RPC-509

Was that just Paul McCartney?

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ATTENTION

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Personnel assigned to Site-007 and RPC-509 are required to see the attached image upon accessing this file.
Failure to do so can result in severe psychological damage and possibly death upon interacting with the anomaly.

- Open image -

The Beatles, circa 1963.

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ATTENTION

Registered Phenomena Code: 509

Object Class: Alpha White Alpha Yellow

Hazards: Grouped, Visual, Memory Alteration

An instance of RPC-509

-Containment-

A minimum of 8 instances of RPC-509¹ are contained within a modified bug terrarium with a protective, non-transparent screen being used instead of glass or plastic. A small camera is installed as a way to keep track of activity within the terrarium. Lastly, a gas tube is used to connect a can of non-lethal bug spray to the anomalies’ living space.

Should an instance remain unseen for a period longer than an hour, the researcher in charge of monitoring the terrarium is to activate the bug spray. Once the anomalies have been incapacitated, the monitor is to approach the terrarium and open it to confirm whether or not an instance has breached containment. Should the suspicion be unconfirmed, monitoring is to continue as it were.

If a breach is confirmed, a silent alarm that will send a notification to all of Site-007’s devices is to be activated. Through it personnel will be alerted of the breach, memetic properties of the anomaly and the correct procedure of containing the anomaly without the assistance of ASF units, which is as follows:

Upon finding the escaped instance(s), it is to be captured and recontained with any tools available. Personnel attempting to constrain an RPC-509 specimen are advised to capture the instance by placing a canister between the legs of the memetic illusion, or on the center of its torso if it appears to be lying down.

Extermination of RPC-509 instances is forbidden, unless a “Yoko Ono” announcement is in effect. This announcement allows site personnel to exterminate instances of RPC-509 outside of its containment upon sight as a way of preventing uncontrolled breeding and health risks. Staff are still required to report these terminations, and are not encouraged to keep score among themselves for the amount of exterminations they have conducted.

Should any wild instances of RPC-509 be reported, MST Tango-17 (Peter Parkers) is to be deployed to either recover or exterminate the anomalies under the guise of a regular pest control.²

To prevent suspicion or discovery of the anomalous nature of RPC-509, civilian sightings of instances are to be attributed to mass hallucinations in the area of Manchester, England. Although not the optimal solution, discussion in media of the "Beatle sightings" phenomenon are to be periodically released through Authority-owned sources as well.

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-Description-

RPC-509 is the collective designation for a species of Blatta orientalis (Oriental cockroach) that has the anomalous property of appearing as fully-sized members of the rock band "The Beatles". When viewing an RPC-509 instance directly, it will be perceived as either John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison or Ringo Starr in the attire the actual counterparts wore in the period from 1960 to 1970. These memetic illusions will usually be in black or gray suits the band members have used in their performances, with some rare variations.

It was initially believed that an instance was restricted to one form, but after an incident³ this theory has been disproved. The testing that followed proved that the perceived form depends on the subject that is viewing the instance.

Apart from the anomalous property and a slower than usual reproduction rate,⁴ RPC-509 does not differ in behavioral patterns from a regular member of its species. Specimens will gather in large numbers in dark and damp areas, and react accordingly to outside influences such as light and movement. There have been recorded cases of instances being found among regular dens, and it is also presumed they are able to breed with them. Whatever trait that is enabling RPC-509 instances to use their anomalous trait seems to be a recessive one, causing it to rarely appear in the specimens created from RPC-509 and regular instance interbreeding.

The memetic effect can be prevented if the instance is not viewed directly, such as through a camera, mirror or photograph. Observing an instance through anything that obscures it in any way, such as darkness or small surfaces with holes, have given varied and unreliable results: Observing a specimen in an area with poor lighting has produced a "flickering" effect, with the memetic illusion appearing and disappearing at irregular intervals.⁵ It is currently believed that RPC-509 has no control over the illusion's mannerisms, and that the subject's brain instead compensates for the incomprehensible anomalous phenomena by perceiving it as the closest logical approximation under his or hers current understanding of reality.

In case staff members are confused with the how the memetic aspect of the anomaly functions, they are to consult with the chart provided below.

RPC-509's memetic property

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-Discovery-

On April, 1972, police in Greater Manchester were notified of a possible home invasion, and subsequently mobilized. Upon arriving at the address, they were approached by the caller, a 76 years old Olivia Brown, who seemed to be in hysterics. While one of the officers attempted to calm down the caller, his partner entered the home. During investigation, he entered the basement and encountered RPC-509.

According to interviews undertaken later by Authority agents, it is presumed the officer had encountered a minimum of 40 instances spread around the room. The officer claimed he saw the illusions sitting down on, standing, leaning onto and walking across various platforms and objects across the room. To him, most of the anomalies seemed to have been dressed in a variation of gray and black, with 3 of the illusions appearing dressed as in the band's "Sgt Pepper" costumes, two of which were John Lennon.

The officer attempted to arrest the nearest instance of RPC-509, which caused the specimens to panic and scatter. Due to the bad lighting and number of miscellaneous objects positioned around the room, as well as the anomalous properties of RPC-509, the attempt was unsuccessful. When the officer emerged from the basement and requested backup for arresting an "underground Beatles cult", implanted Authority agents suspected anomalous activity and were mobilized.

A nest was discovered in an old fridge, which was opened by Mrs. Brown during spring cleaning. This caused the instances to pour out in a panic, which resulted in Mrs. Brown experiencing a sensory overload. Unhatched eggs and a small number of instances were taken from it and sent to Site-007 while the rest was exterminated. A cover story of a punk group organizing meetings inside basements of occupied houses was created as a countermeasure.

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-Incident logs-

Inc//S-007//509//1

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Date: 13.07.1973.

Overview: An instance of RPC-509 that appeared as John Lennon breached containment and successfully escaped into the site's infrastructure.

Description of events: A week following the breach, another instance was seen in the on-Site Personnel Facility cafeteria by security and was successfully recaptured. Due to the instance appearing as John Lennon, it was believed that the anomaly was the one that had breached containment. This was proven to be false after more reports of having seen RPC-509's memetic property (that included other band members) across the entirety of the area, along with similar reports from other facilities.

A research later proved that an instance can appear as any of the band members, regardless of previous appearances. Upon initially viewing an instance of RPC-509, the chances of viewing any of the illusions are equal and randomized. If the subject views the same instance later, and is unaware of it being the same one, the illusion will be randomized again. But, if the subject believes that instance it is viewing is the same as a previous one, regardless whether if it actually is, it will perceive the same illusion he has seen the last time. Due to this, it is now required for RPC-509 specimen that are in containment to be marked, as a way of confirming after a recapture if that is the missing specimen, or the spawn of a previously escaped one.

It is believed that any further instances that appear outside of containment are the offspring of the escaped specimen, which was possibly carrying an egg sac: Due to the slower reproduction rate of RPC-509, infestations are unlikely but in case of employees sighting more than three instances of RPC-509 in a week, the “Yoko Ono” announcement is to come into effect to notify staff that they are allowed to use lethal force against the anomalies.

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Inc//S-007//509//55

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Date: 10.12.1975.

Overview: Junior personnel of the on-site ASF team triggered an alarm designated for announcing hostile activity within the site at 02:34 am, causing designated Protection division members to mobilize.

Description of events: After mobilizing and contacting Officer Carlson, he reported seeing multiple human-shaped silhouettes suddenly appearing in front of him and immediately disappearing whilst he was near the barracks. Thinking of a possible attack or sabotage, the entire Site sector was mobilized to find and eliminate the infiltrators. After two hours of search, three instances of RPC-509 were found hiding in one of the barracks' food supply storage.

The instances were successfully contained, and Officer Carlson was praised for his reaction against a possible incursion. He later confirmed he'd noticed the illusions when the instances entered a well lit area, and disappeared once entering a darker one, compelling Researchers to re-evaluate RPC-509's anomalous properties.

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Inc//S-007//509//113

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Date: 13.4.1977.

Overview: Authority heard reports of a man crawling across the side of a building in Manchester on the radio. Expecting it was a possible anomalous humanoid, containment staff mobilized to detain it and prevent any further sightings.

Description of events: Upon arriving to the scene, a large group of civilians as well as a number of police officers had gathered around the building. The gathering had all observed a single humanoid standing on one of the building’s fourth floor ledge in front of a window, unmoving and still. The gathered crowd believed that this was a possible suicide attempt and had been attempting to dissuade the instance from jumping. Unfortunately, Containment personnel arrived too late and a police officer had been sent to attempt to catch the instance without knowing of its anomalous nature.

Before staff was able to prevent the attempt, the officer had arrived on the appropriate floor but was not able to see the actual body from the interior. Thinking the instance had moved, he approached the window unaware the anomaly was still present there. Upon looking through the window, the anomalous trait activated and startled the officer who instinctively tried to catch the illusion.

This resulted in the instance itself panicking and attempting to run away by detaching itself from the ledge, plunging down into the crowd. Those present perceived the illusion as slipping through the officer’s grasp and tumbling down, sending the civilians into a state of panic as the instance landed.

In the created confusion, it is presumed that the anomaly was crushed underneath one of the heels of those present as it tried to run away from the crowd. Through its death, its memetic effect was deactivated, with the attempter seemingly disappearing into thin air to the gathered crowd.

A cover-up story of a mass hallucination experience was used to explain the phenomenon, with a story of a young businessman’s ghost haunting the building became a local myth emerging as a result from the experience. Even with the mass hallucination becoming accepted by the local populace, the officer who had attempted to rescue the instance requested to be barred from doing field work and instead working inside his precinct’s office as a form of self-punishment, believing the incident was a sign he was too unfit to deal with similar scenarios in the future.

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Int//S-007//509//Tavish Bulcanan

Date: 25.4.1979.

Overview: An infestation of RPC-509 became apparent in the home of pensioner Tavish Bulcanan. After receiving multiple calls of home invasion in the middle of the night, an Authority officer was sent to question Mr. Bulcanan at his home.

The interview starts at 20:34 pm, with Mr. Bulcanan and Off. Vass being seated in the civilian’s living room, their conversation recorded with a compact casette.

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[ Begin log ]

Off. Vass: -ould be on now. There we go.

Mr. Bulcanan: Took ye long enough.

Off. Vass: Aye, you must forgive me. Our department is still getting used to the things.

Mr. Bulcanan: Och, rubbish, all of it. If ye want to remember something, write it down. Doing it lik’ that will let you mind it in yer brain more clearly. Or at the gey least have a backup if that fails. Wi’ this, you just hope the machine doesn’t make some sort o’ mistake ‘n’ make your entire effort useless. Is tha cuppa good?

Off. Vass: Oh yes, the tea is very good. You’ll have to tell me where you buy it, I’d love to have it.

Mr. Bulcanan: Help me get rid o’ the wee jimmies ‘n’ I will buy ye a crateful myself.

Off. Vass: Please, just the store’s name will be more than enough. But yes, the break-ins: when did they start happening?

Mr. Bulcanan: Och, th’ foremaist one appeared about five, five ‘n’ a half years ago. I was in my kip-

Off. Vass: Excuse me, but you said years? Not days or weeks? Why didn’t you-

Mr. Bulcanan: Are ye daft? O’ course I said years, amurnay that senile to forget when it foremaist happened. ‘n’ dinnae interrupt me, I’ll lose my train o’ thought. Dram yer cuppa, it will get cauld.

Off. Vass: But-

Mr. Bulcanan: Where, was I… Och aye. I was in my kip reading, when I clocked something movin’ in th’ lobby. At foremaist I thought ‘twas my dug, but then I remembered th’ thing was at my grandson’s helping him wi’ a project o’ his. Sae I took my cricket back ‘n’ gaed out o’ th’room-

Off. Vass: Mister Bulcanan, please-

Mr. Bulcanan: Didnae I tell ye to shut it! Gilravage th’ dram ‘n’ story, I will get to th’ point soon!

Off. Vass: I… Very well.

Mr. Bulcanan: Richt. Anyways, I exit th’ room ‘n’ I see a flash o’ movement down th’lobby. Cricket bat in hand, I follow it a’ th’ way down to th’ scullery doonby, lights fae th’ wynd pushing thro’ th’ windows. Ah keek ben th’scullery, finding hee haw ben.

Off. Vass: It wasn’t in the kitchen? Maybe the streetlights weren’t enough to be able to see the intruder in it?

Mr. Bulcanan: Aye, I thought so as well. I caw on th’ lights, ‘n’ behold, Ringo Starr suddenly appears on my scullery buird, crouching neist to the plate I left fae tea! He just froze, goupin’ at me afore slowly oncom to continue pickin’ up ‘n’ nibbling th’ crumbs on th’ plate.

Off. Vass: Did you attack it?

Mr. Bulcanan: Wi’ th’ bat? Na, I knew it wouldn’t work. I just used th’ bugspray I had in th’pantry ‘n’ threw the wee thing out on the wynd when I was done. Mingin’ hings, they are. Th’ nedt time it showed up was-

Off. Vass: You were aware of it being a bug? Sir, I must ask you what relation you have to these roaches, and why you didn’t contact authorities when you first encountered the problem.

Mr. Bulcanan: Oh fer - Are ye that impatient? I said I would get to the point, ye have to-

Off. Vass: With respect Mr. Bulcanan, but I cannot sit idly while not even knowing who you are. I ask of you to answer this not out of any form of disrespect, but for brevity’s sake and a wish for mutual trust.

Mr. Bulcanan: I…

[ Off. Vass sighs and shuffling is heard as he seats himself back into the chair. ]

Mr. Bulcanan: Ye must forgive me. I tend to ramble when I have guests, ‘n’ I haven’t had them in some time, and… Anyways. Th’ roaches are my grandson’s.

Off. Vass: Did he make them?

Mr. Bulcanan: He did. As part o’ his Academy project.

Off. Vass: What academy?

[ Mr. Bulcanan cocks his eyebrow at Off. Vass. ]

Mr. Bulcanan: Don’t speil coy wi’ me. I gaed myself there ‘n’ I know who gets sent when a random civilian starts asking for help wi’ strange hings start happening at his hame. Th' clothing aye varies, bit th' wolf bides th' identical.

Off. Vass: …Very well. When did he make them?

Mr. Bulcanan: I think ‘twas in 1968. There was th’ muckle rumor o’ yin o’ the Beatles or whatever died ‘n’ was replaced. My son, bein’ th’ wey he was at th’ time, decided to use th’ chance to gain some popularity ‘n’ an easy grade. He made it wi’ some o’ my old tools, ‘n’ th’ project gaed about as well as you’d expect. He left th’ Academy some time after that.

Off. Vass: If he was kicked out, we don’t have any records of either him or his works.

Mr. Bulcanan: Na, na, he wasn’t kicked out, he… Bless his heart, th’ jimmy has talent, but he thought he was God’s gift to th’ world when he was just a bairn. He wasn’t kicked out, he left the school. I think he didnae ken howfur muckle that crippled him artistically.

Off. Vass: You didn’t stop him?

Mr. Bulcanan: I will help him however I kin, but yi’ll need to let weans make mistakes and learn fae them. He kin have shot his-sel in th’ foot due to going away, but he learned fae that ‘n’ matured. When he moved out, he was on his road to become a different man.

Off. Vass: But you kept the project?

Mr. Bulcanan: Ehhh, less kept ‘n’ more forgot about it bein’ in th’ workshop, a year or two after he left, I accidentally smashed th’ container where he was keeping them. Dozen o’ th’ buggers came running out. A’mast had a heart attack richt then ‘n’ there.

Off. Vass: Why hadn’t you called the Authority then?

Mr. Bulcanan: It wasn’t awfy much o’ a kinch at th’ time. Th’ roaches breed muckle mair slowly ‘n’ cannae breed wi’ regular ones so I just guessed they’d just die out after some time. Or I’d just murder them a’. [ Laughs ]

Off. Vass: Mr. Bulcanan, you are aware that these bugs are capable of breeding with regular ones? And that they’ve been appearing all across Manchester the past few years?

[ There is a slight pause, then the sound of glass breaking as Mr. Bulcanan drops his cup. ]

Mr. Bulcanan: …What?

Off. Vass: It is a recessive trait, but they are more than capable of breeding with regular cockroaches. This has lead to many different incidents across the city, even with my organization’s efforts. Were you not aware of this?

Mr. Bulcanan: I, I ne- I ne’er read th’ papers, I just assumed they kept to my house for fairn, that they… In the name of the wee man-

Off. Vass: Is there any way of dealing with them more effectively?

Mr. Bulcanan: If there is, I was ne’er told o’ it. Crivens, this will destroy the brassic laddie.

Off. Vass: Could you try contacting your grandson to see if he remembers anything that might help?

Mr. Bulcanan: I will have a go, but it micht take some time. God, I hope no one gets hurt because o’ this.

Off. Vass: We’ll make sure that it doesn’t come to that.

Mr. Bulcanan: Oh ta, bless your heart. I hope you forgive a child’s mistakes.

Off. Vass: I think that would be it. We will send a team to give you a hand wi-

[ End log ]

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Bulcanan attempted to reach his grandson for instructions, but was unsuccessful to do so due to reasons unknown to the Authority and him. He was given the address of a nearby front to which he can send a message should anything develop or change.

Inc//S-007//509//234

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Date: 23.5.1982

Overview: A traffic incident occurred in England, Altrincham resulting in the death of 2 and half a dozen injuries at 9pm.

Description of events: The cause of the incident was identified by one of the drivers as a “man in a [British] military baby blue uniform” suddenly appearing in front of him on the road, prompting him to instinctively swerve away and crash into another vehicle. After exiting the vehicle, he attempted to find the man but was unsuccessful in doing so, presumably due to the lack of lighting at the time.

Due to a lack of eyewitnesses to confirm the driver’s claims, he was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter and imprisoned for 12 years.

The instance itself was not able to be found: It is presumed that it had exited through a nearby sewer grate, its anomalous effect triggering when it was hit by the vehicle’s headlights. Containment staff was unable to find any instances in the sewer system, but it is suspected that there is a presence within it. Staff living in the area are encouraged to exterminate and promote doings to any cockroaches, anomalous or not as an effective way of reducing the chances of a similar incident happening again.

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Inc//S-007//509//239

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Date: 3.6.1983

Overview: Senior Researcher Bautista suffered a hemorrhagic stroke when she opened the case containing the RPC-509 instances.

Description of events: After being successfully taken to the site's medical facility and stabilized, it was found out that she had been mistakenly assigned to 509. The Researcher was instead supposed to conduct an examination of a newly acquired lesser anomalous item.

Upon waking up, Snr. RSR Bautista exhibited erratic behavior, which was linked with a sudden development of anthropophobia.⁶ This significantly slowed down the stroke recovery progress. Dr Rowland suggested the use of amnestics as a way of countering the phobia, but it was turned down due to the fear of possibly causing more damage to the patient.

When Snr. RSR Bautista regained the ability to speak, it was discovered that she had no knowledge of who were The Beatles and their appearances prior to accessing RPC-509, which was the probable cause of the violent reaction. She described the illusion as amalgamation of fused insides and outsides from multiple people being visible at all angles at the same time. Bautista successfully recovered from the stroke after two and a half months, although the anthropophobia remained, requiring her to be reassigned to another position which would not cause problems to her work capacity.

Regular assignment and reassignment to Site-007 now requires confirmation of the knowledge of the physical appearance of The Beatles, achieved by having posters and albums of the band stationed in the recreational areas. To further prevent possible incidents, staff is encouraged to ask any newly arrived employees whether they had heard of the band, and show them a group picture of its members. Additionally, a picture of the band members is attached to the aforementioned notification that is released upon activating the breach alarm.

Upgrade to Alpha-Yellow is pending approval.

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Doc//S-007//509

Date: 6.7.1983

Overview: The Authority was contacted by Tavish Bulcanan through the front company. He had sent a parcel containing a sealed envelope and small package he received from his grandson. The contents of the envelope are available below.

To whom it may
I am sor
To the Authority,

Firstly, I must apologize for the time it took me to reply to the request you put through my grandfather. Due to the nature of my travels I am unavailable for extended periods of time and cannot be contacted, something I greatly regret at times such as this one.

Secondly, I cannot stress how much I am sorry for the pain and trouble my project has caused to your organization and other people. The project was one I made in an attempt to appear interesting to my friends and those around me, hoping to ride off the popularity of a celebrity rumor. This resulted in me leaving the Academy in a fit of childish rage, and now it comes to haunt me and the people of my city. Due to the sloppiness of my work, innocent people were hurt.

There is no way to effectively destroy these roaches. As any other pest, you will need to find them by hand one by one and prevent them from causing any more trouble. But, the least I can do is help you in finding this nuisance, even if I cannot be there myself. In the package I sent, you should find the tools necessary to find my work in the sewers and homes they dwell. I bid you good luck, and I hope I may one day find a way to atone for my mistakes.

With respect,
Sullivan Bulcanan.

P.S. Should you find my other works, feel free to do with them as you please, regardless of their nature.

Within the package 25 separate pairs of sunglasses were found made out of an unknown material. Testing revealed that whilst wearing these glasses, RPC-509’s memetic effect will not be perceived by the viewer and that its body would shine brightly, revealing its location.

Four of these were handed over immediately handed over to MST Tango-17, six were kept within Site 007’s armory, and the rest put in reserve. When investigating possible RPC-509 infestations, a minimum of two of these lesser anomalous items are to be given to the operatives assigned to the investigation.

« RPC-508 | RPC-509 | RPC-510 »

Footnotes

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Footnotes

1. With a 3:1 male to female ratio

2. I am fully aware that RPC-509 is not an arachnid, but since we do not have a specialized team dedicated to other bugs, we’ll have to make do with what we have available. Whilst the amount of e-mails notifying me of the possible error is commendable, any further ones will not be necessary.
– Researcher Snow

3. See IncS-007509//1.

4. Approximately one egg case containing 3-6 eggs is produced by a female in one week, instead of the standard of 2 sacks with 16 eggs each.

5. For further examples, see the Test log below.

6. Fear of humans.