The Messenger
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Registered Phenomena Code: 338
Object Class: Gamma-Yellow
Hazard Types: Sapient Hazard?, Contact Hazard, Visual Hazard, Extradimensional/Extraterrestrial Hazard?, Mechanical Hazard, Titanic Hazard
Containment Protocols: RPC-338 is to be surrounded by a fenced perimeter, with a minimum distance of 500m from the epicenter of the unearthed segment. OL-Site-338 is to be disguised as an Argentinian military base.
Contact with RPC-338 is forbidden, and direct observation is to be avoided if possible.
Description: RPC-338 is a massive metallic structure buried beneath the Argentinian province of Mendoza, coordinates -37.██████, -68.██████. Although it has not been entirely unearthed, it is believed to be spherical in shape and connected through at least two cylindrical protrusions to an outer ring. RPC-338 is surrounded by several assortments of interlocking gears and wheels, the purpose of which is unknown. Several spikes, spirals, and other shapes protrude from RPC-338 at various points.
RPC-338's total size is unknown but estimated to be around 3.6km in diameter. Due to its composition, RPC-338's age could not be identified: this metallic substance is abnormally resistant to corrosion and bending, and could not be damaged in any tests performed by the Authority.
RPC-338 is covered by several thousand carvings of eyes, grouped and separated by hexagonal lines. These carvings extend onto every protrusion along the main body, as well as the outer ring. The amount and location (or absence) of eyes in each hexagon are variable and follow no discernible pattern.
An inscription in an unidentified script is etched between each set of eyes and hexagonal lines, separated in three segments of equal length. The script varies between each instance and largely does not resemble known scripts, save for a few cuneiform or runic exceptions. This inscription has been designated UI-338.
Visual exposure to UI-338 instances results in a partial understanding of its contents, which can then be transcribed. These transcriptions lack the aforementioned cognitohazardous properties. However, transcriptions are believed to be incomplete, as individuals exposed to UI-338 instances generally emphasize that their understanding of its contents is highly limited. Of note, transcriptions of different UI-338 instances yield identical results, even by different observers, yielding the conclusion that content is identical across all instances.
Direct visual exposure to UI-338 while standing on RPC-338's surface yields a variety of different effects. [See Addendum I for further information.]
Exploration of RPC-338's inside structure remains impossible.
Addendum 338-01: Different Exposure Effects.
When the conditions specified above are fulfilled, the executing subject triggers RPC-338's secondary property.
Immediately upon fulfilling the conditions, the subject becomes immobile and silent for approx. three minutes. Upon the conclusion of this period, the subject will vocalize a sentence composed of an invariable first phrase, and a second phrase out of ten registered alternatives. Following this, the subject will suffer drastic physical and behavioural changes dependant on the secondary phrase.1 Each known variation is recorded in the table below.
First Phrase | |
---|---|
"I see the river in eternity, the three marks of eyes, and the council of ten." | |
Second Phrase | Effects |
"I refuse the onset of dark and embrace the enlightenment brought by dawn. I obey the Law of Light." | Several shining cracks appear throughout the subject's skin, whose body then splits apart and begins levitating, taking an upright position. Subject becomes entirely passive. |
"I accept deceiving light and trust the Moth's whispers. I obey the Law of Phantoms." | Subject levitates and lights on fire, with almost all of their body disintegrating right after save for the skeleton, which remains resistant to the fire yet seems to sustain it. All bones save for the ribs then reorganize around the skull, forming what is assumed to be four wings. The fire then becomes gray in coloration, and the subject becomes hostile. |
"I shall search for oblivion evermore. I accept the Law of the Abyss." | Subject's body transmutes into an identically-shaped obsidian structure. This structure is capable of movement through anomalous articulation of joints. Subject becomes entirely passive. |
"I let my soul be hollow and accept my oath of servitude. I obey the Law of the Crown." | Subject becomes encased in a white exoskeletal structure akin to armor, with the left arm possessing a diamond-shaped shield. The right arm and fingers elongate into articulate black spikes. Subject becomes hostile to human beings in its immediate vicinity as it travels in northwest direction. |
"I refuse the dark and damp. I obey the Law of Joy." | Subject laughs, clutching their stomach and vomiting large amounts of orange insectoid organisms, akin to members of the Isopoda order of crustaceans. After variable periods of vomiting, subject collapses. These insectoids will attempt to bite nearby human beings, resulting in a brief injection of serotonin into the bloodstream.2 Subject falls into a coma after this process, and fails to recover. |
"I accept the Law of Passage." | Subject's head expands, gradually replacing the upper half of the skull and brain with an intricate clockwork device. Subject becomes passive. Upon varying timespans, the subject then transmutes to sand and dissolves. |
"I will fulfill the duty of carriage, and shall search the cosmos for answers. I obey the Law of Voyage." | Subject's body entirely transmutes to metal, and then reconfigures into various aerodynamic shapes, often stylized in a manner similar to a v-winged plane. Subject then accelerates upwards, quickly reaching supersonic speeds and exiting the atmosphere. Upon crossing lunar orbit, subject dematerializes. |
"I see only the worth in sacrifice and strength. I obey the Law of Blood." | Subject undergoes no changes, but becomes extremely hostile. However, upon succeeding in killing a living animal or human being, subject will grow larger fangs, as well as bone spikes across their arms. Changes are suspected to become more drastic as the subject continues to kill animals or human beings. |
"I accept the arrival of endings, and the dark right after. I obey the Law of Vanishing." | Subject dematerializes, their shadow briefly becoming darker. Subject's shadow is passive, and moves and walks as normal, as if the subject was still present. Once sun sets, the shadow vanishes. |
"I obey the Law of Machines. Bring upon me the Eyeless Mark." | A hexagonal hole opens below the subject, and immediately closes again as they fall. Attempts to track or recover these subjects have invariably failed. |
Subjects affected by this property never interact, save for those affected by the 10th variation. If subjects that have been affected by variations 1 through 9 are within a 100m area of disappearance of a subject affected by the 10th, a varying number of elongated levitating devices manifest throughout RPC-338's surface. These devices then appear to open fire, projecting laser beams from their nozzles at the subject and disintegrating them. This can fail at times, with subjects being able to escape their range. Upon neutralization of the subject, or if they manage to exit a 100m area around RPC-338, these devices demanifest.
In some cases, RPC-338's anomalous property is not triggered at all — instead, the subject will collapse and a black symbol composed of a cluster of six eyes will appear on their forehead. This symbol has mild compulsory properties when directly viewed, and will result in human beings involuntarily avoiding interaction with the subject.
Personnel employed by the Authority, save for Level 0 personnel3, are unable to trigger RPC-338's anomalous properties.
Addendum 338-02: Transcription of UI-338.
YOUR MANY EYES LUST FOR POWER
HUNGER TURNED TRAGIC FATE
HEED NOW THE CALL TO SLUMBER
AND REFUSE THIS DOWNWARD GATE
YOUR SOLE EYE FEARS COSMIC POWER
RETURN TO YOUR DEAFENED CAVE
HEED NOT OUR CALL TO DARKER HOUR
OR CHOOSE YOUR WORLD TO SAVE
NO EYES CANNOT FEEL SURGE OF POWER
JOIN OUR ETERNAL FIGHT FOREVER
RELINQUISH YOUR RESTFUL BOWER
THROUGH BLOOD SAVE BUT ONE FLOWER
Addendum 338-03: Agt. Oliver Interview.