mainly located throughout Northern Mexico, especially through the provinces of Sonora and Chihuahua, although a limited number of instances have been found in Arizona.
Discovery: The first known instance of RPC-013-2 was discovered near Santiago de Querétaro, northwest of Mexico City, during October 2013. Local Authority personnel were alerted following reports of general malfunction of radio devices along the northmost edge of the city. It was found that these malfunctions were identical across all reports, always consisting of devices being jammed by an identical broadcast not unlike that of a numbers station.2
It was ultimately decided not to intervene, having failed to find any anomalous properties inherent to the broadcast. No attempt was made to alert Mexican intelligence.
However, as October progressed, an abrupt increase in medical reports regarding headaches was noticed across the same population being affected by the phenomenon. Further investigation of specific cases prompted Black Site Department intervention, as symptoms experienced by the population of Querétaro had significant overlap with those provoked by RPC-013-1.
Interviews with affected individuals confirmed suspicions of a link between both phenomena, resulting in incognito search parties being deployed north of Querétaro. RPC-013-2/1 was found on the 14th of October. PoI-7916 was briefly identified on the following day, installing an RPC-013-2 instance near the city of Torreón.
RPC-013-2 Addenda.
Addendum 013-2/1: Sample Case Log.
013-2/8.
Zero zero five five nine. Nine six zero zero. Twenty-six thirty-nine. One four eight. Five six seven twelve.
Sleeping days that came and never left. Wake up!
Six five four zero four. The three eyes keep watching.
Nine nine six four six. You can't trust what you're told.
Eleven eleven eleven. Do not look outside. Listen to me. Liiiisten. Toooo. Meeee.
Don't forget.
Zero five zero one one nine six zero.
013-2/26.
Nine nine four nine nine. Four six four.
Nine nine six. Six six six six six six.
And then the gates opened, unleashing plagues unseen before and since.
Three valiants closed the gates, but still the sun failed to rise.
Not until the dawn of the thirteenth did the skies clear.
And the valiants of yesterday are the tyrants of today.
They will open again.
Nine nine. Nine nine.
Zero five zero one one nine six zero.
[Note: A modulated tone follows the end of the transmission. This tone has been successfully decoded as an image. See below.]
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Image nonhazardous. Content unknown.
013-2/28.
Eight fourteen. Zero sixty. Zero zero thirty.
Eleven five three ten. Seven seven six.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Zero zero zero. Two four eight.
Remember the Pact of Worms. Remember that what didn't happen, did.
You can't trust your memory. Trust my voice instead.
Seven five six twenty.
Remember the face of the White Specters, for they will again come. When thirteen seals pop off.
There are seven left.
Nine eight nine three. Be careful.
Zero five zero one one nine six zero.
Addendum 013-2/2: Translated Interview with Affected Subject.
Internal Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-12122013]
Participants:
- ███ █████ ("A"), Affected Subject
- █████ █████ ("B"), Black Site Dept. Interviewer
A: Hi, sir.
B: Hello, [A]. Are you feeling better today?
A: A little. The nightmares don't stop and I can't sleep.
B: Oh, I'm sorry. We're doing what we can to help you. But we need a little of your help too.
[A opens his mouth and pauses, then resumes.]
A: What do you need?
B: Talk to me about the unusual things you've been experiencing. Nightmares, unfamiliar memories, all of that.
A: Well…
[A pauses for 18 seconds.]
A: It's mostly things from back in the late fifties. Or early sixties? I don't remember. My father took me to Manhattan then, when I was very little. We were there for thirt— Two weeks, we were there two weeks.
A: I used to not be able to remember nearly anything of it, but the nightmares… They help me remember a few details.
[A pauses again for 19 seconds.]
B: And what are those details?
A: Some sort of commotion, with people running across the street. Widespread panic. We had just woken up and were seeing it happen from the window of our hotel near Times Square. Soldiers with guns and blue helmets and berets flooded into the hotel and forced us to leave.
A: They got me into a truck with other kids, and left my father behind. He ran behind the truck, screaming something at the soldiers, but I wasn't looking at him. I had my sight fixed on…
[A is silent, snapping his fingers and looking down.]
A: I can't find the word… It was something big, something I can't describe. And it was moving, too. Moving my way.
[A returns to upright position. Sweat stains are clearly visible on his shirt. His hands slightly tremble.]
A: I've tried to find some information about this on the computer, with my grandkid's help, but there's nothing. And none of my friends from that time remember the same things I do from that trip.
B: Do you think the men in blue helmets might be United Nations peacekeeping forces?
A: Now that you say that… They might have been, yes. But why would they have been in the States?
B: They're just nightmares. That couldn't have had happened, or we'd all remember it.
A: Right, right. It's just getting to me.
B: Anything else you might want to tell me?
A: Yes, yes. There's some other stuff that comes with the nightmares. Locations, names.
[A briefly pauses.]
A: New York, Virginia Beach, Charleston, Houston, La Ceiba, Caracas, Paramaribo, Sao Luis, Fortaleza, Sao Paulo, Montevideo, Mar del Plata, Comodoro Rivadavia. Around ten thousand feet or three thousand meters below sea surface. They're Lightswitches.
B: Lightswitches?
A: It's… A little dumb. They're called that because they keep the lights on.
B: What lights do they keep on?
A: I have a feeling it's a way of speech. Like you'd say being conscious is keeping the lights on in your brain.
B: Those are… Thirteen locations, right?
A: Thirteen heartless whisperers with faces made of bone; they dance like children in the dark, they grow like seeds on fallow ground. Their candles burn, burn burn…. there is no light. There is no light. They dance in circles. The White Specters come with them—
B: [A]! Are you okay?
A: They are heartless, they cannot be trusted. They crawled and devoured bones and—
[A stares at B and pales. He raises his hand and points it at B.]
A: You… You said thirteen?
B: You did, too. Is everything okay? You were talking to yourself just now.
A: O-oh. That's a scary number. It scares me. I'm sorry, I didn't even realize I was thinking aloud.
[Pause; 10 seconds.]
B: Mr [A]?
A: Yes, sir?
B: Since when are you scared of that number?
A: I… I don't know.
High-Priority Internal E-Mail for MST X-Ray 7 Site-279 Salt Lake City — 07/07/2014
IMMEDIATE PRIORITY
ISSUING AUTHORITY REGIONAL CONTAINMENT DIR. PAUL MILLER ON BEHALF OF CLASSIFIED BLACK SITE REP. CONFIRMATION CODE 14#AA-029/889US5174.
POI-7916 SIGHTED NEAR SALT LAKE CITY CENTRAL. PROCEED TO IMMEDIATE DISCRETE CAPTURE.
BIRTH NAME JULIÁN ABASCAL, GRAY HAIR, BROWN EYES, LIGHT BROWN SKIN, APPROX 1.80 METRES (5'9'' FEET) TALL. USES POLAR EYEGLASSES.
BELIEVED TO BE ON TRACK TO NEW YORK CITY. POTENTIAL ANOMALOUS PROPERTIES UNKNOWN. POSSIBLY IN POSSESSION OF ONE OR MORE ANOMALOUS ARTIFACTS. AFFILIATION WITH OTHER PERSONS OR ENTITIES OF INTEREST UNKNOWN.
ADVISE CAUTION.
Requisitioned Items Log [PoI-7916]
- Polar eyeglasses, +2,75. Non-anomalous. (1)
- Various electrical components for radio transmission devices. Non-anomalous.
- USB flash drives containing RPC-013-2 recordings. (32)
- United States political map. Non-anomalous. (1)
- Utah political map. Non-anomalous. (1)
- Ham + cheese sandwiches. Non-anomalous. (12)
- Personal diary, annotated with directions to several electronics stores. Non-anomalous. (1)
- Several monochrome photographies. Non-anomalous. (3)
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Image #1
Image #2
Image #3
Note: These have been identified as photographies of now-destroyed Site-018-EX, located northwest of Manhattan, taken before 13/01/1960.
PoI-7916 Archive File
Status:
APPREHENDED
Biodata
Full Name: Julián Abascal
Affiliations: None known
Birthplace: Alpa Corral, Córdoba Province, Argentina
Date Of Birth: July 6th, 1953
Sex: Male
Ethnicity: Mixed — Caucasian (Italy), Hispanic
Height: 1.85m
Weight: 88kg
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Dark brown
Educational Background: Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Political Science Technicature
Occupational History: Teaching, secondary school (student ages 14 - 18). Subjects: Politics (1976 - 1992), History (1992 - 2012)
Further Information
PoI-7916 suffers from an inconsistent memory, occassionally remembering and forgetting events and their characteristics. PoI-7916's behaviour is nervous, frequently fidgeting with his hands and displaying quick eye movement. PoI-7916 also struggles to sleep, and experiences somniloquy3 and palilalia,4 both of which have been confirmed not to be a consequence of brain injuries, rather being induced after triggering RPC-013-1's anomalous effect.
Involuntary speech by PoI-7916 is highly varied in content, occurring only after remaining in silence for relatively prolonged periods. PoI-7916 appears to acknowledge outbursts of speech, but is not bothered by them and is able to suppress them in order to speak voluntarily.
PoI-7916 appears to suffer from an unspecified hallucinatory disorder. For instance, PoI-7916 has casually stated multiple times that he lived in Manhattan between 1958 and 1964, despite there being abundant evidence to the contrary — family members' claims that he lived on his birthplace until 1966 are substantiated by a lack of travel records involving PoI-7916 and the United States. As such, PoI-7916's claims are not to be taken at face value. Should a significant claim be believed to have potential truth to it, further investigation may be performed.
PoI-7916 is undergoing passive questioning, to which he is cooperative, regarding his involvement with RPC-013-2 and potential possession of classified information. Questioning process is currently on the interrogation phase (see Interview Archive). PoI-7916 is highly resistant to amnestic treatment and gaslighting techniques, and as such is scheduled to remain indefinitely in containment.
PoI-7916 is currently kept in Site-279's C-Wing as a non-anomalous prisoner for possession of classified information.
Secondary Compilation [26/1/2015]
Threat Assessment Phase.
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Translated Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-1472014]
Participants:
- Julián Abascal ("PoI"), PoI-7916
- ███████ ████ ("B"), Black Site Dept. Interviewer
Notes:
The following interrogation took place immediately after apprehension, in a specialized reinforced isolation cell fit for interrogation with anomalous individuals. Communication took place through a hidden speaker system, with the interviewer and PoI-7916 in different rooms.
The room's walls were fitted with visual docility agents prior to the interrogation, in order to prevent PoI-7916 from triggering previously unsuspected anomalous properties, and ensuring that responses were truthful.
The first half of the interview is translated from Spanish.
B: Hello, Mister Abascal. You are being interrogated for your activity in the past twelve months. You are to respond truthfully to each order or question. This interrogation will not be interrupted under any circumstances until we are satisfied with your response.
PoI: I want a lawyer.
B: You do not have access to one. The circumstances of your apprehension exempt you from any rights you may normally have during questioning.
PoI: I know you're not the police. Stop pretending.
[Pause; 8 seconds.]
B: State your affiliations with any groups outside the public sphere.
PoI: Outside the public sphere?
[PoI is inspecting the memetic agents on the walls of the enclosure.]
B: Any clandestine organizations, groups of people, or individuals.
[PoI opens his mouth, then abruptly closes it, closing his eyes and facing away from the wall. This is a common response for individuals who become aware of the docility agents' properties.]
PoI: None.
B: State from where or whom you acquired the components to produce the psychological properties of the radio devices.
PoI: Wha— Psychological properties? They have no special powers.
B: State the intent with which you produced the radio devices.
PoI: I— One minute, please.
[PoI looks at the ground, massaging his forehead.]
Translated section ends here.
PoI: First, I can speak English. Second, you don't need to force me to say the truth. I'll talk to you willingly.
B: Do not avoid the order you have been given.
PoI: Wa-wait, wait for a moment. I'll collaborate, but let's talk in more humane terms, can we?
[Pause; 15 seconds. PoI's mouth is moving, but his speech isn't registered.]
B: Please respond to the order. State the intent with which you produced the radio devices.
PoI: Alright, alright. I did it to make people remember like me. Can you please take me out of here? The symbols are making me dizzy and my head aches. I can't talk to you like this.
B: Elaborate.
PoI: Wait, wait. I'm not feeling well. Please just let me out and I'll talk.
B: No. Please respond to the order.
PoI: Please! I'll talk just fine elsewhere, just let me out! The symbols are making me sick.
B: If you were allowed access to a face-to-face interview, would you be able to elaborate?
PoI: Yes, yes! I would elaborate.
[Brief pause.]
B: Please await, the door is opening soon.
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Internal Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-1472014]
Participants:
- Julián Abascal ("PoI"), PoI-7916
- ███████ ████ ("B"), Black Site Dept. Interviewer
Notes:
The following interview took place in Site-279's Wing C. "B" was accompanied by two ASF guards, and all three were allowed to neutralize PoI-7916 if he were to behave in a hostile manner or attempt to otherwise damage the lenient nature of the interview.
PoI-7916 had vomited several times and had reported feeling dizzy or sick. This has been determined to be a secondary effect of the docility agents employed.
B: Hello, Mr. Abascal. Are you feeling better?
PoI: I am, I am.
B: Do you require anything to proceed? Water, paper and pen may be provided if need be.
PoI: I'm fine, thank you. Let's just get it done with, so I can get back to my thing. I mean no harm by it, you'll see.
[PoI is flossing his front teeth, using the nail of his right thumb. This appears to be a nervous response.]
B: I think you misunderstand the nature of your apprehension.
PoI: E-excuse me?
B: You are remaining apprehended for the foreseeable future. I am not authorized to elaborate on our reasoning for that as of now.
[Brief pause.]
PoI: I see.
B: Now — Why did you produce the radio devices?
PoI: To have people remember like I did. You… You talked to some of the people that heard it, right?
B: Yes, we have.
PoI: What they remembered… The week that didn't happen, nineteen-sixty. I'm sorry if I got them sick in the process, I meant no harm, but that's how it goes.
B: Younger people were also affected.
PoI: There aren't many people as old as me. Younger people wouldn't remember, so I had to… Tell them. Or this entire ordeal would've made no changes.
B: How do the transmissions make people remember?
PoI: I just… Tell them, the words do the rest. If it were by me, I wouldn't have made them sick.
B: How did you remember?
PoI: I read a book. A really… Really weird children's book. I don't have it anymore, I lost it.
B: All right. This will conclude today's interview. You will now be guided to your room.
PoI: What will happen to me?
B: You'll undergo further questioning.
PoI: For how long?
B: For as long as we have questions to ask.
Interrogation Phase.
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Internal Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-1572014]
Participants:
- Julián Abascal ("PoI"), PoI-7916
- ███████ ████ ("B"), Black Site Dept. Interviewer
PoI: Hello, sir.
B: Hello. Shall we proceed to questioning?
PoI: O— Oh, okay. Sorry, I thought… Nevermind.
B: All right. I've come here to talk to you about what we call RPC-013-1 — This book.
[B hands PoI a photo of RPC-013-1, while he is moving his right thumb toward his mouth. PoI takes it with apparent enthusiasm, interrupting the motion.]
PoI: Oh! You have it?
B: Yes. We recovered it after you fled your house.
[PoI recoils, staring back at B. This appears to be an expression of guilt.]
PoI: I… I wish I didn't have to leave, you know.
B: Why did you have to do it?
PoI: When I read the book, it spoke to me. N-not in a literal way, I mean. I just knew I had to tell everyone else about this. But my family rejected it, and I… I fled.
[PoI fidgets with his fingers, leaving the photograph on the table.]
B: You fled because your family wanted you to undergo psychiatric treatment.
PoI: They wanted to chuck me in the loonie bin. What other choice did I have?
B: I understand. How did you acquire the book?
PoI: I… I don't remember. Did I… Buy it? No, it couldn't have been. I think it was my granddaughter's.5
B: Did you experience anything unusual while reading the book?
PoI: I felt dizzy and grumpy and my head ached. It subsided once it came to me… Epiphany? That's the word, right?
B: Yes, it is. Do you recognize the image on the last page?
PoI: Come again?
[B takes the photograph of RPC-013-1, and hands PoI a replica of the image in question. PoI takes it with his left hand, using his right to floss his front teeth.]
PoI: Oh! Yes, I do. It's the… The uh… The walk back. We had to walk from my city to somewhere else. I had three other photos from the book, but well… You have them now.
B: When did this happen? Do you remember where you were walking to?
PoI: January, nineteen-sixty. We were walking to… Uhm.
[PoI lays back on his chair, looking up and tapping his right index finger against the table.]
PoI: No, I don't remember.
B: What is the mechanical structure on the left side?
PoI: A weapon.
B: A weapon?
PoI: Wait, uh… I'm not sure now.
[Pause; 9 seconds. Toward the end of the pause, PoI begins whispering to himself.]
PoI: I don't know what it is.
B: All right. That's all for today.
PoI: Oh, so soon?
B: Yes, but we'll continue tomorrow.
PoI: Right. Do you have sleeping pills? I'm having trouble with it, the whispers keep waking me up.
B: Whispers?
PoI: Oh! Nothing to be worried about. They can't be here anyways.
B: I'll ask my superiors.
PoI: Thank you.
-
- _
Internal Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-1672014]
Participants:
- Julián Abascal ("PoI"), PoI-7916
- ███████ ████ ("B"), Black Site Dept. Interviewer
B: Hello, Julián.
PoI: Hello, sir. I don't think I know your name yet, right?
B: No. Have you been sleeping better?
PoI: A little, yes. At least for more than thirteen minutes. The whispers keep bothering me but… It's just easier to ignore them now.
B: Good. Shall we proceed?
PoI: Alright.
B: How did you assemble each RPC-013-2 instance? That is to say, the radio devices you've been placing across northern Mexico.
[PoI looks away from B, caressing his chin.]
PoI: I don't remember. But I know I bought the parts from a bunch of stores, though. I had a diary with a lot of directions.
B: How did you learn to assemble them? Your background indicates no prior education in electronics.
PoI: I've been having fun with repairing radios for a few years. About thirteen, in fact. It's my only link with technology, other than making presentations for my classes and watching football matches.6
B: Now, about the content of those transmissions. Why were they formatted like number broadcasts?
PoI: Well. Back in the… Seventies? Nineteen-seventy eight. That's not right, I think. Were the Soviets still around by then?
B: The Soviet Union fell in nineteen-ninety one.
PoI: Thirteen years before the Soviets fell. We used to listen to Russian numbers stations with my son in the park. People everywhere around us would keep staring and listening for the entire length of the transmission. I had a hunch people would still do the same here. The numbers don't mean anything.
B: Many of the phrases on the broadcast appear to be aimed toward provoking paranoia, rather than spreading your word. Why is that?
[Over the course of the following lines, PoI looks increasingly away from B. This is believed to be an expression of guilt.]
PoI: It wasn't enough with just stating what I needed to. I needed fear to drive it in.
[PoI flosses his front teeth.]
PoI: I'm sorry.
B: I see. You've stated now that the numbers in the broadcasts had no meaning, yet two specific examples are everpresent.
[PoI bites the thumb he was using to floss his teeth.]
PoI: What are those numbers?
B: Thirteen, and zero five zero one nineteen-sixty at the end of every broadcast.
[PoI nods, briefly returning his sight to B, then looking down.]
PoI: Fifth of January, nineteen-sixty. That's the date when it started. The week that didn't happen. And it ended in the thirteenth.
[Pause; 7 seconds.]
B: You omitted thirteen.
[PoI stops biting his thumb, then bites his knuckle.]
B: In fact, you've recurrently mentioned the number thirteen in our interviews. And one of your broadcast includes a quote from Revelations, 1:3. Perhaps you believe in numerology?
PoI: Sorry, sorry. I hope you don't get mad at me for it, after all, the Lord's thirteenth virtue is pardoning.
[PoI chuckles to himself, then looks up.]
PoI: It's a binding number. The Revelations quote is just there because everyone's read it.
B: A binding number?
PoI: When the Week was still passing, the people above needed some way to make people forget it happened. You can't just erase memories, but you can make people forget them. And they sure wanted to forget.
PoI: They had to condense all the horror together. The White Specters' faces. The screaming stars. Children's whispers in the night. And the symbol they chose was thirteen.
B: Why thirteen?
PoI: Because thirteen is a number of misfortune. It already was before the thirteenth day, but after that it became a number of fear. A number that people reject.
B: Triskaidekaphobia is a relatively rare condition.
PoI: Because it's been a while since then. But the fear is still there. Hell, it's probably subconscious. You needed a day twice lucky to catch me.
B: Twice lucky?
PoI: Seventh of July. Seven-seven.
B: I see. Do you believe that number has magical properties?
PoI: I don't think so. But it can achieve things nevertheless. It takes just the right number of mentions, in the right context, to make people remember.
B: Of the number thirteen?
[PoI looks away from B, fidgeting with his thumbs and blinking frequently.]
[Pause; 11 seconds.]
[B flinches, grabbing the right side of his head and hunching over. B can be heard regurgitating.]
PoI: Oh God… You people! The guys outside! He's sick!
Note: B requested access to the bathroom following the end of this interview, remaining there for around 30 minutes before other Site-279 personnel decided to intervene. The bathroom was found to have been overflown with a translucent, semi-solid red substance in which B was covered, still regurgitating and unconscious. Several points of this substance were shaped in a manner roughly similar to human vertebrae.
B is currently unconscious, having suffered from extended hypoxic anoxia.7
PoI-7916 has been denied access outside his cell following this interview. The sanitization phase may be performed via indirect communication.
Sanitization Phase.
Internal Recording Transcript [013-2/SA-1472014]
Participants:
- Julián Abascal ("PoI"), PoI-7916
- ████ ██████ ("C"), Black Site Dept. Sanitizer
Notes:
C interviewed PoI-7916 from the outside of his cell. The following transcript is a combination of the cell's camera footage during the interview, and C's recording.
C: Hello, Julián?
[PoI jumps from his stretcher, looking at the door with his hands closed.]
PoI: Shit! Oh- Oh sorry, I got startled.
C: Oh, don't worry. You've been alone for a while now.
PoI: I… You're right. What brings you here?
C: Personal interest. I've been trying to get an interview since they brought you here.
PoI: Oh! That's a new one.
C: After your last interview they just wouldn't let us talk!
[PoI sits on the stretcher, looking slightly down from the door.]
PoI: Is the other guy okay?
C: He is. He was only dizzy for a few minutes.
PoI: Thank God. I'm sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen. It shouldn't have happened, because they are not here.
C: Don't worry. It's okay now.
PoI: But why did it happen—? Sorry, I'm rambling now. Thank you.
[Brief pause.]
C: Anyway! We can talk now. I want you to talk to me about this entire deal — Nineteen-sixty and that. Me and my superiors are interested in what you have to tell us, because you might be right.
PoI: Oh— Well… Where should I start?
C: Why is it important that everyone remembers what happened in nineteen-sixty?
PoI: So… Let's begin by explaining what happened.
[PoI breathes in, biting his higher lip.]
PoI: First of January, nineteen-sixty.
PoI: It was a horrible time that I don't remember well. The skies growing white, whispering and death outside. I never saw any of it, but my father did, and he made us hide.
PoI: We hid on our house for days, keeping the lights shut and trying to make no noise. It felt like ages, time passing between each sound of cracking bone at day and children whispering at night. But then they came, the blue helmets from the UN and the men in black from the Three Eyes. And there were other people too, people with a triangle sewn into their shoulder.
C: Triangles?
PoI: With three arrows pointing inward.
C: Oh. I see.
PoI: I… I don't know how they did it. I could only hear death from our hiding spot, but at some point… The things were driven back. Thrown into the sea. Sealed with machines deep across the Atlantic coast.
PoI: But it wasn't enough with winning. They had to be goddamn… Agoraphobic. They had to make everyone forget. And they did.
[Brief pause.]
C: That sounds like a good ending.
[PoI chuckles.]
PoI: With time, they became complacent. They stopped taking care of their machines, and they started failing. The things are leaking out again, moving unseen yet. I've seen them from my house, on the roofs at night. They've even begun listening to the whispers now, unscrewing the plates, letting the pieces grow rusty, leaving the fuel supplies low.
PoI: I can't let it happen. I have to tell everyone before it's too late. They have to be taken down before they live long enough to become villiains.
PoI: If only I—
[Brief pause. PoI hits the door, startling C. Heavy breathing is audible.]
C: What's wrong?
PoI: It was you. The people with the triangle. You— You're trying to keep it secret from everyone else.
C: What?
PoI: Don't talk to me like that! You know it! You always did, and you're listening to the Devils!
C: Julián, calm down!
[PoI begins trembling.]
PoI: No, I won't fucking calm down. You are the anti-Christ, the slithering rats beneath the planks. Cockroaches!
C: Listen to me. I have no idea what you are talking about! If something like that was going on, I would know.
[Brief pause.]
C: Believe me when I tell you, we intend nothing but the best for mankind.
PoI: So I was right! You are those people!
C: Julián, do you know why you've been kept here?
[Pause. Heavy breathing subsides.]
C: You've been misled. By the book.
PoI: No. That's not true.
C: What you remember isn't true. It's not real. And if it were, we would know.
PoI: Not true, not true. Or I would've been misleading everyone else.
C: I'm afraid that's what has been happening. That's why your memory about nineteen-sixty has so many holes. Because it's not a memory at all.
PoI: No, no no no no—
C: I'm sorry we weren't more honest from the beginning. We couldn't trust you, but you've demonstrated good intentions.
PoI: What really happened, then? Who is Three Eyes?
C: Nothing did. I don't know of any Three Eyes.
[Pause; 17 seconds.]
C: I understand if you can't trust me now either.
[Brief pause.]
C: Is everything okay?
[PoI abruptly regurgitates, excreting a translucent red substance.]
C: Julián?!
PoI: N— No! The fallow seed! They can't be here!
C: I need help! There's something wrong with him!
[PoI attempts to talk, being interrupted by regurgitation.]
PoI: Gh— You- You brought them wit— with you! They're between you!
[The regurgitated mass extends into PoI's legs as he kneels, grabbing onto the doorknob. At this time, nearby personnel begin attempts to break into PoI's cell.]
PoI: Don't listen— They'll be after you!
[The mass extends onto PoI's head, latching to the base of his neck. PoI begins to spasm inbetween regurgitation, as protrusions made from the same substance grow from his back. As they grow, they appear to take the shape of lit candles.]
[Personnel attempting to rescue PoI are interrupted by sudden growth of mass between the door and its frame. These growths prove to be highly resistant to physical damage, and visually similar to skeletal fingers.]
[PoI's back splits in half along the spine, secreting further mass in the shape of open hands reaching up. A skull-shaped growth emerges from PoI's hindhead, accompanied by thirteen spines across the neck.]
[All activity stops. The mass appears to lose resistance, and personnel are able to break in.]
Following PoI-7916's death, a large number of behavioral anomalies have been detected across the Atlantic coast of the United States and Mexico, closely resembling PoI-7916's own irregularities. No clear cause or pattern for the anomaly has been found despite extensive questioning and analysis of affected populations.
An investigation campaign focused on RPC-013 and PoI-7916 found consistent mentions to a series of mechanical containment devices located below sea across the Atlantic coast, dubbed "Lightswitches" by individuals involved. While scarce evidence of the prior existence of at least one submarine Black Site facility near the Atlantic coast exists, no clear outline of its purpose and systems remains.
Communication with UNAAC archivists remains similarly fruitless, although evidence for the relocation of a number of their Subsurface Resonator containment devices to coastal Authority sites between 1960 and 1963 exists. Redacted mentions to an unspecified third party involved in the operation are considered a cause for concern.
An explorative operation in conjunction with UNAAC is undergoing in hopes to find "Lightswitch" facilities and assess what occurred to them, if anything, and what their relationship with the above described phenomenon is.
Of note, numerous cavities across the Atlantic floor have been found to be overrun with ectoplasmic presence.
Acquired from Black Site physical archives. Flipside reads "LIGHTSWITCH O-8778-7".