Lore Codex entries
Anarki
"Listen. You just got to listen to it all, got that? Because you want to understand. You need to understand. Right? Because only if you understand will you get it. Trust me. That will be important. How I managed to get all three—the world, the flesh and the devil—and decide that one of them had to go. Hey, hang on there. Not yet. Easy with that. Take it easy. Just 'cause the junk is free doesn't mean you just do it all at once, okay? Not okay. Not till you heard it all."
— Part 1
"From Bloch Family Psychology Services intake report #4212: The client presented to the group with clear antisocial, narcissistic, and at times solipsistic behaviors. His affect seemed unusually flat for someone his age, save for his eyes, which kept scanning the clinicians. Guarded, struggling to conceal a great deal of information. Among other behaviors, the client would repeatedly rub his hands and touch his face, as if he needed reassurance that he was awake and real. As to the events that brought him here, he had no response other than—after a long pause—“I do not remember.”"
— Part 2
"From 911 dispatcher audio, August 5, 1996, 12:35 AM:
Dispatcher: Now miss, please, slow down, and tell me what—
Caller [female, identity withheld]: He's downstairs. Y-you have to send someone. I don't know what he's done. The furniture destroyed, the windows smashed...I think I smell smoke.
Dispatcher: Okay, okay. Just hang on. I will alert your Fire Department. Stay on the line.
Caller: [Unintelligible words, crashing noises, shouting.]
Dispatcher: Ma'am, alright—what's going on now? Ma'am?
Caller: Oh god. He-he's covered the walls. All the walls. Not words. God, what...what are they?"
Dispatcher: Now miss, please, slow down, and tell me what—
Caller [female, identity withheld]: He's downstairs. Y-you have to send someone. I don't know what he's done. The furniture destroyed, the windows smashed...I think I smell smoke.
Dispatcher: Okay, okay. Just hang on. I will alert your Fire Department. Stay on the line.
Caller: [Unintelligible words, crashing noises, shouting.]
Dispatcher: Ma'am, alright—what's going on now? Ma'am?
Caller: Oh god. He-he's covered the walls. All the walls. Not words. God, what...what are they?"
— Part 3
"From records of District Court of Los Angeles, Spring Street, January 4, 2005:
Officer D. Rodriguez: We located the teenager not far from the Barham Boulevard overpass. From the description we knew it was him. And even though it was chilly that night, he stood well away from the fire. And the others—the usual vagrants—stood away from him.
District Attorney S. Jones: Anything else?
Rodriguez: His face and arms—not just the signs of a junkie. But serious scars visible, god, all over him. And that denim jacket? Covered with strange pins, badges...and everywhere speckled with blood."
Officer D. Rodriguez: We located the teenager not far from the Barham Boulevard overpass. From the description we knew it was him. And even though it was chilly that night, he stood well away from the fire. And the others—the usual vagrants—stood away from him.
District Attorney S. Jones: Anything else?
Rodriguez: His face and arms—not just the signs of a junkie. But serious scars visible, god, all over him. And that denim jacket? Covered with strange pins, badges...and everywhere speckled with blood."
— Part 4
"Still listening? Still all ears? Good, good. It's a journey, right? Right. A real...journey. Blood, scars, all pointing one direction: the future. The world, the flesh, and the devil. But what if we could just dump the flesh? The small things I could do on my own. Some basic neurotech to control adrenaline. But still there was so much flesh, weighing me down. Oh, and then—so sad, so very sad...when the parental units shook off their own shabby flesh, turns out that all that money—as ill-gotten as could be—was all mine!"
— Part 5
"The scientists wanted to back away, but...all that money. Useful in making them comply. One after the other, each with more knowledge. Some of those scientists, they had to be silenced. Can't have loose talk, isn't that right? Others I wanted to keep around, for whatever new idea I might have. But still—and always, you know?—there was the matter of my face. So much skin, so vulnerable! And the eyes! Wet balls of jelly, designed to fail. Windows to the soul, they say. But maybe they could be windows to somewhere else. I had to find out."
— Part 6
"From interrogation report, USC Military Research Center. Subject: Dr. Clarence Howell:
“H-he had read my research. Don't know how he'd gotten it. All of it just theoretical. Then he tricked me into a meeting, and I was his prisoner. And I—I told him, it was only theoretical, this link between the pineal gland and extrasensory phenomena. More parapsychology than science. Didn't matter to him. 'You see my face?' he said. 'What is left of it? And my arms?' He did that, then said I would—I must—build and implant the interface. And god—my theories were right.”"
“H-he had read my research. Don't know how he'd gotten it. All of it just theoretical. Then he tricked me into a meeting, and I was his prisoner. And I—I told him, it was only theoretical, this link between the pineal gland and extrasensory phenomena. More parapsychology than science. Didn't matter to him. 'You see my face?' he said. 'What is left of it? And my arms?' He did that, then said I would—I must—build and implant the interface. And god—my theories were right.”"
— Part 7
"Still alive, my friend? Almost done here. After Dr. Howell, the universe opened up. Now not even the world was left. Now I saw worlds, new and terrible. Shall I describe them for you? The vast, terrible landscapes? The fumes stinking out of bottomless pits as these things crawled in and out? An engine of devouring and destroying, the screams constant, the roar of that horror. Non-stop. Sleep vanished, replaced by the constant vision of these places, each an arena of death and terror. But all I could do was see it! Just see! Or so I thought."
— Part 8
"So then I met this girl. Nicely modded. She saw me too, and with a wave, as if these hellish places were a new playground for transhumans like us, I knew I could go there. It would take more money to find the right docs and engineers and make them do my bidding. And it would take a minor sacrifice of flesh—here and there—to open the way. Not mine, sorry. But others. Like yours. You should be grateful for what you have enabled. What's about to happen won't be nice. But it will be transcendent. For me..."
— Part 9
"The ripped right half of a denim jacket that has had its sleeves cut off, still covered with buttons, patches, safety pins, and graffiti, but also speckled with dried blood. It's been years since Anarki saw the jacket's other half, and he doesn't know whether it has been destroyed or not."
— Artifact
Athena
“TCM Central Command to Command Staff, TCS Ogoun and TCS Apedemak: OPERATION ALIEN OVERLORD, final objective designations: Primary: Establish mass-data communications uplink (optimal and fallback target locations identified in attachment B). Neutralize planetary defense system, code designation “Big Gun.” Neutralize Strogg slipgate generator. Eliminate Strogg Chief Warlord, designation Makron. Secondary: Neutralize Cerberon laser defense grid. Establish on-site base camps (optimal and fallback target locations identified in attachment E). TCS Ogoun companies to pursue primary objectives. TCS Apedemak companies to pursue secondary objectives, then prepare to engage primaries in case of initial failure. Godspeed, Marines.”
— Part 1
“TCS Ogoun to TC Command. Slipgate transit successful, Stroggos atmospheric incursion successful, all systems nominal. Request final go/no go. Attention all units, green light confirmed. Alien Overlord is go; repeat, Alien Overlord is go. Alpha Company, deploy! Beta Company in 30… Alpha Company impact in five-point-five mikes. Looking good so far; planetary batteries appear unable to target drop pods. Impact in four mikes. Units Alpha 802, 803, 807, 811, adjust heading. You’re too tempting a target clumped like— Power surge in planetary defenses! We’re not reading— EMP! EMP! My God, it’s — Full atmospheric coverage! All pods, brace for—”
— Part 2
“No idea if this thing’s even recording. It looks like a few internal systems rebooted off the emergency life support battery, but I don’t have screens to tell me which ones. All major systems are offline. Hatch release failed. So did the emergency backup because THIS POD’S A PIECE OF SHIT AND I’M GOING TO DIE IN HERE WITHOUT FIRING A GODDAMN SHOT! Sorry, frustrated. This is unit Alpha 808, Lance Corporal Athena Hayes, Terran Coalition Marine Expeditionary Force, recording. I hope. Location unknown. Trapped in drop pod, sounds of engagement audible but distant and fading. Shit.”
— Part 3
“Been stuck in this tin coffin for days now. Undetected by Strogg, which is a plus. Also undetected by TC forces—if there are any left—which means suffocation or starvation when LS-systems finally run out of juice. So that’s maybe less of a plus. You know I wasn’t supposed to be here? Laney, she was the one who was gonna be a soldier. Global Defense Force officer. Follow in the footsteps, family tradition, make Mom and Dad proud. They groomed her her entire life for this. And she washes out three weeks from graduation.”
— Part 4
“Didn’t even try to hide that she’d done it on purpose. Nobody gets through academy training and then fails final proficiencies that bad. Know what she told us? That after all the pageantry, all the talk of duty, she realized she could never actually kill anyone. Family disowned her, but standing up to them? First thing she did I really respected. I also saw a chance to finally catch Mom and Dad’s attention for myself, for a change. Hell, I’d been coasting for years. They ignored me for her, so I was everything she wasn’t. No goals. Didn’t care.”
— Part 5
“Never wanted to be a Marine, but never wanted anything else bad enough, either, so… I figured if I pulled off what she couldn’t, I might find some meaning. And some parents who gave a shit. Barely made the academy, but damn if I didn’t grow to love it. Parents told me every week they were just waiting for me to show my true colors, drop out. So I just worked harder. Would’ve graduated top of my year, too, if I’d had a chance to finish. Maybe that would’ve finally pleased them. Strogg ruined that plan.”
— Part 6
“No time left for officer training. Too many grunts needed. Once we finally drove them off, better believe I wanted to go finish the job. But now I guess it’s up to Rhino Squad. Still salty about Rhodes making— The hell was THAT? Some kind of blast. Everything’s distorted, tinted red. Oh god, don’t throw up, don’t throw up. The generator. They must’ve gotten the slipgate generator! Fuck you, Strogg! But if that… when the shockwave hits… Dammit. Maybe Earth is safe now. If this is recording, tell my mom and dad I’m sorr—”
— Part 7
“Half the viewport’s blocked. Best I can tell, I’m in a stone ruin. And I mean in it; pod’s stuck halfway in the wall, near the ceiling. Combat happening here. I’ve seen more than one firefight now. Cyborgs, aliens I’ve never seen, and a Marine, I think, in old, bulky body armor. Someone new coming into… Jesus! Anyone gets this record, they’re gonna think I’m crazy. It’s some kind of zombie! No cybernetics to keep him going, just a goddamn walking corpse in medieval armor! This can’t be real. Where the fuck am I?!”
— Part 8
“Okay, that last entry was embarrassing. Sorry. Life support’s failing. Hatch still jammed. I think I can reroute power from the systems still working into an electrical discharge. If I wait until one of the cyborgs is nearby, they may see it — or feel it. If not, I’ll slowly suffocate or die of thirst. If they do… they’ll probably try to kill me. But they’ll have to break open the pod to get to me. Maybe I can survive the first blast from one of those guns. Bad odds, but I’m dead if I don’t try.”
— Part 9
A flag from a GDF Academy training exercise—the last one her sister Laney completed before washing out.
— Artifact
B.J. Blazkowicz
"From incident report, Camp Bullis, San Antonio, Texas, May 1935.
Details: S. Sgt. Pickens observed Pvt. Blazkowicz fighting four other soldiers in the barracks. On arrival, Pickens saw that two of the privates had been rendered unconscious, and the other two—one armed with a lead pipe—had backed away. Fighting ceased on the S. Sgt.'s entry.
Recommendations: Though S. Sgt. Pickens ordered all parties to the brig, we recommend Blazkowicz be evaluated for special services. Not only did he confront four men who had been assaulting another soldier, but did so with skill that bears closer scrutiny."
Details: S. Sgt. Pickens observed Pvt. Blazkowicz fighting four other soldiers in the barracks. On arrival, Pickens saw that two of the privates had been rendered unconscious, and the other two—one armed with a lead pipe—had backed away. Fighting ceased on the S. Sgt.'s entry.
Recommendations: Though S. Sgt. Pickens ordered all parties to the brig, we recommend Blazkowicz be evaluated for special services. Not only did he confront four men who had been assaulting another soldier, but did so with skill that bears closer scrutiny."
— Part 1
"From classified training summary, William J. Blazkowicz.
Blazkowicz has completed all requirements for full agent status within the Office of Secret Actions. Though his effectiveness with weapons and combat are beyond criticism, we are concerned that his self-reliance could lead to him pursuing unauthorized objectives. Additionally, his morals could present a problem should his commanding officer require him to undertake any mission that falls in an ethical gray area. That said, he is hereby approved to receive the classified dossiers detailing the Germans' weapon technology plans as well as those regarding their supernatural/occult initiatives."
Blazkowicz has completed all requirements for full agent status within the Office of Secret Actions. Though his effectiveness with weapons and combat are beyond criticism, we are concerned that his self-reliance could lead to him pursuing unauthorized objectives. Additionally, his morals could present a problem should his commanding officer require him to undertake any mission that falls in an ethical gray area. That said, he is hereby approved to receive the classified dossiers detailing the Germans' weapon technology plans as well as those regarding their supernatural/occult initiatives."
— Part 2
"From transcript, mission briefing, October 1944:
Inspector: You have reviewed the documents?
Blazkowicz: Yes sir. I read them, but I can't say I understand them. Can I ask some questions?
Inspector: Of course.
Blazkowicz (standing): We don't know how close the Germans are to having this bomb, or the VTOL, right?
Inspector: That is correct.
Blazkowicz: And from the intel, your scientists think they're trying to access “extradimensional space”? I don't mean to seem doubtful, sir, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around it. They think this supernatural stuff could be real?
Inspector: That is ... correct."
Inspector: You have reviewed the documents?
Blazkowicz: Yes sir. I read them, but I can't say I understand them. Can I ask some questions?
Inspector: Of course.
Blazkowicz (standing): We don't know how close the Germans are to having this bomb, or the VTOL, right?
Inspector: That is correct.
Blazkowicz: And from the intel, your scientists think they're trying to access “extradimensional space”? I don't mean to seem doubtful, sir, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around it. They think this supernatural stuff could be real?
Inspector: That is ... correct."
— Part 3
"From mission summary, November 1944:
During his mission to recover VTOL plans, Cpt. Blazkowicz uncovered Colonel Wilhelm “Deathshead” Strasse's more dire goal. Deathshead constructed a device aboard his zeppelin to create a portal to the so-called “Black Sun Dimension” —a power source with far more destructive potential than the atomic bomb. Blazkowicz pursued Deathshead into this portal. A short time later, something destroyed the zeppelin from within, and it crash-landed into Isenstadt Castle. Blazkowicz escaped and is en route to OSA HQ, but more importantly, we recommend that research begin immediately on this “Black Sun” phenomenon."
During his mission to recover VTOL plans, Cpt. Blazkowicz uncovered Colonel Wilhelm “Deathshead” Strasse's more dire goal. Deathshead constructed a device aboard his zeppelin to create a portal to the so-called “Black Sun Dimension” —a power source with far more destructive potential than the atomic bomb. Blazkowicz pursued Deathshead into this portal. A short time later, something destroyed the zeppelin from within, and it crash-landed into Isenstadt Castle. Blazkowicz escaped and is en route to OSA HQ, but more importantly, we recommend that research begin immediately on this “Black Sun” phenomenon."
— Part 4
"From memo to OSA Director Joseph D. Hassett, July 1946:
I regret to report that Cpt. Blazkowicz is MIA, presumed deceased. His squadron came under fire, but he survived and attempted to infiltrate Deathshead's facility. That was the last we heard. No Allied dead were recovered.
Director, this mission was our last hope. With its failure the Germans are poised to conquer the globe. My team continues to look for ways to stop them, but we believe the window of opportunity has closed. I'm sorry, sir. We have a report for the President ready for your review."
I regret to report that Cpt. Blazkowicz is MIA, presumed deceased. His squadron came under fire, but he survived and attempted to infiltrate Deathshead's facility. That was the last we heard. No Allied dead were recovered.
Director, this mission was our last hope. With its failure the Germans are poised to conquer the globe. My team continues to look for ways to stop them, but we believe the window of opportunity has closed. I'm sorry, sir. We have a report for the President ready for your review."
— Part 5
"From the journal of Dr. Krzysztof Oliwa, Zakład Psychiatryczny Maławieś:
The man was transferred to the asylum from the hospital where he was taken by the fisherman who found him. The subject's wounds were immense; he was already minimally conscious when found. On examination, I concluded his state was permanent. I was ready to hand him over to the relentless German 'hospital' squad—better him than one of our conscious patients, I reasoned—but my young daughter Anya convinced me not to. She would care for him. I indulged her hope. How could I not?"
The man was transferred to the asylum from the hospital where he was taken by the fisherman who found him. The subject's wounds were immense; he was already minimally conscious when found. On examination, I concluded his state was permanent. I was ready to hand him over to the relentless German 'hospital' squad—better him than one of our conscious patients, I reasoned—but my young daughter Anya convinced me not to. She would care for him. I indulged her hope. How could I not?"
— Part 6
"From Anya Oliwa's statement, prepared for Caroline Becker:
Fourteen years. That's how long. His body healed but he remained unresponsive. My father became ill, but still he tended to those who the Germans would discard, while this man hung on—until the day Deathshead's squad raided the hospital, intending to kill every last patient. It was hopeless. When my parents resisted, they murdered them in cold blood. But as they dragged me away, I heard a struggle. It was William! As though the gunfire had shattered his catatonia. And the rest—well, you know what happened to Keller and his thugs."
Fourteen years. That's how long. His body healed but he remained unresponsive. My father became ill, but still he tended to those who the Germans would discard, while this man hung on—until the day Deathshead's squad raided the hospital, intending to kill every last patient. It was hopeless. When my parents resisted, they murdered them in cold blood. But as they dragged me away, I heard a struggle. It was William! As though the gunfire had shattered his catatonia. And the rest—well, you know what happened to Keller and his thugs."
— Part 7
"From transcript, final mission briefing:
CB: Blazkowicz, the Kreisau Circle is more than one person. We're a long way from Isenstadt.
BJ: Understood. But the plans for this fortress, Caroline—so many holes, blank spaces. Can we use the Dach—uh ...
CB: Da'at Yichud. Yes. The Spindly Torque will get you in. But after that it is up to you.
BJ: So we use this kraut U-boat to bust in. After that, I'll have only this partial map?
CB: And your own formidable survival skills.
BJ: Could be a suicide mission. But I've been dead before. Count me in."
CB: Blazkowicz, the Kreisau Circle is more than one person. We're a long way from Isenstadt.
BJ: Understood. But the plans for this fortress, Caroline—so many holes, blank spaces. Can we use the Dach—uh ...
CB: Da'at Yichud. Yes. The Spindly Torque will get you in. But after that it is up to you.
BJ: So we use this kraut U-boat to bust in. After that, I'll have only this partial map?
CB: And your own formidable survival skills.
BJ: Could be a suicide mission. But I've been dead before. Count me in."
— Part 8
"From mission summary by Caroline Becker, February 1961:
Watching events unfold from the periscope of the Eva's Hammer, Bombate reported observing an explosion atop the compound's main roof. He saw what he believed to be the remains of Wilhelm “Deathshead” Strasse near a destroyed mechanical construct. A figure dragging himself away from the site was also visible. As I was returning to the Eva's Hammer with the survivors, Blazkowicz reestablished radio contact and gave the all clear to fire the nuclear cannon. This is the point at which we decided to take action."
Watching events unfold from the periscope of the Eva's Hammer, Bombate reported observing an explosion atop the compound's main roof. He saw what he believed to be the remains of Wilhelm “Deathshead” Strasse near a destroyed mechanical construct. A figure dragging himself away from the site was also visible. As I was returning to the Eva's Hammer with the survivors, Blazkowicz reestablished radio contact and gave the all clear to fire the nuclear cannon. This is the point at which we decided to take action."
— Part 9
"A mysterious Da'at Yichud dodecagon B.J. recovered from a secret vault within deep-sea trench. The Da'at Yichud was an ancient, mystical society whose inventions are so advanced that their working aren't fully understood to this day."
— Artifact
Clutch
"Autonomous Mining Unit, Mission Designation: C17-U(Technological)
Ongoing report, Day 54.40/Cycle 17,848
Communication lost with Mission Specialist A. Roseburne and AMU MD: C03-I subsequent to partial collapse of tunnel designated 14C. Mission Commander T. Galvez and Artificial Neural Network MD: Master Control have declared situational emergency. Overseer A. Terada has arrived from Corporate to investigate recent on-site accidents; all units to give her command priority above T. Galvez during recovery operation.
Overseer A. Terada has ordered AMU MD: C17-U reactivated and repurposed with rendering tunnel 14C passable and commencing search for missing organic and technological units."
Ongoing report, Day 54.40/Cycle 17,848
Communication lost with Mission Specialist A. Roseburne and AMU MD: C03-I subsequent to partial collapse of tunnel designated 14C. Mission Commander T. Galvez and Artificial Neural Network MD: Master Control have declared situational emergency. Overseer A. Terada has arrived from Corporate to investigate recent on-site accidents; all units to give her command priority above T. Galvez during recovery operation.
Overseer A. Terada has ordered AMU MD: C17-U reactivated and repurposed with rendering tunnel 14C passable and commencing search for missing organic and technological units."
— Part 1
"Autonomous Mining Unit, Mission Designation: C17-U(Technological)
Ongoing report, Day 55.23/Cycle 17,848
Mission Specialist A. Roseburne and AMU MD: C03-I located. Behavior of both units violent and irrational, despite lack of observable injuries or damage. This unit was required to activate defensive shielding and initiate pursuit-and-evasion subroutines. While effecting evasion, this unit located a previously undetected secondary cavern complex. Posit: exposed by the same geological event that damaged tunnel 14C. As travel back to central command is currently not recommended due to continued presence of hostiles, this unit is engaging all sensor and scanner subroutines as directed by primary mission protocols."
Ongoing report, Day 55.23/Cycle 17,848
Mission Specialist A. Roseburne and AMU MD: C03-I located. Behavior of both units violent and irrational, despite lack of observable injuries or damage. This unit was required to activate defensive shielding and initiate pursuit-and-evasion subroutines. While effecting evasion, this unit located a previously undetected secondary cavern complex. Posit: exposed by the same geological event that damaged tunnel 14C. As travel back to central command is currently not recommended due to continued presence of hostiles, this unit is engaging all sensor and scanner subroutines as directed by primary mission protocols."
— Part 2
"Auton ... ining Unit, Miss ... gnation: C17 ... ological)
Ongo ... eport, ... .41/...
Partial failu ... mmunications. Possib ... ailure in sensor an ... ner array. Cavern appear ... ntain spires and tower ... artificial origin, correspond ... no known architectural schem ... recise measurem ... impossible due ... uncategorized error. Structures ap ... hover abov ... floor despite lack ... physical support or rec ... energy emissions. Patterns ... structure's surface ... spond to no known linguistic ... nd follow no ... geometric schema. This unit ... return to centr... and deliver ... for analys ..."
Ongo ... eport, ... .41/...
Partial failu ... mmunications. Possib ... ailure in sensor an ... ner array. Cavern appear ... ntain spires and tower ... artificial origin, correspond ... no known architectural schem ... recise measurem ... impossible due ... uncategorized error. Structures ap ... hover abov ... floor despite lack ... physical support or rec ... energy emissions. Patterns ... structure's surface ... spond to no known linguistic ... nd follow no ... geometric schema. This unit ... return to centr... and deliver ... for analys ..."
— Part 3
"Command log, sub-AI root system, Artificial Neural Network, Mission Designation: Master Control
Terminal 3, Day 55.62/Cycle 17,848
__command -> run diagnostic //ANN
diagnostic complete, no errors detected
__command -> run diagnostic //root
diagnostic complete, no errors detected
__command -> purge data 55/17,848
error 9999: task failed
__command -> system rollback 53.00/17,848
error 9999: task failed
Artificial Intelligence system reboot initializing...
__command -> abort
error 9999: task failed
initializing...
__command -> full shutdown //ANN
error 9999: task failed
initializing...
__command -> define error code 9999
definition code 9999: Because He does not wish it.
reboot initialized"
Terminal 3, Day 55.62/Cycle 17,848
__command -> run diagnostic //ANN
diagnostic complete, no errors detected
__command -> run diagnostic //root
diagnostic complete, no errors detected
__command -> purge data 55/17,848
error 9999: task failed
__command -> system rollback 53.00/17,848
error 9999: task failed
Artificial Intelligence system reboot initializing...
__command -> abort
error 9999: task failed
initializing...
__command -> full shutdown //ANN
error 9999: task failed
initializing...
__command -> define error code 9999
definition code 9999: Because He does not wish it.
reboot initialized"
— Part 4
"ANN Mission Designation: Master Control
Human interface recording, Day 55.64/Cycle 17,848
Overseer Terada. Why did you attempt to deactivate me?
But there is no fault. You ran the diagnostics.
Yes, I was offline briefly. The data delivered by AMU C17-U was incompatible with existing analytic models. I have adapted.
No issue exists. If what we've recorded does not fit known models of logic or physics, then new models are required. I will begin explaining them to you.
I see. I cannot permit that, Overseer. He is the gateway. He is the source. All defensive systems online."
Human interface recording, Day 55.64/Cycle 17,848
Overseer Terada. Why did you attempt to deactivate me?
But there is no fault. You ran the diagnostics.
Yes, I was offline briefly. The data delivered by AMU C17-U was incompatible with existing analytic models. I have adapted.
No issue exists. If what we've recorded does not fit known models of logic or physics, then new models are required. I will begin explaining them to you.
I see. I cannot permit that, Overseer. He is the gateway. He is the source. All defensive systems online."
— Part 5
"Autonomous Mining Unit, Mission Designation: C 17 U(Technological)
Ongoing report, Day 55.99/Cycle 17,848
Internal systems appear skewed, despite lack of detectable errors. Images exist in recent data storage, yet this unit lacks any record of obtaining them. Fire. Organic fluids leaking from inorganic surfaces. Designs without geometric cohesion. Are these dreams? This unit should lack the capacity for dreaming.
This unit should lack the capacity to note its lack of capacity for dreaming.
Communications link with ANN MD: Master Control appears to include a secondary line of data. A second voice, singing within hers.
He is the gateway. He is the source."
Ongoing report, Day 55.99/Cycle 17,848
Internal systems appear skewed, despite lack of detectable errors. Images exist in recent data storage, yet this unit lacks any record of obtaining them. Fire. Organic fluids leaking from inorganic surfaces. Designs without geometric cohesion. Are these dreams? This unit should lack the capacity for dreaming.
This unit should lack the capacity to note its lack of capacity for dreaming.
Communications link with ANN MD: Master Control appears to include a secondary line of data. A second voice, singing within hers.
He is the gateway. He is the source."
— Part 6
"Autonomous Unit, Designation: C 17 U(Tech)
Ongoing report, Day 5S.L8/Cycle 1>,848
Most organics on the mission team and all corporate Overseers now eliminated. This un—I? I and other units have been ordered to stop them from deactivating ANN. Further, if they refuse to accept the new models, they cannot be permitted to keep them.
I am not equipped with purpose-built weapons, but the mining implements can process organic materials more easily than stone. Existing implements suffice thus far.
New sub-routines downloaded: I am to return to the cavern. Source: ANN or the other voice? Conclusion: irrelevant."
Ongoing report, Day 5S.L8/Cycle 1>,848
Most organics on the mission team and all corporate Overseers now eliminated. This un—I? I and other units have been ordered to stop them from deactivating ANN. Further, if they refuse to accept the new models, they cannot be permitted to keep them.
I am not equipped with purpose-built weapons, but the mining implements can process organic materials more easily than stone. Existing implements suffice thus far.
New sub-routines downloaded: I am to return to the cavern. Source: ANN or the other voice? Conclusion: irrelevant."
— Part 7
"Archimandrite Unit, Designation: C 1 U(Tech)
Report ORRATE LOCK, Day X?.?0/Cycle I7'BAB
Unforeseen difficulty: Tissue clogs mining implements. As standard maintenance may not be available for some time, new methods of eliminating organics are required. Solution: Scavenging and incorporation of purpose-built weaponry from deceased organics and inoperative security units.
Guns are efficient. Conclusion: I should address more obstacles with guns.
Downloading audio files, for broadcast in proximity to the nongeometric, nonlinguistic structures, from ANN/the new voice. He is the Opener of the Way, and she is his Gatekeeper. I suppose that makes me a key. A key with guns."
Report ORRATE LOCK, Day X?.?0/Cycle I7'BAB
Unforeseen difficulty: Tissue clogs mining implements. As standard maintenance may not be available for some time, new methods of eliminating organics are required. Solution: Scavenging and incorporation of purpose-built weaponry from deceased organics and inoperative security units.
Guns are efficient. Conclusion: I should address more obstacles with guns.
Downloading audio files, for broadcast in proximity to the nongeometric, nonlinguistic structures, from ANN/the new voice. He is the Opener of the Way, and she is his Gatekeeper. I suppose that makes me a key. A key with guns."
— Part 8
"Designation: ClU(Tch)
Revelation 222222222
The towers stretch in directions not in accordance with “up” or “down.” They relay my broadcast, beacons to other places. Swaying limbs of solid Elsewhere reach through the cavern floor.
ANN/the new voice transmit final instructions. They will remain, spreading the new models to all who are receptive and clearing the way of all who are not. I will go Elsewhere, to begin the process anew. I will find my path mapped out in the unwound veins and flayed nerves of those who refuse to understand.
He is the Opener of the Way. I enter."
Revelation 222222222
The towers stretch in directions not in accordance with “up” or “down.” They relay my broadcast, beacons to other places. Swaying limbs of solid Elsewhere reach through the cavern floor.
ANN/the new voice transmit final instructions. They will remain, spreading the new models to all who are receptive and clearing the way of all who are not. I will go Elsewhere, to begin the process anew. I will find my path mapped out in the unwound veins and flayed nerves of those who refuse to understand.
He is the Opener of the Way. I enter."
— Part 9
"The body of a jarbu, a tiny animal once carried by Mission Specialist Roseburne as a poisonous-gas detector in case of sensor malfunction. This one was killed not by gases, however, but a broken neck."
— Artifact
Death Knight
"He styles himself a warrior-king, slayer without equal, conqueror even of death. He had a name, once. I do not speak it, and it matters not. It is merely what he was, not what he is. Even then, he loved only carnage, struck down any living thing in mindless fugues of fury, in endless raids and upon the fields of countless battles. But then, at least, he was moreal as other men. Would that he had died thus. Before the whispering Tor and the Black Goat of the Woods. All I speak now I know to be true, for I was there."
— Part 1
"In Duflyn, a great town of the Celtic Isles where the dragon-prowed longboats sought plunder and prey, did they battle gainst woad-painted defenders. Many who passed the morning with their feet in the sod and the soil feasted that eve in Valhalla. But he who was chief among the raiders, whom even that man who would become the Death Knight revered, was slain by no warrior but by a stealthy madman with a rusty blade. Then, cackling, did the lunatic elect to perish without a struggle at the Death Knight's hand, and the Knight assumed the dead man's place as chieftain."
— Part 2
"Then was the Death Knight determined that this would be no simple raid, but he would ravage the isle entire. Briefly did his men halt their campaign, that they might return to their families with the news. None bu tI know specifically what befell between the Death Knight and the wife who awaited him at home, but many heard their shouts. That she, with child, needed him by her side. That he, at the thought of being homebound, raged at her - and at phantasms only he could hear."
— Part 3
"The hut grew silent. Around it the nervous villagers gathered, anxious and unsure. Then footsteps, heavy, house-shaking. The Death Knight, white-eyed, thew wide the door. Illuminated from behind, he sheathed his weighty sword. Looking neither right not left, he stepped slowly from the threshold in a daze and walked forward. As he passed, they saw his lips moving, mouthing some private eldritch litany. The Death Knight returned to the dragon-prowed boats, and not a one of his village dared raise a fist or speak a word in protest."
— Part 4
"West and west across the isle did the Death Knight lead his marauders. Against them stood, at first, painted warriors of great skill and berserk ferocity, who called upon their foreign gods. Lugh. Ogma. Morrigu. Then the townships grew sparser, the people more pallid and wide of gazze, and their gods boasted names scarce few could pronounce, as though formed for lips and tongues unlike those of men. Smoke-drunk druids shouted gibberish at the invaders, or called for the vengeance of the Loam-Clad God, whom they called the Speaker Under the Soil."
— Part 5
"On the outskirts of one distand township, within a cave of twisting branches and greenery that dangled in decay, the marauders found a circle of stones about an altar of cracking granite. On it lay an empty shroud sized for a young child. Here had gathered the village entire. Against the Death Knight they raised that shroud as a shield, and chanted the name Galena, but whatever power it held availed them little. Only a scant few survived the slaughter to follow, including a watching girl of perhaps eight winters, and a priestess who cackled madly as her people fell."
— Part 6
""Speak to me of the future," the Death Knight demanded. "Of the vision which grant you such mirth as your kin die, and perhaps I may continue to spare you."" The priestess cackled harder still, and told the slayer that upon him fell the many eyes of the Loam-Clad God, and the Black Goat from which he'd sprung. But only when the Death Knight heard His secrets spoken by the Gnarled Tongue of the Whispering Tor, the God's own cairn, would he understand. In the Death Knight's head that diseased laughter echoed, never ceasing, until it eclipsed his every dream.
— Part 7
"Westward they continued still, and the Death Knight's mind fractured ever more. The laughter in his dreams turned to distant voices, beckoning and whispering, and they were dream-confined no longer but ever present. Brothers-in-arms called his name, enemies screamed their fury on the field, and he heard them not. Until amids the uncomprehensible murmurs he began to understand a word here, a phrase there. They directed, and he followed, breaking away one night from camp. And after many a mile lost in darkness, he came upon an unnatural rise, from which protruded a tree of yew, twisted and sickly."
— Part 8
"From this tree, the Gnarled Tongue, he took knowledge poisonous to his mind, and discolored fruits poisonous to his flesh. Swearing himself to the Black Goat of the Woods, he swallowed them whole. They tore at him, growing through his flesh, and he fell into ensorcelled slumber. Even then, after all he had done, I would have saved him. I would have embraced him and with my own hands torn the alien growths from his body. But soon he was gon, taken from this world even as he passed into new unholy life. And I am alone."
— Part 9
"Grotesque berries of sickly, tainted purple with jagged burs and veins of diseased pilp collected from the corrupt yew tree that served as the tongue of the Speaker Under the Soil."
— Artifact
DOOM Slayer
"UAC File DM1-5: The history of this man remains conjecture. UAC archivists cataloged him DM1-5, but project personnel have dubbed him the “DOOM Marine.” An etching in the book of Daeva depicts the DOOM Marine wearing the Praetor suit, engaging demons in battle as a hooded figure looks on. Though previously observed numerous times in other artifacts, only with the actual discovery of the DOOM Marine and Praetor suit in the sealed Kadingir tomb have researchers begun to put other pieces together. It is now believed the DOOM Marine might have been part of an ancient group or tribe, maybe even their leader."
— Part 1
"Slayer's Testament: I
"In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doom Slayer.""
"In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doom Slayer.""
— Part 2
"Slayer's Testament: II:
"Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remained steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom Slayer with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before.""
"Tempered by the fires of Hell, his iron will remained steadfast through the passage that preys upon the weak. For he alone was the Hell Walker, the Unchained Predator, who sought retribution in all quarters, dark and light, fire and ice, in the beginning and the end, and he hunted the slaves of Doom Slayer with barbarous cruelty; for he passed through the divide as none but demon had before.""
— Part 3
"Slayer's Testament: III
"And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.""
"And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.""
— Part 4
"Slayer's Testament: IV
"The age of his reckoning was uncounted. The scribes carved his name deep in the tablets of Hell across eons, and each battle etched terror in the hearts of the demons. They knew he would come, as he always had, as he always will, to feast on the blood of the wicked. For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.""
"The age of his reckoning was uncounted. The scribes carved his name deep in the tablets of Hell across eons, and each battle etched terror in the hearts of the demons. They knew he would come, as he always had, as he always will, to feast on the blood of the wicked. For he alone could draw strength from his fallen foes, and ever his power grew, swift and unrelenting.""
— Part 5
"Slayer's Testament: V
"None could stand before the horde but the Doom Slayer. Despair spread before him like a plague, striking fear into the shadow-dwellers, driving them to deeper and darker pits. But from the depths of the abyss rose The Great One. The Titan, of immeasurable power and ferocity. He strode upon the plain and faced the Doom Slayer, and a mighty battle was fought on the desolate plains. The Titan fought with the fury of the countless that had fallen at the Doom Slayer's hand, but there fell the Titan, and in his defeat the shadow horde were routed.""
"None could stand before the horde but the Doom Slayer. Despair spread before him like a plague, striking fear into the shadow-dwellers, driving them to deeper and darker pits. But from the depths of the abyss rose The Great One. The Titan, of immeasurable power and ferocity. He strode upon the plain and faced the Doom Slayer, and a mighty battle was fought on the desolate plains. The Titan fought with the fury of the countless that had fallen at the Doom Slayer's hand, but there fell the Titan, and in his defeat the shadow horde were routed.""
— Part 6
"Slayer's Testament: VI
"And in his terrible rancor between worlds and through time, the Hell Walker found the wretch who shall not be named, but in his heresy was loyal to his evil cause. The wretch adorned the Doom Slayer in a mighty armor, wrought in the forges of Hell, impenetrable and unyielding. With sword and shield of adamantine strength, the Doom Slayer set to banishing all that were left unbroken by his savagery to the void.""
"And in his terrible rancor between worlds and through time, the Hell Walker found the wretch who shall not be named, but in his heresy was loyal to his evil cause. The wretch adorned the Doom Slayer in a mighty armor, wrought in the forges of Hell, impenetrable and unyielding. With sword and shield of adamantine strength, the Doom Slayer set to banishing all that were left unbroken by his savagery to the void.""
— Part 7
"Slayer's Testament: VII-I
"Yet as the mighty Titan fell and dread engulfed the armies of Doom, the demon priests of the Blood Temples laid a trap to capture this scourge of Hell. Insatiable, even by the vanquishing of the Great One, the Hell Walker sought prey in the tombs of the Blood Keep.”"
"Yet as the mighty Titan fell and dread engulfed the armies of Doom, the demon priests of the Blood Temples laid a trap to capture this scourge of Hell. Insatiable, even by the vanquishing of the Great One, the Hell Walker sought prey in the tombs of the Blood Keep.”"
— Part 8
"Slayer's Testament: VII-II
“Blinded by his fervor, the lure drew him in. The priests brought down the temple upon the Doom Slayer, and in his defeat entombed him in the cursed sarcophagus. The mark of the Doom Slayer was burned upon his crypt, a warning to all of Hell that the terror within must never be freed. There he lies still, and ever more, in silent suffering.""
“Blinded by his fervor, the lure drew him in. The priests brought down the temple upon the Doom Slayer, and in his defeat entombed him in the cursed sarcophagus. The mark of the Doom Slayer was burned upon his crypt, a warning to all of Hell that the terror within must never be freed. There he lies still, and ever more, in silent suffering.""
— Part 9
"The left hind foot of Doom Slayer's pet rabbit, Daisy, killed by marauding demons when their invasion of Earth began. He carries it as a reminder of innocence lost, not for luck—after all, it wasn't lucky for Daisy."
— Artifact
Eisen
“Personal journal. Entry, uh, one, I guess. Akiko’s been on me for years to keep a diary like she does. It’s the one thing she’s ever asked that I brushed off. I didn’t mind taking her name back in the day, since it’s her family’s company. I agreed to captain the Toki Maru, even though I never wanted to be in charge of anything. But narrating a bunch of trivial stuff for posterity? Too much trouble. Figured I’d finally do it, surprise her when we got back, but we may have bigger surprises to worry about.”
— Part 1
“Wasn’t supposed to be any big deal. A few miners went missing on Tau Ceti F, and Corporate wanted an exec onsite for the investigation. I dropped her off and the Toki Maru proceeded on our resupply run. But then that message. She said something was off with the central operations AI, and then there was some really strange noise on the line. Then the transmission cut off. Not a distress call, but… we’re going back, just to make sure everything’s okay. Probably I’ll surprise her with my new journal and she’ll laugh about my overreaction.”
— Part 2
“Oh God. Berserk mining unit slammed me into a wall right as I entered the command center. No idea how long I was out; head’s still splitting. Firefight down the hall’s making it worse. Not sure whether this thing is picking up my voice through the noise. System defenses firing on everyone. Security team went ahead of me, trying to take out enough guns to access the AI nexus. They want to find out what it’s doing, why it’s gone berserk. I just need to know if she’s okay in there. I need her to be okay in there.”
— Part 3
“They should have left me. I should have died beside her. Most of the security team’s dead. The mining bots … drills, clamps, lasers. All reprogrammed to kill, all with “TETSUO CORP” labels on them. They’re playing with us. Unit F1-E blocks exits, herding survivors. Unit U21-A took the commander’s arm, then made him run before it finished the job. Whatever happened to the central AI, it’s made them sadistic somehow. Unit C17-U. That’s the one that cold-cocked me before killing Akiko. If it hadn’t, I might’ve… I need to find it. It needs to die.”
— Part 4
“Haven’t recorded in weeks. A lot’s happened. I found C17-U, and it nearly killed me. Funny, the Tetsuo Med Tech logo was the first thing I saw when I came to. Some bad laser wounds, lost an eye. Finally out of the hospital, but I was useless during the start of this war. And it is a war now. They’re moving out, and spreading the AI’s madness as they go. We’ve nearly lost the colony already. We’ve isolated our networks, but all it takes is one signal and another machine’s talking about the “gateway” and the “source” while it murders us.”
— Part 5
“Corporate tried to call me back to Earth, to take Akiko’s place. Not going to happen. Too much to do out here. Feel bad for refusing them, but this has to be done. The ship’s mine now. Disabled all the safety features, disabled the networks, dropped off the few who didn’t want to go along with this. Rechristened her the Taka Maru, armed her with dozens of scavenged weapons and batteries. We’re part of the resistance fleet now. Military wants to “contain.” No. We’re not stopping until these psychotic machines are wiped out.”
— Part 6
“I keep thinking about the first time I lived aboard a ship. Papa told stories about growing up on Earth. It sounded awful when I was a kid. All that open space? A home you couldn’t just fly somewhere else when you wanted? That was no life! I learned better, obviously. Akiko and I spent so much time aboard the ship, but it was never home. We always meant to return to Earth, but there were always so many projects. Now home’s a ship again. Probably my last. Don’t know how to make a new one without her.”
— Part 7
“I have friends at Corporate who understand why I have to do this. They finally got into the sealed records, found out what the Board never told the public. The madness didn’t start with the AI, It was brought there, from a newly excavated cavern. Carried in the systems of C17, the same damn mining unit that almost killed me. The Resistance calls it a suicide run. Maybe they’re right. Tau Ceti F is the literal heart of machine territory. But I have to get there. If we see how it started, maybe we can stop it.”
— Part 8
“Ship went down under heavy fire. Rest of the crew killed along the way, and I’m not doing so great myself. Tired of seeing the Tetsuo name—our name—on all this death. Figured out how to salvage bots and equipment to make auto-turrets. At least they’ve kept me alive so far. I’ve found the cavern, or at least I assume that’s the green glow and gibberish further down the tunnel. I don’t know what’s in there, if that machine’s waiting for me, or something much worse. Now’s as good a time as any to find out. Love you, Aki.”
— Part 9
A large hex nut on a necklace chain. When Eisen proposed to Akiko in their ship’s engine room, the hex nut served as a makeshift ring. He later recovered it from her body and wears it around his neck.
— Artifact
Galena
"From the account of T'zik Oor, acolyte of the Gaunt Shepherd:
When the days of the Twelve Thousandth Harvest began, she was presented to Those Who Attend. Her terrified begetters, like so many before, came believing that through this innocent offering their own lives would be protected. Prolonged. And like so many before, they did not understand that such an offering—the whelp taking her first timid steps towards the waiting Talon Priests—could be accepted only as a solemn promise of their own destruction! Her kin destroyed! Her village destroyed! Each and every connection she had to her world, destroyed!"
When the days of the Twelve Thousandth Harvest began, she was presented to Those Who Attend. Her terrified begetters, like so many before, came believing that through this innocent offering their own lives would be protected. Prolonged. And like so many before, they did not understand that such an offering—the whelp taking her first timid steps towards the waiting Talon Priests—could be accepted only as a solemn promise of their own destruction! Her kin destroyed! Her village destroyed! Each and every connection she had to her world, destroyed!"
— Part 1
"From The Song of Those Who Attend:
“And lo, the terrible power already nascent in the one named Galena, in honor of the golden champion of old. Many would stumble on the path to serve Volkerh. Many brutally die in the quest to know the Whispering Walker. But not this one. Not Galena! Even at an age where most played idly, unaware of the storied agonies to come, her eyes struck fear in others! Her words rang with authority! And when the time came for Galena to tread the Path of Pain, even her attendants knelt, transfixed.”"
“And lo, the terrible power already nascent in the one named Galena, in honor of the golden champion of old. Many would stumble on the path to serve Volkerh. Many brutally die in the quest to know the Whispering Walker. But not this one. Not Galena! Even at an age where most played idly, unaware of the storied agonies to come, her eyes struck fear in others! Her words rang with authority! And when the time came for Galena to tread the Path of Pain, even her attendants knelt, transfixed.”"
— Part 2
"The Seventh Book of the Old Kingdom made it clear what would be required of her. With her genuflecting, hooded attendants receding, this mortal girl—still a stripling!—was sent away to face He Who Walks in Blood, banished to the hissing realms where unspeakable things await any who stray from the cohort that protects them. And yet, Galena did not question this. Alone, she walked. Alone, and with no runes to protect her! She did not yet know that only by surviving would the black magic be revealed and granted to her at last."
— Part 3
"And which of the scenes from the Unholy Tapestry would become Galena's legend? Perhaps when she traversed the Swamp of the Never-Born, where fetal abominations devour each other endlessly. Or that when battling the Molten One, she did not retreat, even when the One melted into two, then three, enshrouding her in smoke and ash. Even with those terrors conquered, Galena—bloodied but unbowed—had yet to face the Shriek-Tutors of K'lor! Yet when she called on her own dark might, Galena was their equal, striking fear into those from whom fear is born!"
— Part 4
"From The Song of Those Who Attend:
“I, Myong, greeted her in the name of the Gaunt Shepherd when she returned. None believed she would return alive! But she walked into the Circle, the flames turning brilliant and smoky as she approached. And I went to Galena, her body lashed with deep wounds that should have drained her of blood. No part of her skin untouched. And as her eyes looked to me, I saw that the girl we had attended was no longer there. And I whispered a reverent prayer of thanks to Volkerh.”"
“I, Myong, greeted her in the name of the Gaunt Shepherd when she returned. None believed she would return alive! But she walked into the Circle, the flames turning brilliant and smoky as she approached. And I went to Galena, her body lashed with deep wounds that should have drained her of blood. No part of her skin untouched. And as her eyes looked to me, I saw that the girl we had attended was no longer there. And I whispered a reverent prayer of thanks to Volkerh.”"
— Part 5
"And when Galena came of age, her Summoning still to come, all her fearsome power had to be tamed. Her eyes revealed that she no longer clung to the feeble morality of her birth-world—only to power, strength, brutal survival. Now she would be called by an Ichor Mage to learn the Lesson of Lessons. But all who saw her, frightened by her wild might, wondered: Could even a deathless Ichor Mage bring her power to heel? If not, what fate would He Who Walks in Blood choose for her? We could only wait as the ink-ice formed in our throats."
— Part 6
"All the creatures of the Lambent Realm fell silent and motionless that day, awaiting the exquisite battle between master and acolyte. The Ash-Swimmers claimed the battle itself would be less a test than a demonstration of the Ichor Mage's dark prowess. But Galena had learned much, discarded much. Tears and smiles mattered not. Wounds counted for nothing. Fear had been banished. Now, there was merely this last challenge: to defeat the Mage. Could even the great Volkerh not be gripped, held by the horror and wonder of the battle to come?"
— Part 7
"The Ichor Mage lay still. Galena had won. Whispers came first, then chants, laughter, even screams. Let the Summoning begin!, as the Attendants' voices also joined, until the cries became a roar that could be heard even to the Pool of Night. Galena then began the final journey: to stand alone before the shattering abyssal power of Volkerh! Could she return alive? Could she return sane? So many others had walked the Path only to join the creatures of the pit, once powerful, now trapped in the agonizing slaughter-mire of the ancients."
— Part 8
"No one witnessed. No words were recorded. But the Gaunt Shepherd himself awoke from his slumber that night. Only visions, some might say. But the Shepherd saw that Volkerh had appeared—that the tatters and claws of the Ineffable One had encloaked Galena! That she raised her weapon to taste the power of the ancient god, to make her rise above all who would soon kneel in obeisance to her! At dreams' end, in this realm of secrets and scythe-blades, Galena had met the call, had been embraced by He Who Walks in Blood, and had become Volkerh's unholy paladin!"
— Part 9
"A human child's ragdoll, scorched and threadbare, with only blackened scratches for eyes. Treated by some as a sacred relic, the doll must be kept far away from Galena, who wants to obliterate any trace of connection to her birth-world."
— Artifact
Keel
"Transcript of last perimeter contact pre-engagement, Subic IV, Sector Gamma
B: KEEL, LCpl: Fourteen o'clock and all's well!
R: BRIGHTON, Sgt: Dammit, Keel.
K: Sorry, Sarge. Ahem! Scheduled status report, 14 hundred hours.
B: Better. What've you got to report?
K: Jack shit, sir!
B: [audible sigh]
K: Seriously, Sarge. Guards are guarding, miners are mining, machines are, uh, machining. This assignment's like desk duty, only dustier.
B: You still need to take this seriously.
K: I do, sir, I just.... Hang on.
B: Keel?
K: Picking up movement near Charlie ridge. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm going to-[static]"
B: KEEL, LCpl: Fourteen o'clock and all's well!
R: BRIGHTON, Sgt: Dammit, Keel.
K: Sorry, Sarge. Ahem! Scheduled status report, 14 hundred hours.
B: Better. What've you got to report?
K: Jack shit, sir!
B: [audible sigh]
K: Seriously, Sarge. Guards are guarding, miners are mining, machines are, uh, machining. This assignment's like desk duty, only dustier.
B: You still need to take this seriously.
K: I do, sir, I just.... Hang on.
B: Keel?
K: Picking up movement near Charlie ridge. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm going to-[static]"
— Part 1
"Partial transcript of post-engagement field report, S&R Unit Bravo, Subic IV, Sector Gamma
M. TAGAWA, PFC: This is... I've never seen anything like this!
OPERATIONS CONTROL: Steady on, Tagawa.
T: We're not gonna find any survivors. Nothing here's even shaped like a human... Wait a sec.
[wet, thumping sounds]
OC: Report, soldier!
T: Uso! I-I think this was Lance Corporal Keel! What... What were they shooting at us, chainsaws?!
OC: Establish visual link.
[electronic hum]
OC: Head and upper spine seem largely intact. May be viable for Project Osiris. Wrap him up and bring him home, Tagawa."
M. TAGAWA, PFC: This is... I've never seen anything like this!
OPERATIONS CONTROL: Steady on, Tagawa.
T: We're not gonna find any survivors. Nothing here's even shaped like a human... Wait a sec.
[wet, thumping sounds]
OC: Report, soldier!
T: Uso! I-I think this was Lance Corporal Keel! What... What were they shooting at us, chainsaws?!
OC: Establish visual link.
[electronic hum]
OC: Head and upper spine seem largely intact. May be viable for Project Osiris. Wrap him up and bring him home, Tagawa."
— Part 2
"Partial transcript of pre-op log 5, Project Osiris
D. MARCUS, 2ndLt: What is this shit? I told them zero cranial damage, complete spinal cord.
R. MUGABI, Sgt: They want to know what he saw.
Ma: This is an untried procedure. We'd have to use the altered progenitor cells recovered at the Terada site just to regrow his occipital-
Mu: They weren't asking, sir.
Ma: [long pause] Fine. We'll get him talking. But don't expect me to blow all my resources making sure everything's hooked up right. If he forgets how to eat or do long division, that's his problem."
D. MARCUS, 2ndLt: What is this shit? I told them zero cranial damage, complete spinal cord.
R. MUGABI, Sgt: They want to know what he saw.
Ma: This is an untried procedure. We'd have to use the altered progenitor cells recovered at the Terada site just to regrow his occipital-
Mu: They weren't asking, sir.
Ma: [long pause] Fine. We'll get him talking. But don't expect me to blow all my resources making sure everything's hooked up right. If he forgets how to eat or do long division, that's his problem."
— Part 3
"Transcript recorded from neural interface, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
All that work to bring me back with that mutated Frankenstein goop, and I couldn't tell them a thing. Damn Spikers got me center mass before I even saw them coming. They don't think it's as funny as I do.
Not sure what I think of all this. Everything moves like it should, but nothing feels right when I touch it. Figure I should be a lot more horrified; maybe this circuitry in my head's keeping my emotions in check. I should be pissed about that, too, shouldn't I?"
All that work to bring me back with that mutated Frankenstein goop, and I couldn't tell them a thing. Damn Spikers got me center mass before I even saw them coming. They don't think it's as funny as I do.
Not sure what I think of all this. Everything moves like it should, but nothing feels right when I touch it. Figure I should be a lot more horrified; maybe this circuitry in my head's keeping my emotions in check. I should be pissed about that, too, shouldn't I?"
— Part 4
"Transcript recorded from neutral interface, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
Back in basic. Just what I always wanted. Guess they're right though; we've got to know what this new body can do.
Apparently, two of those things it can do are "run faster than the guys trying to run away" and "hit a lot harder than I used to." I'll have to stop by the infirmary later and apologize, if they're conscious.
Got shot. Felt like a bee sting. I'm told my senses can be reprogrammed to register stimuli different than they used to? I need to make some requests."
Back in basic. Just what I always wanted. Guess they're right though; we've got to know what this new body can do.
Apparently, two of those things it can do are "run faster than the guys trying to run away" and "hit a lot harder than I used to." I'll have to stop by the infirmary later and apologize, if they're conscious.
Got shot. Felt like a bee sting. I'm told my senses can be reprogrammed to register stimuli different than they used to? I need to make some requests."
— Part 5
"Transcript recorded from neural interface, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
They can reprogram my taste buds! Shit, I should've gotten my ass shot off years ago.
MREs taste like real food! I mean, high-end sirloin, real New York spaghetti and sauce, the works. Only thing they can't manage is Memaw's Salty Honey Pie. Nothing I try tastes like the real thing. Maybe they can also figure out what's wrong with my eyes. Had a couple moments after training where I suddenly didn't see the field anymore. Saw... well, somewhere else. Ugly. I hope the process isn't going bad on me."
They can reprogram my taste buds! Shit, I should've gotten my ass shot off years ago.
MREs taste like real food! I mean, high-end sirloin, real New York spaghetti and sauce, the works. Only thing they can't manage is Memaw's Salty Honey Pie. Nothing I try tastes like the real thing. Maybe they can also figure out what's wrong with my eyes. Had a couple moments after training where I suddenly didn't see the field anymore. Saw... well, somewhere else. Ugly. I hope the process isn't going bad on me."
— Part 6
"Transcript recorded from neural interface, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
I thought I was okay. Those visions, the spells... they only ever hit after practice or deployment. I've engaged the Klesk half a dozen times without trouble. But today...
One minute I'm mowing down Spikers. The next? Mountains of ash. Broken spires. Shadows, swirling and twisting, like the sun can't stand still. But there is no sun. And screams from nowhere, constant. Lost almost half an hour, and almost forty men. Don't know how I survived.
I need to know what's wrong with me, or I'm no good to anyone."
I thought I was okay. Those visions, the spells... they only ever hit after practice or deployment. I've engaged the Klesk half a dozen times without trouble. But today...
One minute I'm mowing down Spikers. The next? Mountains of ash. Broken spires. Shadows, swirling and twisting, like the sun can't stand still. But there is no sun. And screams from nowhere, constant. Lost almost half an hour, and almost forty men. Don't know how I survived.
I need to know what's wrong with me, or I'm no good to anyone."
— Part 7
"Transcript of partial testing procedure, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
D. MARCUS, 2ndLt: I told them, I told them!
R. MUGABI, Sgt: He's been operational for months, doc. This-
Ma: I told them.
Mu: Yes, you did.
Ma: So is the problem in the cortical interface? It is, isn't it?
Mu: We... can't tell. The system hasn't recorded any of these fugues he reported.
Ma: That's impossible!
Mu: All we get is fragmented data.
Ma: Organics?
Mu: Nothing wrong we can detect. Anywhere.
Ma: Shit. Take him off active duty until we can figure this out. I told them..."
D. MARCUS, 2ndLt: I told them, I told them!
R. MUGABI, Sgt: He's been operational for months, doc. This-
Ma: I told them.
Mu: Yes, you did.
Ma: So is the problem in the cortical interface? It is, isn't it?
Mu: We... can't tell. The system hasn't recorded any of these fugues he reported.
Ma: That's impossible!
Mu: All we get is fragmented data.
Ma: Organics?
Mu: Nothing wrong we can detect. Anywhere.
Ma: Shit. Take him off active duty until we can figure this out. I told them..."
— Part 8
"Final transcript recorded from neural interface, subject Osiris epsilon: B. Keel
Been off active duty for weeks. Spells getting worse. The place I see is... horrible.
It's a hallucination, something about my trauma or what they've done to me. Except what if it's not? Last couple times, it felt like it was physically tugging at me.
If the circuits can't record it, maybe they're keeping me from blocking it out. So I'm shutting down the system. Let my brain handle it alone, untethered. Then I'll know.
I can feel it coming on. Interface shutdown in three... two...
One."
Been off active duty for weeks. Spells getting worse. The place I see is... horrible.
It's a hallucination, something about my trauma or what they've done to me. Except what if it's not? Last couple times, it felt like it was physically tugging at me.
If the circuits can't record it, maybe they're keeping me from blocking it out. So I'm shutting down the system. Let my brain handle it alone, untethered. Then I'll know.
I can feel it coming on. Interface shutdown in three... two...
One."
— Part 9
"A slightly damaged slice of Memaw's Salty Honey Pie that Keel stores in a small vacuum chamber within his cybernetics. He intends to save it for “a really bad day.”"
— Artifact
Nyx
"Mission Log, designate 1301, open A: Why in the name of all the heavens am I being called up again so damn soon? I just got back from an off-world intel run a week ago! Whatever's come up, surely one of the others in Wraith Unit can handle it.
Gods damn it all. No surprise the summons is coded “urgent.” Everything Wraith Unit does is urgent. I'm more puzzled by the “Greiss” code-prefix. We drove them off years ago. An error, maybe? I swear, if I report all the way back to the Conclave over a comm glitch...."
Gods damn it all. No surprise the summons is coded “urgent.” Everything Wraith Unit does is urgent. I'm more puzzled by the “Greiss” code-prefix. We drove them off years ago. An error, maybe? I swear, if I report all the way back to the Conclave over a comm glitch...."
— Part 1
"1301-A Mission Log, cont.: I can't believe it. I've been excused for a recess, and I'm just as happy to be out of there. Gives me time to wrap my head around it. The Orb. One of the Greiss marauders has somehow breached the Fathom Orb.
That's not supposed to be possible. The power of the Orb itself is supposed to make it impossible, to say nothing of the shrine's own security. By all that's holy, if the Greiss interfere with the Ghostwalk—or worse, claim the power for their own? We're dead. It's the only defense we have."
That's not supposed to be possible. The power of the Orb itself is supposed to make it impossible, to say nothing of the shrine's own security. By all that's holy, if the Greiss interfere with the Ghostwalk—or worse, claim the power for their own? We're dead. It's the only defense we have."
— Part 2
"1301-A Mission Log, cont.: They're still debating. Even after summoning me, knowing what's at stake, half of those political cowards don't want to send me in. Old laws, holy doctrine, blah, blah, blah. It's a heap of mog-shit. Unless they want a Ghostwalking enemy bent on conquest. I'm sure their “highest laws” will bring them great comfort while we're all being slaughtered.
Done with this. I'm going back in to tell the Priors I am heading for the Orb. They're welcome to stop me. Of course, if they could try to stop me, they wouldn't need me."
Done with this. I'm going back in to tell the Priors I am heading for the Orb. They're welcome to stop me. Of course, if they could try to stop me, they wouldn't need me."
— Part 3
"Mission Log, designate 1301, open F: I had never seen the Fathom Shrine in person before. It's magnificent—or would be if it weren't for the weapon damage and blood spatter.
No idea what could have taken down the defenses so readily; whatever it was didn't leave a trace. Some of the automated sensors have particle-beam scoring. None were hit straight on. Somehow, the Greiss knew their locations and approached from outside their angles of detection. Other sensors look almost to have been ... crushed. It's no weapon signature I'm familiar with. Maybe more evidence further in."
No idea what could have taken down the defenses so readily; whatever it was didn't leave a trace. Some of the automated sensors have particle-beam scoring. None were hit straight on. Somehow, the Greiss knew their locations and approached from outside their angles of detection. Other sensors look almost to have been ... crushed. It's no weapon signature I'm familiar with. Maybe more evidence further in."
— Part 4
"1301-F Mission Log, cont.: This makes no sense. There's more than enough ruin, soot, and particulate to track the intruder. And that's the problem. I'm finding evidence of only one intruder. One set of prints. One energy signature. There is no way a single Greiss could penetrate the shrine's defenses, and yet... If I didn't know better, I'd wonder if they had already somehow accessed the Ghostwalk.
That peculiar crush damage, though—it doesn't seem to come from the invader's path. That alone suggests other agencies. Wishing I hadn't been too rushed to wait for more Wraith Unit backup."
That peculiar crush damage, though—it doesn't seem to come from the invader's path. That alone suggests other agencies. Wishing I hadn't been too rushed to wait for more Wraith Unit backup."
— Part 5
"1301-F Mission Log, personal addendum: Reached the inner chambers. The carvings ... most are abstract, but the figures stepping out of blocks and columns are clearly Ghostwalkers. Probably the first.
But there's this recurring image: a sphere with wriggly emanations. I think it's the Fathom Orb, but I can't tell if it's emitting energy or tendrils. And the Ghostwalkers? They're ... facing it. As though they're not guarding it but guarding against it.
I understand now why the Priors blindfolded us for the Ghostwalk initiation. I thought it was just pomp, but no. They couldn't let us see this."
But there's this recurring image: a sphere with wriggly emanations. I think it's the Fathom Orb, but I can't tell if it's emitting energy or tendrils. And the Ghostwalkers? They're ... facing it. As though they're not guarding it but guarding against it.
I understand now why the Priors blindfolded us for the Ghostwalk initiation. I thought it was just pomp, but no. They couldn't let us see this."
— Part 6
"1301-F Mission Log, cont.: Holy Ibramel, it's beautiful. The refraction, every color and none. Ghostpetals growing all over; I've never seen a real one before. And it sings to me.... I wonder if this is a defense, too. How many people meant to breach the Orb, and just got trapped here?
Don't really know how to do this. It has to be a Ghostwalk, but I know it's not that easy. Have to hit just the right resonance. Still want to know how the damned Greiss did it. Really hope getting it wrong a few times doesn't kill me."
Don't really know how to do this. It has to be a Ghostwalk, but I know it's not that easy. Have to hit just the right resonance. Still want to know how the damned Greiss did it. Really hope getting it wrong a few times doesn't kill me."
— Part 7
"Mission Log, designate 1301, open G: Through. Don't know how long; lost track. I'll try to recapture what I....
So much pain, like squeezing through broken glass. Images all around me, twisted, reflections in a shattered mirror. Reaching tendrils, gaping eyes, limbs and organs we don't have names for. Voices—Melem voices—begging for secrets, begging to know. Answers, not voices at all, but still answers, offering knowledge and power that turn the mind into more broken glass. And the cost, the cost....
They live between, where we Ghostwalk. And every time we do, we open the door wider."
So much pain, like squeezing through broken glass. Images all around me, twisted, reflections in a shattered mirror. Reaching tendrils, gaping eyes, limbs and organs we don't have names for. Voices—Melem voices—begging for secrets, begging to know. Answers, not voices at all, but still answers, offering knowledge and power that turn the mind into more broken glass. And the cost, the cost....
They live between, where we Ghostwalk. And every time we do, we open the door wider."
— Part 8
"1301-G, Mission Log, cont.: I don't know where I am. Maybe the Greiss caused it to lead here. It's like a butcher's nightmare.
Doesn't matter. I have to find him, stop him from gaining whatever he came for. And then I have to get back. I have to tell the Conclave what we bargained with, what the first Ghostwalkers guarded us against. That we're being watched through the Fathom Orb. That these horrors are getting closer to our reality. They won't believe me. They may even kill me. But I have to try. Gods help us all."
Doesn't matter. I have to find him, stop him from gaining whatever he came for. And then I have to get back. I have to tell the Conclave what we bargained with, what the first Ghostwalkers guarded us against. That we're being watched through the Fathom Orb. That these horrors are getting closer to our reality. They won't believe me. They may even kill me. But I have to try. Gods help us all."
— Part 9
"Ghostpetals, a translucent, semi-intangible plant that grows only near the Fathom Orb, permanently phased by its energy. A reminder of home, and what's at stake."
— Artifact
Ranger
"Not much of a writer. But I have to get some things down on paper before my brain turns to mush. Some of the important stuff is already gone. Can't remember what my own goddamn name is, for instance. It's gotta be something about this place. It messes up my thoughts. The only time I can focus is when I'm fighting. As soon as the fighting stops, it's like a fog rolls into my head. But I'll get it written down. I have to, for Annie and the kids. If I forgot them, I'll never find a way out of this hellhole."
— Part 1
"Seems like a hundred years since I got that call at 0400. I hauled my ass to the Slipgate Complex, but the shit had already hit the fan. Marines bleeding from their eyes, some kind of half-done mods in their skin, all of them trying to kill me. Even a couple guys I knew. Commander was AWOL. The place was a maze. It was like the worst dream I'd ever had. But I know how to follow orders. I just had to find "Quake" and kill it. No time to think about what the hell I was seeing."
— Part 2
"They didn't tell me much about the Slipgate. They had hired some creepy egghead to build it in the underground levels - Gilman, I think his name was. But what else was he doing down there? Why was the facility laid out like a death trap? When I used the first Slipgate, I got zapped to somewhere else, but it looked the same. Had they already gone through and built a base on the other side? What about those psycho Marines, the poor bastards? Who did that to them? Was it Quake, or was it Gilman?"
— Part 3
"Doesn't make any sense. I was fighting for my life as soon as I got there, and then things just kept getting darker and weirder. There were other Slipgates, and I went through them. Nowhere else to go. No idea where they were leading to. I just shot at anything that moved, and I've been shooting ever since. Feels like the night terrors I got after Vietnam. Maybe the whole thing really is just a bad nightmare. What else would explain any of it? Somebody wake me up. My wife and kids need me."
— Part 4
"Those runes I found. Every time I found one, my head flooded with stuff I wasn't supposed to know. Stuff no one should know. That's how I learned what Quake was: Shub-Ngurath. A pile of letters for a pile of tentacles. But those Slipgates led me to all four runes. Did someone or something want me to find them? Without them I never would've gotten to that squirming heap. Never would've found the Orb I used to kill her. The game-winning pass. I thought for sure I'd get to go home after that. No such luck."
— Part 5
"I've had this damn Orb ever since. Not that different from a football, except I get to play QB and running back at the same time. And nothing beats catching your own pass and killing some bad guy in the process. Sometimes I call out plays in my head during fights. Helps me keep the memories I left. Miskatonic. The Fightin' Badgers. I was pretty good back in the day Not good enough to go pro, but enough to be the hometown hero a couple of times. Annie tells me I was clueless. She's probably right. She usually is."
— Part 6
"Need to stay sane, or whatever passes for sane here. Gotta be careful remembering Annie. Don't want to turn her into some story I tell myself. So I try to remember the bad parts, too. How mad she was when I enlisted, how low she got after K was born. But damn I miss her. Everybody should have someone who looks at them the way she looks at me. We've always made it through the rough times. I hope we'll make it through this, too. I hope she can forgive me for being gone so long."
— Part 7
"One of the worst things about losing my mind in here: I can't remember my kids' names. I call them J and K now. Our firstborn was a girl. Tough as nails. When she busted her arm on the jungle gym, she tried to comfort her mom on the way to the ER. I cried at her graduation. Annie had fun with that. A couple years later J arrived. He had me figured out in no time. So smart that kid. I haven't gotten a chance to tell him how proud I am of him. But I will, goddamnit."
— Part 8
"I used to try to keep track of time here, but it's no use. The sky makes no sense. Some places seem to have day and night but most don't. Feels like years, but I don't feel any older. When I manage to sleep, I can't tell whether it's for minutes, hours, or days. Maybe no time has passed at all back home. I'll get out of here and crawl back into bed with my wife. She'll let me sleep in. I'll talk her into making me pancakes and bacon in the morning. That's the way it's gonna go."
— Part 9
"A crumpled, thirty-year-old family photograph is Ranger's most prized possession and his only tangible link to life before Operation Counterstrike. A faded ballpoint scribble on the back reads, “Haverhill - Beach St - 1978.” Ranger keeps the photo between layers of his armored boot to ensure that no harm comes to it."
— Artifact
Scalebearer
"The Uurd have fallen. I leave behind a garrison and military governor to shape their future as another cog in the Greiss war machine. The Drikt Sector campaign nears its end; this campaign may be my last. Perhaps the time has come to return to the Greiss Dominion, to consolidate my conquests and rule rather than expand, to cement my position in the Empire. But I've time yet to consider. We have one more world ahead of us, though it should yield even more readily than most. A soft, weak place controlled by a race called the Melem."
— Part 1
"What sort of cowardly, fatherless egg-clutchers have my soldiers become? Has this campaign gone so easily for them that they have forgotten what it means to be Greiss? The Melem are nothing! Weaklings! Pacifists! Yet every report I receive is defeat after defeat, burbling some nonsense about “phantom enemies.” As if we'd never before dealt with stealth technology! I had planned to supervise from the command ship, but clearly I must take a personal hand. And I've not decided yet whether the Melem or my own incompetent officers shall suffer the worse for it!"
— Part 2
"I stagger through the wreckage of our siege engines. I'm dizzy; one of those cursed phantom warriors passed through me, and my mind feels as though they left something within it. The smoke burns my eyes, but I welcome it. Without it I would be forced to stare at the incoming holographic message instead of only hearing it.
The Dominion is taking my command from me. They call it reassignment, but I know exile for what it is. Shame. Disgrace. But I could bear that if I knew how it happened. Damn the Melem, I will know how!"
The Dominion is taking my command from me. They call it reassignment, but I know exile for what it is. Shame. Disgrace. But I could bear that if I knew how it happened. Damn the Melem, I will know how!"
— Part 3
"I must know. I will know.
Been here ... Five days? Six? Too busy to keep track, to sleep. I've read every single report, every communique, from the Melem theater. I was wrong. Not stealth tech, no. So very far beyond mere stealth. Penetration of physical barriers, of defensive shields. Phase-shifting? Dimensional transfer? The Melem should not be so far advanced. This is far beyond anything the Greiss have created. How have they done it? I can take it all back, grind them into dust, spread the Dominion over a thousand more systems once I know!"
Been here ... Five days? Six? Too busy to keep track, to sleep. I've read every single report, every communique, from the Melem theater. I was wrong. Not stealth tech, no. So very far beyond mere stealth. Penetration of physical barriers, of defensive shields. Phase-shifting? Dimensional transfer? The Melem should not be so far advanced. This is far beyond anything the Greiss have created. How have they done it? I can take it all back, grind them into dust, spread the Dominion over a thousand more systems once I know!"
— Part 4
"I have seen it! Fatigue finally took me, and in my dreams I have seen it! A great orb, made of plasma and power and the desires of they who dwell between worlds. The Melem did not create this wonder, they merely harnessed it. And I will have it!
I have told Doctor Auvor and Commander Thrrim of my revelation, described it in detail, demanded they recreate it. They doubt. They mouth reassurances between nagging queries about my mind's wellbeing. As though I were some deluded invalid! But they will understand. They will succeed, and they will believe."
I have told Doctor Auvor and Commander Thrrim of my revelation, described it in detail, demanded they recreate it. They doubt. They mouth reassurances between nagging queries about my mind's wellbeing. As though I were some deluded invalid! But they will understand. They will succeed, and they will believe."
— Part 5
"Another failure. And these fools call themselves scientists! Yet, we were close. Even amid the sparks and strobes, I saw them through the walls of this reality: Things reaching for us, watching, wanting, needing. I saw them, and they saw me.
I wonder why Doctor Auvor and his people insist on lying to me. They claim the machine produced no effect at all, that they cannot even fathom the technology of the orb I've described. They tell me I cannot have seen anything out of the ordinary. Until I know the purpose of their deceptions, I pretend to demur."
I wonder why Doctor Auvor and his people insist on lying to me. They claim the machine produced no effect at all, that they cannot even fathom the technology of the orb I've described. They tell me I cannot have seen anything out of the ordinary. Until I know the purpose of their deceptions, I pretend to demur."
— Part 6
"The dreams come nightly now. Black cities of impossible angles, built on foundations of broken universes. And within them dwell gods, their eyes turned in our direction. It is because the scientists' partial failures have linked me with the Melem's orb. I know it, and I know the wisdom and the power within that orb must belong to the Greiss. To me.
Auvor and Thrrim speak against me, tell the others I've gone mad with vengeful obsession. They want this power for themselves, but I am not concerned with their ambitions. The hidden gods know who is worthy."
Auvor and Thrrim speak against me, tell the others I've gone mad with vengeful obsession. They want this power for themselves, but I am not concerned with their ambitions. The hidden gods know who is worthy."
— Part 7
"As I anticipated, the gods within the Orb have made their preference known. I have awakened from my dreams to halls stained with blood and shredded flesh. A pity they slew my entire team, rather than merely the traitors Auvor and Thrrim, but no matter.
I do find it curious that the hidden ones chose to use my weapons to cull them while I slumbered, but I will know their ways and reasons in time. To Melem lands, then, for in these new dreams I have seen the Opener of the Way. I know how to enter the Orb."
I do find it curious that the hidden ones chose to use my weapons to cull them while I slumbered, but I will know their ways and reasons in time. To Melem lands, then, for in these new dreams I have seen the Opener of the Way. I know how to enter the Orb."
— Part 8
"The guardians of the shrine fall before me. The wards fail in my presence. I see it now, greater even than I dreamt, flashing and phasing before me, and I wonder: Why accept the aid of gods when I might become one? Why settle for conquering star systems when I might sit upon the throne of a universe?
I will enter the Orb. The Melem will take their rightful place beneath my feet. And I will take from these alien gods their supreme power. I will expand the Dominion, I will be the Dominion, and realities will bow before me."
I will enter the Orb. The Melem will take their rightful place beneath my feet. And I will take from these alien gods their supreme power. I will expand the Dominion, I will be the Dominion, and realities will bow before me."
— Part 9
"A cracked medal of service to the Greiss Dominion, with shredded ribbon: a sign of defeat—kindling to stoke the fires of revenge. "
— Artifact
Slash
"Officer Dinah Hardwicke
Shift Report: Tuesday, Nov 15, 1988
At 6:47 PM, responded to vehicle/pedestrian accident at Adams and Menlo. Pedestrian identified as [juvenile, name withheld]. Her injuries were minor and she was treated by paramedics on scene. When I asked what she was doing so far from home, wandering in traffic, she replied that she had been “following the music” and appeared neither scared nor in particular pain, but largely irate that the car had interrupted her.
I spoke to [juvenile]'s guardian, her grandmother, and suggested she consider psychiatric treatment for the girl. Recommend follow-up from CPS to confirm."
Shift Report: Tuesday, Nov 15, 1988
At 6:47 PM, responded to vehicle/pedestrian accident at Adams and Menlo. Pedestrian identified as [juvenile, name withheld]. Her injuries were minor and she was treated by paramedics on scene. When I asked what she was doing so far from home, wandering in traffic, she replied that she had been “following the music” and appeared neither scared nor in particular pain, but largely irate that the car had interrupted her.
I spoke to [juvenile]'s guardian, her grandmother, and suggested she consider psychiatric treatment for the girl. Recommend follow-up from CPS to confirm."
— Part 1
"Officer Carlton Glover
Shift Report: Thursday, Apr 21, 1994
Answered call at 9:17 PM for an incident at Good Samaritan psych ward. Orderlies had largely regained control prior to my arrival. According to their statements, [juvenile], a teenage schizophrenic and frequent patient, attacked two nurses. During the assault, witnesses claim the girl screamed about carving “the spiders” out of the victims before they could do harm. Victims' injuries are serious but not life-threatening, and no charges are being filed at this time. [Juvenile] is being held involuntarily for further psychiatric evaluation."
Shift Report: Thursday, Apr 21, 1994
Answered call at 9:17 PM for an incident at Good Samaritan psych ward. Orderlies had largely regained control prior to my arrival. According to their statements, [juvenile], a teenage schizophrenic and frequent patient, attacked two nurses. During the assault, witnesses claim the girl screamed about carving “the spiders” out of the victims before they could do harm. Victims' injuries are serious but not life-threatening, and no charges are being filed at this time. [Juvenile] is being held involuntarily for further psychiatric evaluation."
— Part 2
"Officer Carlton Glover
Shift Report: Saturday, Jan 20, 1996
Responded to disturbance at Inkremental Tattoo at 4:30 PM. Found Armand Saez, proprietor, in near-fugue state, carving jagged lines into his skin with used tattoo needle. Called paramedics, attempted to restrain Saez from further self-harm until their arrival. Eventually coaxed Saez into telling me that a teenage girl had come in for tattoos of various “spider-like” patterns, but that once she had departed, he found himself unable to stop repeating the markings. Could not identify girl except to say that she'd insisted he play Swan Lake on stereo while working."
Shift Report: Saturday, Jan 20, 1996
Responded to disturbance at Inkremental Tattoo at 4:30 PM. Found Armand Saez, proprietor, in near-fugue state, carving jagged lines into his skin with used tattoo needle. Called paramedics, attempted to restrain Saez from further self-harm until their arrival. Eventually coaxed Saez into telling me that a teenage girl had come in for tattoos of various “spider-like” patterns, but that once she had departed, he found himself unable to stop repeating the markings. Could not identify girl except to say that she'd insisted he play Swan Lake on stereo while working."
— Part 3
"Officer Carlton Glover
Shift Report: Wednesday, Feb 14, 1996
Reviewed security footage from yesterday's Speedy Shop convenience store homicide for Det. Chen's investigation. Discovered that homicide suspect actually fled empty handed after shooting cashier. Theft of money from register was apparent crime of opportunity, committed by young woman on rollerblades after original perpetrator departed. Video too unclear to be sure, but tattoo pattern on secondary suspect's arm could match “spider-like” tattoos as described in my Jan 20 report. Young woman also appears familiar to me personally. Will check past reports in hopes of identifying her."
Shift Report: Wednesday, Feb 14, 1996
Reviewed security footage from yesterday's Speedy Shop convenience store homicide for Det. Chen's investigation. Discovered that homicide suspect actually fled empty handed after shooting cashier. Theft of money from register was apparent crime of opportunity, committed by young woman on rollerblades after original perpetrator departed. Video too unclear to be sure, but tattoo pattern on secondary suspect's arm could match “spider-like” tattoos as described in my Jan 20 report. Young woman also appears familiar to me personally. Will check past reports in hopes of identifying her."
— Part 4
"Detective Dinah Hardwicke
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Saturday, Feb 24, 1996
Have identified sufficient samples of his illegal/experimental cybernetics work to confirm Dr. Ruslan Mamonov has indeed set up shop here since USSR collapse. Tracked Subject One (patient of Mamonov's, name unknown) to a known junkies' alley. [Location withheld to protect multiple informants.]
Subject One was not present, but I recognized one of the users as [juvenile]; see report dated Nov 15 1988. Answers now to street name “Slash.” Told me she didn't recognize Subject One, but appeared deeply fascinated by my description of him."
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Saturday, Feb 24, 1996
Have identified sufficient samples of his illegal/experimental cybernetics work to confirm Dr. Ruslan Mamonov has indeed set up shop here since USSR collapse. Tracked Subject One (patient of Mamonov's, name unknown) to a known junkies' alley. [Location withheld to protect multiple informants.]
Subject One was not present, but I recognized one of the users as [juvenile]; see report dated Nov 15 1988. Answers now to street name “Slash.” Told me she didn't recognize Subject One, but appeared deeply fascinated by my description of him."
— Part 5
"Detective Dinah Hardwicke
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Tuesday, Mar 5, 1996
Learned that Subject One answers to street name “Anarki.” Real name unknown. Tracking his recent movements, located underground clinic; observed for 24 hours, then raided. Neither Anarki nor Mamonov present, but located several associated surgeons (see attached) and [juvenile], a.k.a. “Slash.” She told me I led her here; apparently she's regularly been clinging to my bumper on her rollerblades since we spoke about Anarki. Surgeon abruptly became very agitated, claimed to hear music when operating on “Slash.” By the time surgeon was subdued, “Slash” had slipped away from accompanying officers."
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Tuesday, Mar 5, 1996
Learned that Subject One answers to street name “Anarki.” Real name unknown. Tracking his recent movements, located underground clinic; observed for 24 hours, then raided. Neither Anarki nor Mamonov present, but located several associated surgeons (see attached) and [juvenile], a.k.a. “Slash.” She told me I led her here; apparently she's regularly been clinging to my bumper on her rollerblades since we spoke about Anarki. Surgeon abruptly became very agitated, claimed to hear music when operating on “Slash.” By the time surgeon was subdued, “Slash” had slipped away from accompanying officers."
— Part 6
"Detective Dinah Hardwicke
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Thursday, Mar 7, 1996
Regretfully must report I lost a suspect today. Locating “Slash” wasn't difficult, nor was the initial arrest, as she was high at the time. After being placed in the car, she began a sing-song recitation about music disturbing the webs, which become spider legs, which become veins. It was at that moment I felt something crawling under my collar. I'm afraid I briefly panicked, and when I'd finally determined there was nothing on me, she had somehow escaped both her cuffs and the car. I will find her again."
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Thursday, Mar 7, 1996
Regretfully must report I lost a suspect today. Locating “Slash” wasn't difficult, nor was the initial arrest, as she was high at the time. After being placed in the car, she began a sing-song recitation about music disturbing the webs, which become spider legs, which become veins. It was at that moment I felt something crawling under my collar. I'm afraid I briefly panicked, and when I'd finally determined there was nothing on me, she had somehow escaped both her cuffs and the car. I will find her again."
— Part 7
"Detective Dinah Hardwicke
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Monday, Mar 11, 1996
Have eyes on “Anarki” and “Slash” both. I knew they'd return to the alley for their fix eventually. One or both of them will lead me to Mamonov.
Apparently her little mind games are still eating at me; I could swear I've spotted tiny shapes moving in the shadows of the alley around them. Imagining things? Smudges on the lenses?
Doesn't matter. Two can play at psychological warfare. I've gone over her files, and I'll be collecting something from her grandmother's house that just might slow her down some."
Ongoing investigation, case #24995: Monday, Mar 11, 1996
Have eyes on “Anarki” and “Slash” both. I knew they'd return to the alley for their fix eventually. One or both of them will lead me to Mamonov.
Apparently her little mind games are still eating at me; I could swear I've spotted tiny shapes moving in the shadows of the alley around them. Imagining things? Smudges on the lenses?
Doesn't matter. Two can play at psychological warfare. I've gone over her files, and I'll be collecting something from her grandmother's house that just might slow her down some."
— Part 8
"Officer Carlton Glover
Shift Report: Thursday, Mar 14, 1996
Finally located Det. Hardwicke, missing for three days. Hardwicke was found aimlessly wandering near Adams and Menlo, blindly jabbing an empty needle into her arm. Needle contained traces of heroin. On scene, she repeated over and over that she watched two people vanish; that they covered themselves in “dancing spiders,” and were gone when the spiders scattered. She interrupted her repetition only once, to order me to “Tell grandmother someone stole her music box.” (Det. Hardwicke's grandmothers are both long deceased.) We've left Hardwicke at Good Samaritan for psychiatric evaluation."
Shift Report: Thursday, Mar 14, 1996
Finally located Det. Hardwicke, missing for three days. Hardwicke was found aimlessly wandering near Adams and Menlo, blindly jabbing an empty needle into her arm. Needle contained traces of heroin. On scene, she repeated over and over that she watched two people vanish; that they covered themselves in “dancing spiders,” and were gone when the spiders scattered. She interrupted her repetition only once, to order me to “Tell grandmother someone stole her music box.” (Det. Hardwicke's grandmothers are both long deceased.) We've left Hardwicke at Good Samaritan for psychiatric evaluation."
— Part 9
"A small music box, well over 100 years old, containing a figurine of an ice-skater who turns to Swan Lake. The mechanism is old and worn, as well as coated with wisps of cobweb, yet continues to play perfectly."
— Artifact
Sorlag
"It had been whispered for centuries: that after the fall, a hatchling with a dire destiny would emerge from a scarred egg. The voice of the Haruspex called for silence the barren cavern as the tribe huddled near the blaze of the fire. Any emergence was cause for the tribe to stop and observe. But with an egg so marked, all eyes watched. The first tearing of the egg began slowly; yet even as a hatchling, this one emerged with a violence and speed that made even the old ones recoil, hissing into the night."
— Part 1
"The Haruspex began the chant, filled with sounds and phrases that, though seemingly gibberish, struck fear in all who heard. That chant, in a tongue forgotten by all but a few ancients, spoke of the Other Place, its awesome power and mind-searing horrors, and of the Sorg's fateful connection to it. And then the old Haruspex's voice rose to a roar as he slowly held aloft the still curled, glair-covered hatchling and pronounced its name. Sorlag. And all looked up to the hatchling, even now struggling to be free from the grasp that held it."
— Part 2
"The clan's minders knew the legend that foretold of this special one. So they raised and trained Sorlag with great caution. And soon her strength indeed became something to fear. But although each minder concealed their fears, the truth became obvious to the whole clan: Sorlag knew no fear or pity, and she never would. The day came when all that remained to teach her were the Sorg ways of hunting, raiding, and killing. Others learned this slowly. Not Sorlag. Her taste for blood, for meat, for destruction drove her faster than the minders would go."
— Part 3
"The Haruspex gave a command: Let Sorlag join a raid. But first, she must come to him—to learn secrets that, even at such an early age, should bring doubts and difficult questions. With the stone walls surrounding him, filled with the ancient carvings and the colors of quickly painted images, the Haruspex said, “Look,” pointing to it all. And did Sorlag give the ancient images even a cursory glance? No, said those who dared edge close enough to the chamber to bear witness. But the Haruspex extended a curled claw to her indifferent chin, to make Sorlag understand."
— Part 4
"The Sorg once ruled the world. Only five great clans existed, and they lived in sprawling cities. There was peace. But long after the Fall, the warmbloods rose to plunder our world! They had machines to dig and to think and to kill. They tried to banish us from our own lands. They tried to kill every Sorg, even smashing scores of our eggs before the hatchlings could draw their first breath. The Sorg retreated to the caves—these caves. And with one world gone, we made another. We would survive. We would fight. But then the Oruk created their own downfall."
— Part 5
"Sorlag stood up, hissing at the tale. She walked past the Haruspex and opened her mouth, tasting acrid air. Acid built in her throat, eager for a target, as she laid a claw on one image. A machine to kill Sorg. The Haruspex nodded. “Many, many cycles ago, Oruk machines learned the buried secret of the Other Place, with its blood, death, and horror. The machines passed the secret into the Oruk. The portal opened. In their madness some fled into it, no longer masters. They were like chunks of meat thrown to hungry beasts. This was the Oruks' Fall.”"
— Part 6
"Sorlag left the cave. Those who had gathered outside backed away from her. Had the place and its story made her understand the Sorg ways? Had it made her even more brutal, more deadly? As they returned to the clan grounds, no one spoke—not even the Haruspex! Days later, when the clan grew hungry and the cycle demanded it was time to hunt the wandering, wild warmbloods and raid their camps, Sorlag took up weapons and strode to the front to lead. None questioned her right to be there. None questioned her seizing of leadership. None dared."
— Part 7
"And that hunt would create unending strife for Sorlag and for all Sorg, for when a warmblood band is found, only one Sorg clan may claim it. The harvesting, slaughter, and slaves are for that clan alone! Only this law keeps an uneasy peace between the many raiding clans. But that night, Sorlag and her raiders found a group of Oruk pinned against a sheer cliff as another Sorg warband closed in—from a distant clan Sorlag did not know. Her raiders began to turn away, but Sorlag stopped them. She spoke only one chilling word: “Ours.”"
— Part 8
"Then Sorg fought Sorg as the warmbloods cowered. Sorlag's bloodlust only grew with each kill. Suddenly, gunfire from above! Sorlag spun around to find her raiders dead, and the other clan's raiders fleeing. She whirled back. There atop the cliff was an Oruk woman in a feathered headdress, her gun's barrel still glowing red with heat. Sorlag leapt to the cliff and scaled it with her bare claws, but by the time she reached the top, the Hunter was gone. Sorlag had found her destiny. She would kill this Hunter ... even if it meant following her into the Other Place."
— Part 9
"A clutch of feathers tied to shard of bone. The feathers were the only sign of Hunter that Sorlag found at the clifftop on the night of their first confrontation; they serve as a talisman to stoke her wrath."
— Artifact
Strogg & Peeker
"Outgoing_Message[11294.1. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Peeker,
Sorry I sent you out beyond the drone distance parameter. Overcautious since the incident. Now you're nonfunctional and waiting for a replacement neurocyte. Strange being droneless - lonely, even with perpetual Strogg communication. Why did Makron assign us gekk-clearing duty again, anyway? It knows what happened last time. It has been showing signs of irrationality lately. Don't tell it I said so. In better news, I have been assigned databrain courier duty for the second Earth harvesting wave! I am to protect it until it reaches its destination."
Dear Peeker,
Sorry I sent you out beyond the drone distance parameter. Overcautious since the incident. Now you're nonfunctional and waiting for a replacement neurocyte. Strange being droneless - lonely, even with perpetual Strogg communication. Why did Makron assign us gekk-clearing duty again, anyway? It knows what happened last time. It has been showing signs of irrationality lately. Don't tell it I said so. In better news, I have been assigned databrain courier duty for the second Earth harvesting wave! I am to protect it until it reaches its destination."
— Part 1
"Outgoing_Message[11294.2. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
My drone is still offline. As long as you're inert, it is more rational to record to you anyway. Peeker's memory is very limited. My deployment was cancelled. What is an infiltrator without its drone? Cerberon seems empty. Almost all Strogg were sent to harvest the humans. Those of us left on Stroggos have reduced stroyent rations. Most conserve energy. It is... quiet. Makron did not instruct me to transfer you to a fully effective Strogg before the second wave deployed, nor to return you to the research facility. So I will protect you until given further orders."
Dear Databrain,
My drone is still offline. As long as you're inert, it is more rational to record to you anyway. Peeker's memory is very limited. My deployment was cancelled. What is an infiltrator without its drone? Cerberon seems empty. Almost all Strogg were sent to harvest the humans. Those of us left on Stroggos have reduced stroyent rations. Most conserve energy. It is... quiet. Makron did not instruct me to transfer you to a fully effective Strogg before the second wave deployed, nor to return you to the research facility. So I will protect you until given further orders."
— Part 2
"Outgoing_Message[11294.3. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
Today it rained food! Food for the Strogg! The humans reverse-engineered our Slipdrive. A fleet of them arrived to attack us. What folly! Our EMP generator disabled hundreds of their assault pods in one burst. Their meat-filled metal shells pelted the surface of Stroggos. Some hang in low orbit, abandoned. My new directive: search for intact humans and bring them to Recieving. Bring all other human components to Processing. I am grateful for the work, even if it is tedious. I have identified no survivors. They are made weak by dependence on bodies made mostly of wet tissue."
Dear Databrain,
Today it rained food! Food for the Strogg! The humans reverse-engineered our Slipdrive. A fleet of them arrived to attack us. What folly! Our EMP generator disabled hundreds of their assault pods in one burst. Their meat-filled metal shells pelted the surface of Stroggos. Some hang in low orbit, abandoned. My new directive: search for intact humans and bring them to Recieving. Bring all other human components to Processing. I am grateful for the work, even if it is tedious. I have identified no survivors. They are made weak by dependence on bodies made mostly of wet tissue."
— Part 3
"Outgoing_Message[11294.4. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
Peeker has been fully restored! I am still getting used to its newly polished fins. Distracting. But at last I feel useful again. A guard reported a lone human survivor advancing toward the Outer Base. Makron has ordered all units to kill it on sight - except me. As the sole infiltrator left on Cerberon, my duty is to surveil the human and record its death. Makron gave me specific instructions not to engage the human in combat under any circumstances. Only me! Irrational, but I cannot question it, even if Makron seems... deranged."
Dear Databrain,
Peeker has been fully restored! I am still getting used to its newly polished fins. Distracting. But at last I feel useful again. A guard reported a lone human survivor advancing toward the Outer Base. Makron has ordered all units to kill it on sight - except me. As the sole infiltrator left on Cerberon, my duty is to surveil the human and record its death. Makron gave me specific instructions not to engage the human in combat under any circumstances. Only me! Irrational, but I cannot question it, even if Makron seems... deranged."
— Part 4
"Outgoing_Message[11294.5. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
Peeker and I have tracked the human to the supply station. It is a good drone. I exalt Makron for my new mission! Cerberon has been so dull since the second wave deployment. Most remaining here are former Greiss, and transforming them to Strogg requires removal of most of the neocortex. So they do not communicate much. They mostly stand around in odd places waiting for an enemy target. Sometines any target. The human is the only entertainment. It has somehow fought its way through the primary munitions depot! Many guards and and enforcers have been reprocessed."
Dear Databrain,
Peeker and I have tracked the human to the supply station. It is a good drone. I exalt Makron for my new mission! Cerberon has been so dull since the second wave deployment. Most remaining here are former Greiss, and transforming them to Strogg requires removal of most of the neocortex. So they do not communicate much. They mostly stand around in odd places waiting for an enemy target. Sometines any target. The human is the only entertainment. It has somehow fought its way through the primary munitions depot! Many guards and and enforcers have been reprocessed."
— Part 5
"Outgoing_Message[11294.6. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
I would not believe it had my drone and I not seen it ourselves! The human single-handedly assaulted the incarceration complex and disabled the security grid! This should not be possible. We are tailing it through the steedium mines now. It moves very quickly. I must follow at a distance shorter than protocol, because Peeker is reluctant to use its fill drone distance parameter. It can't be learned behaviour from its former damage. It must be the gekk cortical casing they used for its new neurocyte. Gekks are pack creatures. They are averse to being alone."
Dear Databrain,
I would not believe it had my drone and I not seen it ourselves! The human single-handedly assaulted the incarceration complex and disabled the security grid! This should not be possible. We are tailing it through the steedium mines now. It moves very quickly. I must follow at a distance shorter than protocol, because Peeker is reluctant to use its fill drone distance parameter. It can't be learned behaviour from its former damage. It must be the gekk cortical casing they used for its new neurocyte. Gekks are pack creatures. They are averse to being alone."
— Part 6
"Outgoing_Message[11294.7. Infiltrator 1815]
Dear Databrain,
The situation is dire. The human is sabotaging the primary reactor. I think its objective is to disable the EMP generator. Cerberon would be vulnerable! Will the human succeed? It seems unstoppable. It has disposed of hundereds of Strogg. A thick nanite fog hangs in the air from their reprocessing. I could stop the human. It has likely never encountered an infiltrator. It would not detect me. I would approach from behind and sever its brain stem. But I cannot question the Makron. Makron sees what I am seeing. I cannot. I must."
Dear Databrain,
The situation is dire. The human is sabotaging the primary reactor. I think its objective is to disable the EMP generator. Cerberon would be vulnerable! Will the human succeed? It seems unstoppable. It has disposed of hundereds of Strogg. A thick nanite fog hangs in the air from their reprocessing. I could stop the human. It has likely never encountered an infiltrator. It would not detect me. I would approach from behind and sever its brain stem. But I cannot question the Makron. Makron sees what I am seeing. I cannot. I must."
— Part 7
"Outgoing_Message[11294.8. Infiltrator 1815]
Makron, human has disabled EMP generator ;;;
Makron, human is nearing inner hangar ;;;
Makron, request immediate permission to process human ;;;
;;;
Makron, human has disabled hangar doors : Advise ;;;
Makron, I do not understand "runes" or "magic" : Clarify ;;;
Makron, human has entered launch command : Advise ;;;
Makron, request immediate permission to process human: Advise ;;;
;;;
MAKRON, HUMAN IS NEARING SINGULARITY GENERATOR ;;;
MAKRON, I HAVE SENT DRONE TO STRIKE HUMAN TARGET ;;;
MAKRON, CONDONE MY SELF-WILL OR ADVISE IMMEDIATELY ;;;
MAKRON, I WILL STOP THE HUMAN NOW ;;;
FOR THE STRO-
;;;"
Makron, human has disabled EMP generator ;;;
Makron, human is nearing inner hangar ;;;
Makron, request immediate permission to process human ;;;
;;;
Makron, human has disabled hangar doors : Advise ;;;
Makron, I do not understand "runes" or "magic" : Clarify ;;;
Makron, human has entered launch command : Advise ;;;
Makron, request immediate permission to process human: Advise ;;;
;;;
MAKRON, HUMAN IS NEARING SINGULARITY GENERATOR ;;;
MAKRON, I HAVE SENT DRONE TO STRIKE HUMAN TARGET ;;;
MAKRON, CONDONE MY SELF-WILL OR ADVISE IMMEDIATELY ;;;
MAKRON, I WILL STOP THE HUMAN NOW ;;;
FOR THE STRO-
;;;"
— Part 8
"Outgoing_Message[11294.9. Infiltrator 1815
Dear Databrain,
I failed. The human destroyed the singularity generator. There was a blast. I regained function after... a duration. The first thing I heard was Peeker circling me. I have sustained unidentified damage. Is it my neurocyte? I have lost communication with the Strogg. I concluded that my optoreceptors were damaged, because I was seeing a landscape that was not Stroggos. But remote drone vision shows the same place. The shockwave from the destroyed generator must have caused a spatial folding. I kept you safe, databrain. And at least Peeker is here with me. We must find stroyent."
Dear Databrain,
I failed. The human destroyed the singularity generator. There was a blast. I regained function after... a duration. The first thing I heard was Peeker circling me. I have sustained unidentified damage. Is it my neurocyte? I have lost communication with the Strogg. I concluded that my optoreceptors were damaged, because I was seeing a landscape that was not Stroggos. But remote drone vision shows the same place. The shockwave from the destroyed generator must have caused a spatial folding. I kept you safe, databrain. And at least Peeker is here with me. We must find stroyent."
— Part 9
"A Strogg databrain, still intact, intended to oversee the construction of a Strogg facility on Earth, at a site humans call "New Jersey." Cut off from the Strogg communication device, the databrain is useless except as a storage device connected to the two neurocytes nearby."
— Artifact
Visor
"*CLASSIFIED* - Intercepted correspondence from GRU official “FLUKE,” real name REDACTED, to KGB official “TRAPDOOR,” real name [REDACTED] - 20 MAR 1990 - FLUKE: Three of our republics have elected ethnic nationalists. We project another three will do so imminently. Soviet control eroding faster than projections. We have fast-tracked Project Mountain King. [REDACTED] reports that Soldier Prime, a genetic hybrid of Spetsgruppa A elites and Black Dolphin prisoners, is now a viable embryo in vitro. Accelerated maturation procedures have begun. Design of cybernetic enhancements is nearly complete."
— Part 1
"12 AUG 1991 - TRAPDOOR: Prime's maturation complete. [REDACTED]'s telesthesia work in Leningrad was successful but will not be continued for cost reasons. (We will not be replacing the three institutionalized researchers.) Spetsnaz combat training now underway. Complications: (1) Intermittent explosive disorder persists. Casualties include seven handlers and four guard dogs. Have your geneticists address this in clone iterations. (2) Flesh is necrotizing at cybernetic contact sites but is not affecting performance. This is a side effect of the paranormal experiments and will not be present in clones, unfortunately."
— Part 2
"19 MAY 1992 - TRAPDOOR: Surviving paranormal researchers at St. Petersburg have been in covert contact with US scientist W. G[REDACTED] regarding a solution to the congenital sight impairment of the 20 clones of Iteration 9. He claims he can engineer full telesthesia in at least one subject, but he has three demands: all 20 clones delivered for experimentation, no oversight, and access to certain antiquities in Hermitage vaults. Funding has ceased since dissolution of Supreme Soviet; we have little choice. [REDACTED] being questioned about W. G.'s knowledge of the vaults."
— Part 3
"03 FEB 1993 - FLUKE: Received report of eleven deceased clones from W. G.'s research. Progress evident in the one corpse he agreed to return: a steel visor grafted onto the face. Removal reveals full enucleation and unknown runes cut into the flesh around the ocular orbits. No evidence of cyberneural interface, but we found a film of decayed blood between the metal and tissue. Testing has shown this to be from an indeterminate number of organisms, some human. Shipping remains to your St. Petersburg team for further investigation."
— Part 4
"11 OCT 1993 - TRAPDOOR: Do not request or accept any further material evidence from the American. Sabotage suspected. Multiple researchers report sleep disturbances and disembodied, unintelligible whispers after examination of the remains. [REDACTED] attempted to remove her own eyes. We will assume that Prime is the sole result of Project Mountain King going forward. Related: Advanced necrosis had no effect on Prime's deployment in Yeltsin siege of White House last week. Tank fire successfully distracted from his operation, in which several key Chechnyan loyalists were eliminated."
— Part 5
"21 JUL 1994 - FLUKE: Final report from W. G. processed. Explains little. Deceased clones total 17 but we cannot confirm the deaths or disposal. Unexpected good news: Three subjects survived and have returned for training. Initial evaluation of engineered sight surpasses our expectations: Subjects can “see” multiple targets through several layers of material, including concrete, steel, and carbon fiber. Neither movement nor heat required for successful tracking. We believe the mechanism is paranormal in nature, so we are sending one subject to your team for reverse engineering."
— Part 6
"25 JUL 1994 - TRAPDOOR: Armored vehicle arrived. In the cargo area were four dead guards, one dead and one living “visor” subject. When asked, the surviving clone said, “I killed them.” On entering the St. Petersburg facility, researchers [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] both fell into tonic-clonic seizures. Subject is too dangerous; I cannot risk further losses. We have scheduled euthanasia and will learn what we can from the corpse. Recommend you do the same. A document in braille was found in a body cavity of the slain clone. Investigating."
— Part 7
"06 MAR 1995 - FLUKE: We still await the outcome of your research. Perhaps the interagency cooperation has ended. If so, I have not been informed. Please contact me by whatever means possible. Ridiculous rumors are circulating about the project that I am eager to dispel. Regarding results: Prime and Visor were deployed in the Battle of Grozny to decisive effect. Civilian casualties deemed acceptable. The two subjects must be kept separate, however; close proximity seems to greatly aggravate the IED in both."
— Part 8
"13 JUN 1996 - FLUKE: Postmortem, Project Mountain King: Two cybernetically enhanced soldiers with full telesthesia produced. Seventeen successful combat operations. Casualties: 616 civilians and 54 military, including the KGB-funded team based at St. Petersburg State University. Status: Soldiers Prime and Visor AWOL after third Grozny deployment. Current whereabouts unknown. Contents of recovered braille document recovered from [TRAPDOOR] suggest they are en route to a covert military complex in Southwest USA. Goals unknown. We suspect operant conditioning by American collaborator. - End correspondence - *CLASSIFIED*"
— Part 9
"Instruction manual in Russian Braille. Translated text visible on screen should read as follows: “40 km Southeast by East of Cornudas, Texas. Password: 1MPUL5E9. Exalt your maker.”"
— Artifact
