RPC Authority

[Following a two hour flight towards Site-115 and a one hour drive to Whitestone, Mr. Romano arrives at the town recently built around RPC-416. Houses made both from stone, growing trees, and other material can be seen in the distance.]

[Inside the van in which Mr. Romano was sent in sit two ASF personnel ready to access the vehicle’s hidden weapon supply should the situation scale to such a degree. Mr. Romano closes the anomaly report he was currently reading and directs his attention to the ASF unit driving.]

Romano: If I don’t come back in an hour or so, nuke the whole place. Don’t try to make yourself a hero, there's too many of them.

[The ASF unit appear mildly startled by the comment, but quickly regains his composure.]

ASF: Yes sir.

Romano: Good. We can’t allow ourselves to have another anomaly of this size being let to its own devices within Russia of all places. The Fail-Safe disaster in NORTHCOM was enough for one lifetime.

ASF: Shall we… accompany you to the city?

Romano: No need. ACI personnel were apparently capable of communicating with the instances. They are already aware of my arrival.

[Once the van arrives in the outskirts of the city, Mr. Romano exits the car after attaching a recording camera to his suit. He is escorted inside the main building by two heavily armored RPC-416-1 instances waiting for him in the town’s entrance. After entering the main building, video shows RPC-416-1A already sitting on its desk, with an empty chair on the opposite side.]

RPC-416-1A: Good work soldiers, you may stand down.

Instances: Yes Mr. Znatkost sir!

[Both instances raise their right arm horizontally to their chest, placing their fists on their left pectoral as a form of salute before going towards the door. Both instances then remain completely static.]

[RPC-416-1A raises from its chair behind the desk and starts slowly approaching Mr. Romano. It then offers its hand in salute, which Mr. Romano accepts.]

RPC-416-1A: Vladimir Ilyich Znatkost, owner of “Znatkost Textiles” and first elected president of the FSN, very pleased to meet you. It is always a great pleasure to greet possible economic partners in times like this. Please, sit down.

[RPC-416-1A guides Mr. Romano to an empty chair, and proceeds to sit on its own.]

RPC-416-1A: Is there anything you may desire kamarad? Gold? Relics? The Essence of Thunder? It may be yours for trade is a two-way street! What do you say?

Romano: Thanks, but no. One coffee would suffice if you have. Black, no sugar.

RPC-416-1A: Milk?

Romano: No.

RPC-416-1A: Odd… Guards! Bring one coffee, black, nothing on it!

[The guards look at each other in confusion before exiting the building. Mr. Romano clears his throat to get the attention of RPC-416-1A]

Romano: Sorry for not introducing myself. Valentino Romano, diplomatic deputy for the Authority’s Presidium, a pleasure to meet you as well. I hope you may understand the reason for my arrival, given the lengthy communications my colleagues have had with your men.

RPC-416-1A: I assume you may be referring to the rather… unusual effects our gateway is having on local reality. My engineers told me that such disturbances may occur, but I had hoped they could be fixed before any trouble could arise. Sadly, it appeared my intuition was wrong this time. Oh!

[The two guards enter the building carrying a small plate with a coffee cup in it. Despite its size, the beverage is being carried by both instances from opposite ends. Upon arriving next to Mr. Romano, they lower the plate into the table and retire to their original positions.]

Romano: Thanks.

[Mr. Romano proceeds to drink the entirety of the coffee before returning his attention to RPC-416-1A.]

Romano: That is simply the first of the issues we’ve encountered with your presence, Mr. Znatkost. I would also like to inquire in the reasoning for the gateway’s construction and opening.

RPC-416-1A: An apatite mining operation of course! What else would our economic endeavours in this barren land be?

Romano: A mining operation you say? Expand on that.

RPC-416-1A: Skeletons, sadly, cannot reproduce biologically, as I assume you already know. We prosper from death or artificial manufacturing. The former you can guess is not a viable option, and as for the latter, we either need human bones or ones we make ourselves, and that's where the problem stems from. From the grimoires and scrolls my brave soldiers were able to acquire during the July Revolution’s attack to Grand Lich Goga Sokolo’s graveyard, we learned that the ingredients needed for artificial bones, aside from common metals, was apatite. A very rare element from where we come from, but very common here as researchers in the gateway project pointed out.

[Mr. Romano leans forward into the desk, causing RPC-416-1A to slightly recoil on its seat.]

Romano: The construction of settlements and mining usually require authorization by the region’s government, that which I assume you do not possess. Unless you can provide me with legal documents allowing for your operations here, I would need to ask you to depart back from where you came from. Either peacefully, or by force.

[RPC-416-1A leans forward into the desk as well, closing distance with Mr. Romano.]

RPC-416-1A: I do not seek to make enemies Mr. Romano, and I know neither do you. I have eyes and ears all over the place, and they tell me your men, your organization, is not currently in a good place to throw such words around. But, I have a solution which may benefit us both. A two-way street, remember?

[RPC-416-1A takes out a document from its desk and hands it over to Mr. Romano. He proceeds to carefully read through it before returning it.]

Romano: And you would agree on all these terms for our help in your mining efforts?

RPC-416-1A: That and more Mr. Romano, I am an avid believer of free trade and I can assure you that as long as you keep your end of the contract, we will allow commerce between our realities free of taxes and legal jargon. I know your organization is going through a rough economic situation right now, so if you ever need our assistance in any projects you may be struggling with, be certain that my people will always be more than happy to assist.

Romano: And what if I say no? What if your presence here proves too dangerous to world-wide security and secrecy? Threats do not work on my persona Mr. Znatkost. My decisions here will only stem from my duty towards the Authority.

RPC-416-1A: Then you shall know which of the things I bring are wonders, and which are weapons. But I do not wish to go into conflict, not after having come up from a decade long war, and neither do I think your people do. But I believe cooperation is better than war, and I believe both of us will benefit greatly from this trade, so how do you say we turn away from our differences, and do the best for our people?

[RPC-416-1A extends its skeletal hand once more to Mr. Romano, who takes a few seconds to deliberate before accepting it.]

Romano: For the good of our people, then. I shall make some calls to the regional command and-

RPC-416-1A: Excellent! Now allow me to accompany you back to your carriage.

[Mr. Romano follows RPC-416-1A outside, where a crowd of RPC-416-1 instances appear to have been waiting for them.]

RPC-416-1A: People! After a long and hard discussion, I and my dear friend Mr. Romano have come to the conclusion that conflict isn't the way to go, but peace! And as such, we will not only continue our mining operations, but it shall be advanced even further now that we have opened free trade between our land and our allies to the Authority. Rejoice, for this day we come out victorious against the hate and violence that brought down the Necromancers so many years ago, for we have gone further to maintain the peaceful free market that defines our nation, for we have shown not only our world, but this one, that the spirit of the Free Svith Nation shall never be crushed!

[All of the RPC-416-1 instances, totaling in the hundreds, start cheering and applauding and some hug each other before making way for both RPC-416-1A and Mr. Romano make their way towards the outskirts of the town.]

RPC-416-1: If you need anything else, feel free to contact me. I will set up trading routes in the meantime. In payment for you arrival in a diplomatic mission, I can ask the Canadian Ministry of Parallel Affairs to write me a check in Candian Dollars, as I don’t believe Kostni¹⁹ are a valid currency here.

[RPC-416-1A turns back to the town before leaving Mr. Romano alone.]

RPC-416-1A: Dear citizens, the time for negotiations is over. Now begins our task for the motherland, those who cannot perform intensive labor are free to return home and help our men from there. All those who already signed for this task, get to work, those rocks will not dig themselves out. For freedom and for the people!

[All instances repeat the last sentence and return to their work stations before Mr. Roman makes its way to the van.]

[Mr. Roman enters the vehicle, where the ASF units are waiting for him.]

ASF: Did the mission go successfully sir?

Romano: It would appear so.

ASF: So, there is no need for retaliation?

Romano: No, at least not for now.

[The van is turned on and all personnel make their way back to Site-115.]

Additional Information: All diplomatic efforts going forward with RPC-416-1A are to be handled by Mr. Romano. Containment’s Engineering Component is to help RPC-416-1 instances build up permanent trade infrastructure until further notice, as well as helping in mining operations.

General Tone: The instrumental of the anthem by those who have directly heard it has been described as cheerful in its choice of instruments (drums, trumpets, bone rattling of RPC-416-1 instances) and overall rhythm, that which is jumpy and energetic. It is also the same song that was used during the rebellions that led to the formation of the FSN, called “Death Loves His Sons”. Personnel have drawn comparisons between it and the song “Mother Anarchy Loves Her Sons” used by the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine in Baseline Reality during 1918 to 1921.

FSN propaganda featuring RPC-416-1A.

Chapter 3: Death and Afterlife of Vladimir Znatkost

Deceased to a factory accident in the 22nd of April 1870 with his sister, Jekaterina Lebedeva, following a moderately wealthy life within Krasnoyarsk he was subject to the recently discovered arts of necromancy by Tsar Nicholas the III, later named “Great Necromancer Nicholas the III”, alongside the rest of his town and country in the years to follow. While life following death was not simple, especially due to the Tsar’s post-mortem wealth tax, this did not stop the newly renamed Vladimir Znatkost from continuing his economic ventures across Siberia, more now than ever given the certain benefits that semi-immortality provided both him and his workers.

“Znatkost Tethers” quickly became the first fully private business within the nation to the disdain of Nicholas the III, as it also advocated the freedom for trade and life that in Znatkost’s words, was the very soul of each skeleton. His ideology, however, was not fully manifested until his sister’s life was expelled from her body by lich enforcers following the discovery that she possessed outlawed books and texts pertaining to the sustainability of the soul following material death. This action led to the radicalization of Znatkost, who proceeded to move all his economic assets deep within the Siberian region to avoid state disturbance. It was during the following decade that he bought several of books from both The Pact and the Tuluwhai Empire to gather all possible knowledge of necromancy before taking decisive action against Nicholas, even ignoring events such as the 4-Point-War²⁰ in Europe and the Heavenly War of Ascension²¹ not far off east. It was also during this time that he discovered the recipe for Luchshekost, which allowed him to quickly amass troops from single skulls or ribs.

It was in 1917 following the end of the 4-Point-War that the rebellion against Nicholas the III began. Most citizens believed at the start of the conflict for the altercation to end shortly thereafter, as all dissidents from the nation simply had their souls taken away by the liches, but unbeknownst to many at the time, Znatkost was able to develop a ritual to unbind the souls of a skeleton from the control of the necromancers, allowing them to fight without the imminent threat of death. Eight years did the war last, and while casualties were intense on both sides, with even Znatkost himself nearly dying again, the revolutionary troops eventually outnumbered the Tsarist forces by a factor of 5:1, a difference which only grew in later years of the war as supplies of inanimate bones did. And in September the 8th, 1925, the troops arrived at the Tsar's castle to find a nearly dead and agonizing Nicholas, using the last of his power to protect himself and his family from Znatkost's men; a futile effort, as he and his lineage were sentenced to hanging and their souls destroyed to never rise again, giving birth to a new and free Svith Necropolis.