The Widow and the Mechcronomicon
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Registered Phenomena Code: 267
Object Class: Alpha-Yellow
Hazard Types: Mechanical, Transmutation, Extra-Dimensional, Informational, Mind-Regression, Thaumaturgic/Keballic
Containment Protocols: RPC-267 is to be stored within a standard containment locker located in Site-016. Access to RPC-267 is strictly prohibited outside of emergency scenarios. In the event that Site-016 must be evacuated, RPC-267 is to be evacuated with the personnel stationed to monitor its locker.
Description: RPC-267 is a leather-bound book that features various artistic depictions of clockwork and other mechanical mechanisms on its cover. Measuring it reveals that RPC-267 is no longer than 300 pages long. However, no actual limit to the number of pages within RPC-267 has been discovered via conventional means, as opening RPC-267 at any point will result in the subject opening RPC-267 at the point they last left off. If the subject has not opened RPC-267 before they will open RPC-267 to the first page.
The cover of RPC-267, all informational hazards have been censored.
The text contained within RPC-267 will always conform to a language understood by the subject viewing RPC-267, with this effect also applying to images of RPC-267. It should be noted that RPC-267 makes use of images and diagrams where it would be necessary to properly explain a piece of information. Subjects that read the text contained within or on RPC-267 will suffer mentally degenerative effects proportional to the time spent reading RPC-267. These effects vary greatly between subjects, with some subjects being more susceptible to these effects than others. Additionally, a small portion of subjects that read RPC-267 will not suffer from this effect for the first 12 hours of reading, immediately after which the subject will instantly be rendered catatonic.
The contents of RPC-267 vary based on how far the reader is into RPC-267, as no anomalous material is present within the first 300 pages of RPC-267. The contents of the first 300 pages of RPC-267 will contain information on the creation and theory behind various machines and programs that would be considered cutting edge. This information within the first 300 pages will change over time based on the current human understanding.
As a subject begins to read past the 300th page the programs and machines described by RPC-267 will gain minor anomalous properties or make use of various minor anomalies. At this point, RPC-267 will explain that it doesn't know exactly how the anomalies it instructs the reader to use work. At this point, subjects will report being entranced by the contents of RPC-267 and will not want to stop reading RPC-267. However, outside stimuli can allow the subjects to stop reading should they feel that they are in danger.
Past the 378th page, the machines and programs described by RPC-267 will start to actively produce larger anomalous effects out of non-anomalous materials and components. Additionally, any subject that reads past this point will be compelled to create the various machines and programs described by RPC-267. This compulsion is anomalous and cannot be resisted once the subject has read any amount of page 379.
Past page 413 of RPC-267 are a variety of spells and rituals of a seemingly Thaumaturgic nature, collectively designated as RPC-267-A. However, RPC-267-A will simply have no effect if the subject enacting them has not read their corresponding pages in RPC-267. Additionally, Authority experts on Thaumaturgy that have examined various recorded RPC-267-A have stated that the entity/phenomena used in the Thaumaturgic shortcut simply doesn't exist. For an assorted collection of various RPC-267-A please see addendum.2
Due to the aforementioned effects of reading RPC-267 for prolonged periods of time, most subjects typically don't read further than around 420 pages before they are no longer capable of comprehending language.
Once a subject reads past page 436 they will begin to find various notes and other materials between the pages of RPC-267. These notes are believed to have been made by the original creator of RPC-267 and serve as a means of further explaining the concepts, theory, and equations within RPC-267. Subjects will also occasionally find that a page of RPC-267 has been used by the creator of RPC-267 to record a journal entry. See addendum.3 for a collected list of these journal entries
Addendum
Addendum.1: Recovery Log
RPC-267 was gifted to the Authority following the rescue of a small Remnants force via the use of RPC-████. This Remnants force claimed to have recovered RPC-267 from the ruins of a city. The Remnants force further claims that various destroyed robotic humanoids were found scattered throughout the city in which RPC-267 was discovered.
Following the recovery of RPC-267 from the Remnants timeline, it was discovered that various Children of Nihil cults within the Remnants had begun to worship an unknown entity known as the "The Widow". It is currently believed that RPC-267 is related to this entity, however, the exact nature of this relationship is unknown.
Addendum.2: Partial RPC-267-A list
Foreword: The following is a partial list of the RPC-267-A instances contained within RPC-267. Due to security concerns only the name, description of the spell's intended effect, description of the spell's actual effects, and notes on the spell have been listed.
Name: Create Labotomite
Intended effect: I intend for this spell to return the dead to life in much of the same state that they were before. This spell is also intended to replace the damaged parts of the body that lead to death with mechanical replacements.
Actual effect: The spell functioned as intended in all but one aspect, all of the subjects that I tested the spell on (they were dead before I got them) came back as nothing more than lobotomized drones. These "Labotomites", as I have named them, lack all the memories that the subject had before death. They are capable of understanding any instructions I give them, but they are definitely not intelligent.
Notes: It is now obvious to me that bringing her back wouldn't be this simple. Because if it was this simple then someone would've figured it out already… Still, this is a great success in its own right. The ability to create essentially brand new laborers with a corpse and some fancy speak is still useful, so this spell will definitely make further research much easier on me.
Name: Better Metal
Intended effect: I honestly don't remember what I intended this ritual to do originally. It has been so long after I created my original magnum opus I have forgotten why I did so. I know I didn't intend for its effects, that much I remember.
Actual effect: As I mentioned earlier, this was my first magnum opus. A ritual that allows you to convert iron or any other metal into a type of material I refer to as living metal. This material is like the baseline metal, except it has the ability to repair microfractures and other minor damage to its molecular structure on own. Not only that but it retains this property after being smelted down. It was the discovery of this material that got me promoted to high mech-priest back at Nucorp.
Notes: If you have managed to read this far then you ought to know that living metal will be an essential component to all of my creations from this point on. Before you ask, yes I know calling it living metal is a bit misleading. But this material allows a machine to maintain itself like a living being, and I couldn't resist such a perfectly simplistic name like "living metal".
Name: Detect Hazards
Intended effect: To provide me with a warning should anything come to do harm to my place of refuge.
Actual effect: It does exactly as I intended… I've come a long way since my time at Nucorp, maybe once this all blows over I can go back to a simple life like that. It doesn't work for detecting aircraft, though that isn't really a problem.
Notes: Since you've made it this far, you deserve an inkling of knowledge about me. You see before everything went completely insane I worked at a small company called Nucorp. We were a UN approved para-company that made technology and sold it to other approved anomalous organizations. Most people believed that Nucorp was a generic company and it was good that they thought that.
In truth, we used a complex series of prayers and keballics tied to ███ ████████ to ensure that we would always innovate. Some might say that this is "risky", but some don't realize that humanity is in a constant arms race with the paranormal. So if we had to break a few eggs to innovate then so be it.
Regardless, at the time that things truly began to hit the fan I was a high mech-priest. Essentially, I was the head of a manufacturing plant and had a large amount of cybernetics. I still do have a lot of cybernetics, but they aren't the same as the ones I had back then. In fact, I have more now than I did back then.
I remember when it all began, I got an email from the Authority telling me to bunker down and prepare for the worst. At first, I was confused, but the digital signature of the email was unmistakeably from Site-000. I had received a few emails from the higher echelons of the Authority before. But none of the previous emails I got were like this email. The majority of the time it was GD-07 asking for some updated blueprints on various projects that were considered of high importance to the Board. But now they were going on about how the world was ending.
Name: Reanimate Into Soldier Machine
Intended effect: I made this spell with the intention of turning any of the corpses that can be found just about anywhere into soldiers that can fight against an organized threat with some actual success.
Actual effect: Living metal has finally proven to have the resurrecting ability that I thought it was capable of. Though these are much better than the Labotomites that I've previously created, as they retain their memories, they lack the spark of life that truly makes them human. However, that is much by design, as if these machines acted like humans they would be far less disciplined than they are now.
Notes: Let me elaborate a bit more on the Authority telling us that the world was ending. You see around twenty years ago they created a project called ALOS. At the time they didn't use it on mass or anything. They kept it to themselves and experimented with it extensively. But… something happened, I am not sure what exactly occurred as we at Nucorp tend to ignore the outside world in the never-ending arms race. But the next time I looked outside after the email, I found the world in utter ruins.
We had to ally with various people of the… less than desirable kind. Whether it be the Church of Malthus or the PCAAO if you can name it, we made a deal with them at some point. Of course, this was done covertly, as the Authority is not the type to appreciate a "free market" as we used to put it.
Addendum.3: Recovered journal entries
As of today, I have managed to set up a laboratory with my Nucorp compatriots from my manufacturing plant. We've set up in the ruins of a once densely populated city, but now there isn't a living person in sight now. Though I suppose that perfectly describes the true scale of the calamity that has befallen us
The journey here took a heavy toll on the limited manpower that we brought with us. Some of them perished from the pure exhaustion of this journey. But if we hadn't taken it the those blasted bugs would've surrounded our factory and annihilated us. However, we haven't the opportunity to examine our losses until now so we will see the true damage soon.
This can't be happening… They couldn't have killed her, I assigned my best to keep her alive. Please no, she's all I have left to remind me of the old world. My darling you can't leave me… She cannot leave me, I won't let her, I'll bring her back myself if I must. She'll be mine once more whether ███ ████████ wishes or not.
They killed my wife, those fucking bugs took her from me. In addition to that, we lost around 40% of the total refugee force that we took with us. However, the casualties among those of us that actually matter are surprisingly low.
Additionally, we've decided to set up our laboratory in what I think was a sports ball stadium or maybe it was a rink. Regardless it can be easily fortified and can support multi-floor expansion.
The fortification of the stadium has been complete with the help of the newly created Labotomites. Though looters have began to take notice of our success and have been taking little things while we've had our backs turned. It's a bit annoying but not worth devoting resources to prevent just yet. Furthermore, I've been having the Labotomites setting up my newest detection system, it'll be a bit more comprehensive than my last attempt at such. Though air cover will be a major weakness I doubt that… I shouldn't be overconfident with this.
I've also been working on finding a way to bring my dearest back. But such research takes a luxury of time that is simply already being used to bolster our defenses and develop better weapons. However, it must be stated that investing in the creation of living metal will really help us in a war of attrition when it inevitably gets to that point. We can't stay hidden forever, we will eventually mess up.
Did I ever tell you about her? My wife that is.
Honestly, I just need a place to vent my frustrations and my actual journal has run out of space so I am writing it in here.
She had wonderfully odd eyes, heterochromia is what it was called. Her right eye was a calming, meticulous, and practiced blue; her left eye was an adventurous, innocent, and stable green. Though in truth the actual colours of her eyes were much closer to a grey, with slight deviations towards blue and green respectively. Her hair was a natural shade of brown and kept straight…
She was perfect, humble yet able to respectfully tell me when she believed I was wrong. She didn't try to undermine my arguments by degrading me, and her smile… was a bit off if I am being honest, but I liked it, and that was all that mattered to me. Her mind was that of perfection I thought females were incapable of. She worked for Nucorp like me, a seer that communicated directly with ███ ████████ itself. But now she's gone…
I'm gonna have a nap… Haven't slept for the last two days, I'll be back soon.
Yet again I see my departed wife as I dream, it's as if the fabric of reality is taunting me into defying death. Personally I don't need any more encouragement to bring her back. She was my entire world and that was reason enough for me.
Regardless, I got the spell that powers my anomaly detection system competed. So now if those bugs do mount a raid on us, I'll see it coming…
I can't stop thinking about her… Maybe if I take one of the refugees I can modify their body before their memories with hers…
Not a bad idea, but I doubt that the rest of the refugees would take that kindly. Considering that they still blame us for the ones we lost on the journey here, taking one of them could trigger a full-scale revolt…
So bringing her back it is then.
Today a most peculiar thing happened. A child of one of the refugees came up to me and handed me a flower. I accepted the gift before the child's parents arrived. The parents were white from fear by looking upon me interacting with their daughter. The child tried to speak with me, and I decided to listen. The fact that such a surprisingly smart child was born of the refugees gives me hope.
I should point out that the parent's reaction is understandable, I am not nearly as human as I used to be. The sheer number of cybernetics I have make me seem inhuman. Obviously I am a bit hurt from such a reaction, but I've grown expectant of it.
This child eventually told me that their name was "Saph" probably short for sapphire if I were to guess. I personally dislike the name so I decided to call her Quartz. She seems to like this renaming, though the parents didn't. Not too long after I pointed her towards her parents who had been watching and she left.
Little Quartz has so much potential, I would hate to see it squandered. So I am prioritizing getting her an education so that she may someday help us at the top.
Quartz has begun their schooling to become a mech-priest like myself. I haven't had much direct involvement in the education process myself, as I've been busy. But I am greatly interested to see how she'll turn out. I am certain she'll be a valuable addition to our ranks.
I had another dream of my wife last night…
She was standing in the middle of a meadow of white flowers on a warm sunny day. There were clouds in the sky, but it was mostly clear. I was much younger in the dream, I looked like I did before I began my cybernetic transformation.
She lead me by the hand towards a garden in the center of the meadow. Small streams that came from the central garden turned into raging rivers as they got further from the garden. When we were at the garden's edge my wife turned to face me before she spoke to me… Everything from the sound of her voice, the way she talked, her occasional stutters, and even her smile were just as I remembered. She must've been in my dream, that is the only way I can explain this.
My dead wife spoke to me, "I see you're still pursuing the impossible. You should really stop trying to bring me back, it's bad for your health."
I just embraced her and held her as close to me as I could until I woke up. I knew that she had more to say to me, but I… I just missed her too much. I needed to hold her in my arms again.
…I'll take today off, I just need some time to myself.
What have I become?
I no longer possess the arms I used to embrace her, giving them up in the pursuit of innovation. Why did I give them up, why did I give her up? Why am I doing this to myself? Surely there must be a way of keeping her with me.
I am remembering more about the dream as the day has gone by. She cried as I held her close. She begged me to listen to her. She was trying to warn me, but I couldn't bring myself to let her go and listen.
In my rash embrace, I might've just doomed us all…
I need to get back to work.
I've been dedicating all of my time to finding a way to bring her back for the last few months.
I know it's selfish, but I must see her once more. I cannot bear being separated from her anymore.
She was in my dream once more last night, I was so happy to see her once more. I am glad my prayers to ███ ████████ went answered.
We started out in front of the garden once more, she immediately grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the center of this lovely garden. Everything was in full bloom, from cherry blossoms to sunflowers the garden was full of life. I haven't seen most of these plants since the great calamity started. It has been such a long time.
Another dream brought me to see my wife once more in the garden of dreams. A place that was once known only to the ten suns and the sun of chaos. I was alone this time, I could not see my wife anywhere here. I have been here before, though I must admit that I'd never met ███ ████████ themself. Nevertheless, I went step by step toward the center of the garden. The gentle streams that seemed shallow further out now seemed to be as deep as canyons.
She smiled the whole way there, laughing as if the calamity never occurred. I couldn't help but feel happy with her, as her happiness was directed at me.
When I reached the center of the garden, we saw the great fountain that rested at its heart. I had always heard of the fountain and its great flowing streams, but now it was as if water had never flowed from it before. Sitting near the fountain was a woman dressed head to toe in black. She was sad, sad enough to strip away the happiness I felt from being in the garden.
I decided to approach the woman in black. As I got closer I saw the woman was sat in front of a tombstone. Her flowing tears were enough to power the streams that flowed through the garden. An incredible display of loss that still wasn't as good as the streams provided by the fountain.
The Woman in black turned to face me, revealing that under a black veil covering her face was an infinite amount of eyes that all wept. I could sense the woman in black instructing me to sit and I obliged. That was the last thing I remember before I woke up.
I have never been the best at reading people. But I could feel this woman in black felt the same way I did. They were broken and lonely, much like I was when I lost my wife. She wept as I did, she wallowed in her own sorrow. A widow much like me.
