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RPC-461
Registered Phenomena Code: 461
Object Class: Alpha-White
Hazard Types: Mechanical, Mind-Control
Containment Protocols: RPC-461 is stored in a standard Alpha-class containment locker at Site-044. All experimentation on RPC-461 is to be authorized by Head Researcher Dr. Melissa Jackson William Berwick. The test chamber for RPC-461 is an 8x8x3 m room containing RPC-461's containment locker and a statue to take photos of.1 All testing on RPC-461 is to be conducted by a subject who will use RPC-461 and an instructor who will oversee the experiment.
Description: RPC-461 is a black press camera with a built-in flash bulb attachment. It has no apparent branding and appears to have been manufactured in the 1950's. All attempts to disassemble RPC-461 have been met with failure.
When RPC-461 is used to take a photograph, it does not capture an image of the physical environment opposite to its lens. Rather, it generates an image based on the thoughts of the user at the moment the photograph is taken. Upon observing the image, the user will be compelled to use RPC-461 again. Repeated usage of RPC-461 results in the user experiencing a Wedgwood Event2 at random intervals.
A Wedgwood Event begins with the user's eyes emitting a burst of light, akin to a camera's flash. The Wedgwood Event ends once the user blinks, at which point their eyelids emit the sound of a camera's shutter.3 The frequency of Wedgwood Events increases with the frequency of RPC-461's use.4
Addendum I: Discovery Log
On 08/08/2020, Authority agents responded to reports of an anomalous event which occurred at the Lexington Photography and Film Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. Local newspapers attested that the museum's curator, Gerald Wright, suffered from an "inexplicable flashing condition."
Interviewed: Gerald Wright
Interviewer: Field Agent William Holtz
Foreword: The following interview was recorded in the museum's executive office by an Authority agent disguised as a journalist.
<Begin Log>
Holtz: Tell me about this condition, Mr. Wright.
Wright: Well, it's very rare, but every once in a while my eyes do this thing where they flash and shutter like a camera. When it first happened to me I thought I was going crazy. I'd spent too much time around the cameras and I must be seeing things, you know? But then, the janitor saw it.
Wright experiences a Wedgwood Event.
Wright: Right on cue!
Holtz: That's really interesting! Now, can you tell me how you think this started? Like, did anything weird happen to you that might be linked to this condition?
Wright: I'm really not sure, but there's something about the Zapruder Camera…
Holtz: Zapruder? Like the guy who filmed Kennedy's-
Wright: No! No, not that one. You see, I have a camera that was donated to the museum by an anonymous collector. It came with a note saying it was made in 1951 by a man named Hermann Zapruder. I haven't made an exhibit for it yet because I cannot for the life of me figure out who this "Hermann Zapruder" is.
Holtz: I see. Can you tell me more about the camera?
Wright: Well, when I use it to take pictures, it barely ever captures what's in front of it, so it doesn't really work as a camera at all. Nevertheless, I do enjoy using it; testing it out, seeing what new image it'll print out. It fascinates me.
Holtz: So how's this camera linked to your condition?
Wright: Oh! Yes, well! My eyes began doing things only a week after I got the camera.
Holtz: Interesting. Can you show me the camera?
Wright: Certainly! Come with me.
Wright begins leading Holtz to the museum's storage room.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: After this interview, Gerald Wright was taken into Authority custody under the guise of medical treatment for his condition and a disinformation campaign was created to dismiss the event as mass hysteria. The camera he mentioned in the interview was confiscated and designated RPC-461. Wright was eventually released after he ceased experiencing Wedgwood Events.
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