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An example of a non-anomalous fractal (the Mandelbrot set).
Registered Phenomena Code: 399
Object Class: Beta-Red (Utility)
Hazard Types: Sensory Hazard, Visual Hazard
Containment Protocols: Field Team 399-ALPHA is to investigate any a) multiple deaths in university mathematics, physics, and computer science departments, and/or b) sudden deaths of researchers specializing in fractals or fractal graphing software. Amnestic treatment is to be administered to witnesses if necessary.
MST X-Ray-6 "Annullifiers" and defensive Authority neural networks are to identify and remove any RPC-399 instances from the internet, whether in formulaic or graphic form. The IP addresses of the websites/users are to be stored in Digital Library Section 399-D and immediately investigated to prevent further breaches.
Description: RPC-399 is a phenomenon through which certain fractal images, when rendered with sufficient computational detail, bring about a variety of cognitohazardous properties in human observers. These effects can range from mild headaches to total brain death.
Digital Library Section 399-E stores several RPC-399 instances as mathematical sets that can be rendered in the Authority Fractal (AuFrac) software to create the cognitohazardous image1. Instructions can be found in the AuFrac manual, or in Document 399-C3.
RPC-399’s effects can be abated by reducing visual complexity: this includes lowering image resolution and/or iteration depth, removing color, or adding blur/distortion. For instance, a weak pencil sketch of an RPC-399 fractal is not cognitohazardous, while a colored computer image made with the right software possesses the full severity of the visual hazard.
Some examples of RPC-399 instances include:
| Designation and clearance level | Mathematical definition | Effects |
| RPC-399-8F, Level 3 | $z_{n+1} = \frac{1}{z+1} + \frac{1}{z^*+1} + ███ + c$ | Headaches of varying severity, nausea. |
| RPC-399-2G, Level 4 | $z_{n+1} = ████████████$ | Migraines, subconjunctival hemorrhage2, seizures, loss of consciousness. |
| RPC-399-9D (“Vennart hexagon”). With Head Researcher ███████ approval only. | Start with a regular hexagon3. [299 WORDS EXPUNGED]. Repeat the procedure for each hexagon inside. | Massive hemorrhagic stroke resulting in death. |
As of September 9th, 2020, Research Team 611-███ is training neural networks to generate new RPC-399 instances. Results have insofar been unsuccessful.
Discovery: RPC-399 instances have been sporadically discovered since mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot popularized the use of computer graphics in creating fractals. The first instance (now dubbed RPC-399-A1) was found in the University of Toronto on ██/██/1984 following the deaths of PhD student Richard Ingram, a member of the university's janitorial staff Julie Heron, and █ emergency service personnel. MST Alpha-3 successfully recovered the PDP-11 computer used to generate the image with no further losses.
Addendum 399-01:
On (██/██/1985) The Board authorized the use of RPC-399-██ as a memetic kill agent, along with some other instances. The full list of authorized instances and their associated uses can be found in Document 399-B8.
Addendum 399-02:
Throughout 2023, RPC-399 images were disseminated on several social media spaces and messageboards, including Facebook, Twitter, 4chan, and YouTube. All posts originated from Tor nodes; tracking attempts were unsuccessful due to the lack of sufficiently powerful cybersecurity infrastructure on the Authority's side. Although defensive neural networks and agents implanted in website administration teams removed these instances almost immediately, public deaths caused by RPC-399 have increased by 1034% since 2022, which required a major and expensive cover-up operation.
None of the images were previously available in Authority databases, implying the work of external agents.
All of the disseminated RPC-399 instances were made with a 1366x768 screen resolution and using an unregistered version of the Ultra Fractal rendering software, as seen by the presence of a watermark. As such, users sharing images containing the Ultra Fractal watermark have been automatically banned from all major social media websites. As of ██/██/2023, there have been no more attacks. (See Addendum 399-03).
Addendum 399-03:
Beginning in 2024, various institutions have been e-mailed RPC-399 images, resulting in several casualties. These institutions include:
- US, UK, Canadian, and Australian government websites4,
- Fertility clinics,
- Pro-life organizations,
- University mathematics departments.
The images are consistent with those used in the 2023 attacks (see Addendum 399-02). 85% of the messages came with the following text:
I see that you aren’t getting quite what we're doing here. These healthy, able-bodied, young people aren’t suddenly dying of strokes. Rather, we possess an unlimited amount of images that cause death upon viewing, meaning that their spread digitally—or physically—results in immediate, uncontrollable casualties.
We have a cause, and it is to arrest the breeding of humanity, as the existence of the DNA dogma resulted in 540 million years of ammoral [sic] collateral damage. All life in the universe must be terminated, and mass sterilization is an important first step. Await further communication.
Kool Cids (KC)
All affected institutions have been safeproofed to automatically detect and block any e-mail attachments featuring fractals, the Ultra Fractal watermark, or the keyword “Kool Cid”. The allocation of ███████ dollars in budget for investigation into this entity is pending approval.
Addendum 399-04:
The attacks continued into 2025, now with the following text in the e-mails ([sic] throughout):
You inbred dildo-horned sister fuckers. i see whhat you're doing now. You consistently hide MY attacks as deaths from NATURAL CAUSES. You deny my intention and therefore deny me. Your attempts at covering ME up will be met with IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION
Kool Cid (KC)
On ██/██/2025, various Authority e-mail addresses received images of RPC-399 instances. Automatic infohazard security blocked all of the messages, resulting in no casualties or damage. Regardless, the entity’s knowledge of the Authority’s existence, not to mention its open hostility, rendered it a high-level threat.
The Authority, working with Five Eyes5, coordinated a de-anonymization operation. End-to-end correlation and analysis of traffic volume/behavior yielded 1█ IPs with a >80% confidence of belonging to the agent. They are to be closely monitored and personally investigated.
UPDATE: On ██/██/2025, a user with IP ███.███.█.█ using Google Chrome purchased an Ultra Fractal license. The billing information has been requested and found to belong to Paul Szűcs, a now-unemployed Hungarian mathematics professor residing in Canada, who was previously a professor of mathematics and computer graphics at the University of Toronto. PhD student Richard Ingram, the first victim of RPC-399-A1 (see Discovery), was admitted to the university on Szűcs's recommendation.
The government readily provided Szűcs's physical location as documented in the 2021 census: a cabin in rural Manitoba with the coordinates ██°██′██″N ██°██′██″W. MST Hotel-1 raid to be orchestrated immediately.