Hollow and Drowning
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CAUTION
The following file contains an undisclosed number of contextual infohazardous memetic agents. Segments from the description, as well as the entirety of Discovery and Addendums I and II have been expunged for viewing safety.
These attachments are locked to all personnel without anomaly-specific 052/4 memetic safety measures. Consult Site-007 Infohazard Wing analysts for access.
A fully unexpunged physical document, as well as Addendum III (full incident reports log) may be requested by personnel attached to the project, provided 052/5 memetic safety measures are followed.
As of 07/07/2007, research on RPC-052 is cancelled. Efforts are now exclusively directed towards suppression and containment of informational breaches.
Registered Phenomena Code: 052
Object Class: Alpha-Red
Hazard Types: Climatological Hazard, Emotional Hazard, Gravitational Hazard, Ideological Hazard (?), Mind-Control Hazard, Info-Hazard
Assigned Facility: Site-007 (Infohazard Wing)
Research Lead: Dr. A. Richardson
Assigned MST(s): MST Alpha-3 ("Scavengers")
Containment Protocols
RPC-052 is to be contained as a whole through disinformation campaigns, as its anomalous properties cannot be prevented from affecting the city of Glasgow. Large supplies of Class A-1 amnestics are to be stored at Site-007 for this purpose, with minor stockpiles of Class G and R amnestics maintained in case of emergency. Large-scale deployment of emergency amnestics requires Global Directorate approval.
Research on the exact properties and causes of RPC-052's secondary anomalous phenomena is forbidden at this date per cognitohazard safety protocols. Site-007's Infohazard Wing is currently quarantined until a usable countermeme is developed.
Description
RPC-052 is a grated floodgate in the stream bed of River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland. RPC-052 is impermeable, even when opened. Through RPC-052 runs a 2km long, 1m wide, and 0.7m high tunnel oriented 45 degrees downwards, directly connecting with RPC-052-1's belltower.
RPC-052-1 is a 5m high wooden chapel, 2km below the stream bed of River Clyde. It shows signs of abundant water damage; most of its wood has rotted and splintered in several places. A structural anomaly prevents the chapel from collapsing due to the weight of the earth above. RPC-052-1's belltower lacks a bell, although remains of a yoke and a 2m long rope can be found hanging from its ceiling. A spiral staircase connects the belltower with the rest of RPC-052-1.
Two lines of seven pews are set up across RPC-052-1. In front of each are the inanimate corpses of twenty-one unidentified human subjects in an advanced state of decay, designated RPC-052-2. Thirteen instances of RPC-052-2 are female while eight are male. Each instance stands immobile and slightly bent over, with each foot affixed to the ground by a single thick nail. All instances are dressed in black clothing and have scarce black hair.
RPC-052-2 instances cannot be displaced, as any attempt to do so results in an external, anomalous force forcing them to recover their position.
A number of autopsies have been performed on five instances, suggesting anoxic hypoxia as the cause of death, and finding great amounts of water contained in their interiors. Since their discovery, RPC-052-2 have not been observed to further decompose.
The altar in RPC-052-1 has been replaced by a well, over which a lidless coffin has been placed. Inside the coffin, the corpse of an unidentified humanoid figure rests, dressed in gray, wet rags and holding a rusted iron crown in its hands. While having a number of puncture wounds, it shows no sign of decomposition. Notable deviation from standard human physiology has been noted, including;
- A set of ten avian wings sprouting from its back
- Sixty-four teeth, doubling the normal amount of thirty-two
- Constant production of a clear liquid, containing high amounts of prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and Leu-enkephalin
The cause of death for this figure cannot be ascertained.
The well below the coffin extends for 20m, and is blocked by mud.
Discovery
| "KILLJOY" INCIDENT REPORT |
| Date: 24/3/1998 |
Location: Glasgow, Scotland |
Sender: Dir. Hernández (Site-007) |
| Nature: Mass mind-affection |
| Priority: GAMMA-RED |
During March 24th, 1998, at 5:12 PM local time, twenty-one inhabitants of the city of Glasgow were afflicted by a mind-affecting anomaly, forcing them to walk towards a single location in river Clyde. They were apparently semiconscious, and able to respond to external stimuli, albeit in a slow and absent-minded manner.
MST Alpha-3 ("Scavengers") managed to intercept seven of these individuals, but were unable to detain them: when incapacitated or stopped in their tracks, an external anomalous force would pull Alpha-3 agents backwards, and return affected individuals to an upright position.
Once Alpha-3 realized detaining these individuals would be impossible, attempts were made to question or interview them. Responses would sometimes be received, if sometimes apparently unrelated to the question. A log of asked questions and recorded responses follows.
Why are you going to the river?
"To assist to the eternal crowning."
Who is the crowning for?
"Óscar Romero died today. May his remains be forever holy."
What are you looking for in the river?
"The chapel where the infinite cold and deep water sleep."
What is the crowning for?
"The abyss awaits."
Who was the last person crowned?
"The empty monarch. King of kings."
Once the affected subjects entered the river, they briefly disappeared, reappearing eight minutes later, dead and floating near the river bank. Alpha-3 managed to recover the bodies twenty minutes later, and disposed of them the following day. No relevant anomalies were discovered upon autopsy. Heart failure was discovered to be the cause of death in all twenty-two recovered corpses. After their recovery, it began to rain, and didn't stop for the following three days.
A brief investigation was conducted across the river bed, and a grated floodgate was found 50km away from the recovery location. Further research is pending approval.
Disinformation and amnestization protocols are in process.
Addendum I
4/6/2008 Incident
During June 4th, 2008, Agent Stark from MST Alpha-21 ("Wolf Pack") and PoI-7478 found themselves trapped within RPC-052-1, after both crossed the London Elizabeth Hotel entry and were transported to the anomaly through an anomalous process. After this point, no transmissions could be relayed to Agent Stark, but his transmissions could be received.
Once within RPC-052-1, both Agent Stark and PoI-7478 witnessed an anomalous event that has not repeated since. During the event, Alpha-3 attempted to access RPC-052-1 to no avail, as RPC-052 was anomalously locked. A transcription of the event, recorded by Agent Stark's camera equipment, is attached below.
Field Recording Transcript [A21-5/P7478-462008]
(Continuous static: 20 seconds.)
Stark: Wh-where am I? This isn't the… Hotel.
(PoI-7478 is observed ahead of Agent Stark. She is tip-toeing towards the well. After a few seconds, she stops, and becomes immobile.)
Stark: Can you hear me, command? This isn't the hotel. We're in some kind of… Church? Please adv-
PoI-7478: (Whispering.) Shh. Silence. We mustn't attract its attention.
(Pause.)
Stark: Whose?
(Stark looks around. All RPC-052-2 instances are staring at him, immobile.)
Stark: C-command? What is this?
PoI-7478: We must not attract the attention of the defunct.
Stark: What are you talking about? What the fuck have you do—
(The sound of water flowing can be heard. The walls across RPC-052-1 crackle and splinter.)
PoI-7478: The king of the abyss must sleep. We mustn't make any noise.
Stark: What king? Something's wrong with you. Just let me take you somewhere safe and we can patch you up, from whatever that is.
PoI-7478: The lost saint. The forgotten lord. The second fallen. The empty monarch. Maalik. The king of the drowned. King of kings.
Stark: If you can hear me, Command, she's affected by something. Perhaps mem—
(Stark is interrupted by loud mumbling, believed to come from RPC-052-2.)
(Stark's view focuses on the coffin above the well. The corpse inside rises, and stares at Stark.)
(Video feed cut. Rain is heard for the next eight minutes.)
Agent Stark was discovered, dead, in front of the well. Cause of death was ruled to be anoxic hypoxia. No trace of PoI-7478 was found.
Upon investigation, no further anomalies were located inside RPC-052-1. The mud inside the well was observed to have ascended by two meters.
After the incident, Glasgow experienced another continuous rainstorm for the following three days.
Addendum II
05/07/2007 Update Summary
While discouraging and worrying, it is my responsibility to relay the findings of Site-007's Infohazard Wing; we have not contained RPC-052. Not its full scope.
Since initial containment, every five or so years we're getting incidents. Each new incident is nearly identical to the first; twenty-one individuals, closely related by blood, suddenly go bonkers and drown themselves on River Clyde, more or less fifty kilometers away from RPC-052-1.
However, God bless the agents of Alpha-3 for being insistent asshats and continuing to question every single affected subject, their responses to questions have begun to deviate. For example, this is an early response from the 90s.
"To assist to the eternal crowning."
And this is from last year;
"To assist in the eternal crowning."
Changes are subtle. Subtle enough for no one to notice until Containment began getting desperate enough to ask Research for help, but they all point to changes in context, and especially tense. While early subjects used to speak in future tense, newer responses are nearly always in present. Events priorly described are also advancing;
"The flooding is weak, and the chains keep holding."
Dated 04/06/2004.
"The gateways have broken. The flooding cannot be stopped. The chains are rusting."
Dated 07/07/2006.
A certain type of response has ceased occurring altogether; that which alludes to ozymandian rule, referring to a forgotten, dead, or replaced king.
"The empty monarch. King of kings."
Most worrying, we haven't found any correlation between this progression and real world events; we believe this is pointing to something happening right under our noses, and we haven't figured out just what. While activity tied to a certain GoI in Glasgow has spiked up in the last few years, it's an immense stretch to correlate it to RPC-052.
Current containment measures have proven ineffective; while the infohazardous properties of RPC-052 remain nebulous and uncertain, it is clear that amnestic regimes on the population of Glasgow are growing weaker in suppressing the spread of rumours, and potentially, infohazards. A certain few individuals have been known to suddenly recover chunks of memory from 052-related rumours or incidents, and attempt to communicate this to anyone around them.
As such, we suggest increasing amnestic dose and vigilance. We also request support from Site-279's infohazard division, considering their amazing research on Blueberry Bay.
Addendum III
Incident Log
[INFOHAZARD REDACTED; CONSULT SITE-007 INFOHAZARD WING]
The development of new containment measures to prevent affected subjects from drowning themselves is underway.
Due to recent suspicions, an antimemetics research team is being transferred from Site-223 in Argentina to Site-007, in hopes of discovering further data regarding RPC-052's infohazardous properties.
Exploration Log
The Tears of an Emp[INFOHAZARD EXPUNGED]
[INFOHAZARD EXPUNGED]you can't hide from the light of my cr[INFOHAZARD EXPUNGED]
(CSD-797 is climbing down the well, hanging tightly from a noose with one hand, and holding a shovel in the other. The wet mud at the bottom of the well is illuminated by CSD-797's shoulder torch.)
S007-Command: Are you at the bottom yet?
CSD-797: (Whispering.) Almost there. Shovel's heavy.
S007-Command: Speak up. I can't hear you.
CSD-797: Can't. Can't let them hear me.
(Pause.)
S007-Command: Yeah, you're right. You can't. Sorry.
(CSD-797 lets go of the noose, and lands on the mud. The shovel strikes the wall, making no noise.)
(CSD-797 begins digging.)
CSD-797: Ugh. This is disgusting. I hope you guys have a hot bath for me ready when I come back.
UNKNOWN: Sure.
S007-Command: Sure.
(As CSD-797 continues digging, each spadeful of mud he lifts remains floating in the air.)
(CSD-797 uncovers a red carbuncle, and it also remains floating.)
UNKNOWN: And I will make thy gates of carbuncles.
S007-Command: And I will make thy gates of carbuncles.
CSD-797: What's that?
UNKNOWN: Oh, nothing.
S007-Command: Oh, nothing.
(One further spade goes up, and the mud lets go of a full set of children's teeth; they dance around CSD-797's head, and pieces of mud join their dance.)
(CSD-797 grows two wings of bone, and rags of flesh.)
(CSD-797 uncovers a steel box. It is of no use.)
CSD-797: I'm getting tired. How much more do I have to dig?
UNKNOWN: Just a while more.
S007-Command: Just a while more.
(The mud lets go of his memories; toys from childhood. Repugnant cassettes and a syringe full of sin. A gun is uncovered, but it's still bloodied.)
(CSD-797 grows a second pair of wings. His halo sets aflame, and his corpse runs dry, as two more wings sprout right after.)
CSD-797: I-I can't keep going. It hurts. I need water, I need rain, flood! Please!
UNKNOWN: Be free from the chains between men.
(CSD-797 keeps digging, though slower.)
(Pieces of five heavenly crowns are uncovered, and they too burn. The Black Crown is pierced by the spade, and it cracks upon a million pieces.)
Stark: Stop. Stop! Stop digging!
(Yet another pair of wings. It is the second to last.)
Stark: You have to stop. The water is seeping through and we can't hold it anymore. Please.
PoI-7478: Please.
S007-Command: Please.
(CSD-797 stops digging. Hushed pleas fill the air. It is the citizens of Glasgow.)
UNKNOWN: You have no self. You cannot cry true tears, and your heads hold no crowns. As such, you are not. You are peasants.
(The pleas fade away to running water. CSD-797 continues digging.)
(The halo stops burning, as CSD-797 strikes something solid.)
UNKNOWN: Return to me what's mine.
(The remaining mud gives way, and below CSD-797 lies an open coffin, and a rusted crown of iron rests inside.)
(CSD-797 cries true tears, and grows his two last wings. The halo dries and cracks, splintering until nothing's left but dust.)
UNKNOWN: I am Ozymandias, King of Kings. I am Shoshenq. I am Ramesses the Eighth. I ruled Tartaria and Nebuzaradan.
(CSD-797 picks the crown, and places it upon his head.)
CSD-797: Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair.
UNKNOWN: For nothing will remain, round your decay.
CSD-797: In this colossal steppe, boundless and bare.
UNKNOWN: The lone and level flood stretches far away.
(It's raining outside.)
