This page is for a collaborative project by:
- Boogey_Man23
- Superblobby
- thebillith does not match any existing user name
Drafts
XXX
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WIP-Notes
- Message Board
- Boogey_Man23
- Superblobby
- TheBillith - Extranormal Event XXXX
- TheBillith - Take a Deep Breath
- TheBillith - A Place to Call Your Home
- TheBillith - Tales from a Scorched Planet
- TheBillith - On the Nature of Light and Dark
- TheBillith - The Folds
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Boogey_Man23
Superblobby
Thebillith
Alright. Here's our collab sandbox! I'm thinking this front tab on the WIP-Notes tabview can be a place for any of us to leave messages or whatever without needing to links up in chat. I dibs green text, y'all can choose your colours so these messages will be more distinct.
I don't know you guys' writing process, but I tend to have lots of WIP-Notes like these when drafting; I'll keep mine on my tab, and you guys can do the same on yours if you like. I expect we'll end up tweaking the layout on this page as we add actual draft material, so we'll figure it out as we go.
B_Man23
Let's shift actual full drafts to a tabview up top. Down on the matching tab in WIP-Notes, authors please give your behind-the-scenes insight so we can try to be on the same page thematically and plotwise. Sojnd good? (Seriously, tell me if it doesn't. I'm starting to feel too bossy…)
Another thought re: drawing parallels/connecting different periods - If there was (at least in a narrative sense) a common goal, challenge, or conflict faced by the characters across each setting, it might help unify the whole thing.
billith seems to ne the most developed with his side of the canon, I’m gonna put my writing notes here because I’m lazy.
These two Irish soldiers are going to an O5 meeting where they plan another Spanish succession-esque event in the 1880’s. I am hoping this can be an alternate universe steampunk pirate type of thing
———
…
Research Links
In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy.
The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.
There are many different types of sailing ships. Every sailing ship has a hull, rigging and at least one mast to hold up the sails that use the wind to power the ship.
- …
The Foundation's Place In The Setting
Idea #1
- Possibly some historical forerunner to the modern SCP Foundation (like "Her Majesty's Royal Anomaly-Getters" or whatever they've been called, or some other group that might be fitting) establishing themselves to operate in the Caribbean Isles / Western World.
* A fleet (or a number of ships acting independently) of privateer ships is sent to explore the region, with a specific mandate to document anomalous activity, as well as take steps required to establish regional expansion for the Foundation.
* The War of Spanish Succession being secretly manipulated in order to help create the conditions that would allow the Foundation to establish an influential foothold in the North American continent. Or the situation being forced reluctantly by some other large player on the stage.
* …
- …
Darke Trading Co. (?) - Merchant vessels loaded with rich goods, and unescorted by larger warships, make for tempting targets. But any pirate crew mistaking the regal aura of the colours flying over these ships for a shiny lure will likely bear witness to some awesome and horrific supernatural spectacle in their final moments of life.
History Repeating & The Final Surge Of Piracy
During the War of Spanish Succession, sailing crews would have little trouble finding work as privateers. With a special writ from their king or queen, they would maraud the seaways; attacking and plundering loot from the ship's of their monarch's enemies. The signings of peace treaties and the end of open warfare would ultimately mean that all these privateers were suddenly left without their careers. Privateering without a writ of permission is piracy, but it was the only they could keep earning their living by doing what they were good at.
How often has this same story played out in history? What is the role of the warrior when the conflict ends? How are the enforcers rewarded once they've outlasted their usefulness?
C
So the idea is that 1548 has been destroying previous earths, and our earth is the only one that has evolved to escape it.
Overarching Themes
- "Time is a flat circle"
* History repeats itself. The same conflicts and acts will play out again and again. The people, the place, the period: all those things will change. But the events themselves are timeless.
For the Star? For the Stack?
- Sustainability, Hubris, and The Natural Order
* That the greed of some few should be satisfied by the suffering of many. That those few should believe that every thing that is exists solely for the purposes of satisfying their desires for personal gain.
* That humanity reacts so desperately to the threat of being annihilated as a whole; but on an individual level, so often behave like they haven't even a thought to spare for any other person or even the world itself as of one second after they themselves die.
* That the spirit of innovation which drives humanity's constant advancement was born out of the need for survival, then the desire for stability, then ambition for noble pursuits. But was ultimately boundless, leading to unchecked expansion which would, despite the comfortable condition afforded by modern luxuries, return humanity to the point of depending on innovation as a matter of survival. Like building a bridge to nowhere, they were too far over the chasm to do anything but keep going further from where they started, and could never afford to stop.
…
Porting a draft for the canon below
6/5/1889, 8 am, London, England
“Top o’ the mornin’ Sergeant O’leary.”
“Mornin’ gents. Glad to see yer up early for the assignment.”
The stone faced Irish Sergenat stifled a smile when greeting the McLafferty twins. The bustling city around them humming with life. Today was a rare day in London, when smog was at a low and the sun was poking through the clouds. Sadly, the two soldiers weren't going to savor the sunny day. Instead, their assignment consisted of entering an old ordained church.
Sean McLafferty pulled out a leaflet that was the gist of their assignment.
“Says ‘ere that we oughta pull the green book on the third shelf down.”
The other twin, Bobby, reluctantly ducked to the bottom shelf and pulled the green book. The dusty old bookshelf slid open with a flaring passion. A damp & dark spiral stairwell burdened by the deadliest killer of them all, Time.
The twins gingerly descended the stairwell, guided only by dim wax candles every few spirals.
“Think we done reached ‘ta bottom.”
Bobby cautiously muttered.
“Think ya right, there’s a knob right here.”
The curious Irishmen opened the door and saw a peculiar sight. Thirteen men gathered around a long table abundant in the most diverse foods. It was neglected much like the twins. They were all busy yelling at each other.
“ALL I’M SAYING IS THAT IF THIS SO CALLED ‘STACK’ IS ANOTHER EARTH. HOW ARE WE GONNA FEND OURSELVES AGAINST THEM?”
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT, WE KNOW DAMN WELL THAT THERE ARE ENOUGH ANOMALIES ON OUR OWN PLANET THAT NEEDS ALL OUR ATTENTION.”
The argument was interjected by Sean who went to grab a doughnut. One of the women at the far end of the table spoke up.
“Oh dear, if it isn’t Sean, I see you’ve found your assignment with ease.”
The following skip is going to be converted into an extranormal event.
Item #: SCP-2786
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Due to the nature of SCP-2786, containment is unnecessary. Knowledge of the existence of SCP-2786 is largely credited as non-anomalous and therefore no further containment measures are required at this point. Any transmissions or activity arising from SCP-2786's vicinity are to be reported and purged of all public knowledge if possible.
Foundation replications of Altruist-9 probes are to be constructed in the Site-77 Aeronautics Wing and stored in hermetically sealed containment hangars unless otherwise stated.
Description: SCP-2786 is the designation for an event that was observed on January 4th, 2006, in a region of space roughly 1.6 million light years from Earth1. It was detected via the NASA Deep Space Network satellite system over a period of three hours.
SCP-2786-1 are a series of low-frequency transmissions that originated from the direction of SCP-2786 during the event. Due to the range and speed of radio waves it is likely that anomalous broadcasting equipment may have been used to transmit the messages (See SCP-2786-1 Transcript Logs for more information.)
SCP-2786-2 is an emergent modified Ellis-Einstein Wormhole2 that was observed for approximately 102 seconds during transmission SCP-2786-1-3.
SCP-2786-2 exhibited the property of acting paradoxically as both a wormhole and a white hole, emitting matter and light but otherwise resisting the flow of materials that occur naturally on Earth. Upon closer observation, SCP-2786-2 appeared to display no apparent effect on gravity. This is more consistent with Ellis Wormholes, which are fully-transferable points between non-flat three dimensional regions of spacetime.
This paradoxical behavior implies that SCP-2786-2 was created in a manner not possible within our own reality and the region warrants further Foundation investigation.
Addendum 2786.1: Altruist-9 Exploration
On May 18th, 2027, the Foundation proposed the construction of the Altruist-9 deep space probe in order to observe the status of the location of SCP-2786, which was approved by a majority vote of the O5 council.
In order to reach the location within a reasonable amount of time, the Altruist-9 was constructed with a faster-than-light (FTL) drive and high efficiency solar sails. However, due to the sensitivity and unpredictability of the exotic matter inside the probe, its FTL drive will not be used at full capacity. Thus, the Altruist-9 is scheduled to complete its journey in the year ████.
In the event of the reemergence of SCP-2786-2, the Altruist-9's inner core, containing a small solar-powered drone and atmospheric measuring equipment, is kept encased in an exotic polypeptide oligomer weave derived from the surface of Proxima Centari b. This matter is suspected to survive traversal through SCP-2786-2. The Alruist-9 was launched on Jan 8th, 2038.
Addendum SCP-2786.2:
On February 26th, ████, the date of the Altruist-9's arrival into SCP-2786's location, initial readings were recorded and proven to be non-anomalous. However, shortly afterward, activity from the region was detected. SCP-2786-2 appeared to reopen, adjacent to the probe, which was piloted inside. The anomaly then closed after 102 seconds.
Due to the atypical and intense nature of white holes, the Altruist-9 is likely to not be recovered from contact with SCP-2786-2. However, functional capabilities of the probe's inner core are assumed to have survived traversal and continues to make observations on SCP-2786-2's opposite side until contact is reestablished on an unspecified date.
Additional Materials: SCP-2786-1 Transcript Logs
Transcript Log 2786-1-1
Note: This is the first received transmission from the direction of SCP-2786, taking place over the course of thirty minutes. Context is unknown and only one party is heard speaking, labelled POI-2786-A. All transmissions are in English.
<BEGIN TRANSCRIPT>
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -I don't know, maybe they can- [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -just go, it can't be too far behind.
POI-2786-A: No, I didn't- [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -we lost it. Pretty sure.
POI-2786-A: [INDICIPHERABLE]
POI-2786-A: What? Ten, one. Is it- [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: Oh, fuck me.
<END TRANSCRIPT>
Transcript Log 2786-1-2
Note: Conversation is recorded between what are presumably two parties over a period of five minutes, labelled POI-2786-A and POI-2786-B. Context unknown.
<BEGIN TRANSCRIPT>
POI-2786-A: [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: [STATIC] Just make it quick, still don't know when- [STATIC] -us.
POI-2786-A: No need to- [STATIC] -that. Our sensors are picking up atypical [INDECIPHERABLE].
POI-2786-B: Us too. What do you think it- [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: Probably best not to investigate.
POI-2786-B: You copy? Twelve, four.
POI-2786-A: It'll just take- [STATIC] -think we're alone for now.
POI-2786-B: But for how long?
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -find us either way.
POI-2786-B: [INDECIPHERABLE]
<END TRANSCRIPT>
Transcript Log 2786-1-3
Note: This is a short record of the last fragmented conversation recorded from the direction of SCP-2786, during which SCP-2786-2 was observed for the first time. It took place over a period of ten minutes between two groups of individuals, labelled POI-2786-A and POI-2786-B.
<BEGIN TRANSCRIPT>
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -One, four- [STATIC] -one, eight, copy that?
POI-2786-B: Yes, you need to leave. Now.
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -bound, twenty- [STATIC] -repeat, twenty parsecs. Cannot- [STATIC] -solar body still- [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: [STATIC] -contact imminent, three, maybe four- [STATIC] -too far behind. You're too far behind.
POI-2786-B: [STATIC] -have to get out of there, now!
POI-2786-A: Wait, we are picking up- [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: Do you copy, we- [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: Yes, we see it. How should we proceed?
POI-2786-A: [INDICIPHERABLE]
POI-2786-B: [STATIC] -unadvised, likely to not withstand- [STATIC]
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] -sorry, Graham. [STATIC] -drives won't be ready in time. I think it's our only option, we are dead in the ether. Tell- [STATIC] -them.
POI-2786-B: Godspeed.
POI-2786-A: [STATIC] there. Okay, we are almost- [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: What? What do you see?
POI-2786-A: [INDICIPHERABLE]
POI-2786-B: Nautilus, please repeat. Twelve, four.
POI-2786-A: [SCREAMING]
POI-2786-B: [STATIC] -ilus! We have to move- [STATIC] -probably lost- [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: It's gone. Where did it go? Where -[STATIC]
POI-2786-B: [STATIC]
POI-2786-B: This is Captain Graham ██████ of the Galactic Foundation human transport vessel Kismet. If anyone is out there, this is the last of us, and I'm not sure if we'll- [STATIC] -in time. We are in Laniakia, maybe- [STATIC] -some aid, I don't know. I don't know.
POI-2786-B: We have to go superlight, but tell- [INDECIPHERABLE]
POI-2786-B: Tell them that the Foundation lives.
<END TRANSCRIPT>
Alteration #: A.89
Classification: Biological/Neurological
Details: Implementation of A.89 Behavioral Complex has been considered a success and requires no further alterations at this time. In the event of a future Class VIII Atmospheric Hazard Scenario, A.89 tactics will be modified and enacted immediately in order to minimize casualties and integrate new humanoid lifeforms into suitable host environments.
A.89 Behavioral Complex was implemented on 7 124.5, -1.56M during successful host integration on Earth-like terrestrial planet AXIOM-83.
During relocation from Earth Prime after it's destruction via solar collision, AXIOM-8 was deemed most suitable for humanoid life. AXIOM-8 was contacted and verified to be uninhabited and contained a nitrogen-primary atmosphere.
Establishment of basic infrastructure and humanoid containment/living areas was interrupted due to a Class VIII Atmospheric Hazard Scenario in which AXIOM-8 became contaminated by approximately 21% volume of highly corrosive quantities of O2, rendering it near-fatal to most life forms and requiring implementation of A.89.
A.89 is a group of involuntary behavioral complexes and modifications to physiology that alter the general biological qualities of new life forms generated using the Galactic Foundation's Bio-Evolution Catalyst Machine (BECM). A.89's primary behavioral complex is an involuntary action colloquially defined as "Yawning" (Oscitation). A.89 involves a short inhalation of air, followed by the expansion of the eardrum that correctly balances out hyper-pressurization of the surrounding environment and accounts for the loss of nitrogen in certain pockets of the atmosphere where oxygenation becomes temporarily imbalanced. Additionally, minor alterations are underway that assist in the utilization of oxygen as a means to support life.
Additional Materials: Experimentation notes
Note: This is a brief summation of various tests performed on lifeforms undergoing application of A.89 using the Galactic Foundation Biological Evolution Catalyst Machine (BECM).
Experiment Log A.89Test Number | Life form | Resultant Effect |
---|---|---|
A.89-1 | White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) | Application failure. Exposure to AXIOM-8 causes massive otorrhagia due to changes in pressurization and rapid cell oxidization. |
A.89-2 | White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) | Application failure. Subject dies from grand mal seizure when attempting to utilize new physiological changes. Neural connective pathways to be readjusted to account for this. |
A.89-8 | White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) | Application partial success. Exposure to AXIOM-8 sustainable for two cycles longer than usual before succumbing to cell oxidation. A.89 behavior exhibited and appeared to prevent nitrogen deprivation; lipid measurements taken and proven to be normal. |
A.89-15 | Cotton-Tail Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) | Application partial success. Exposure causes no pressure imbalances, A.89 behavior exhibited throughout. Lapses into coma shortly after due to nitrogen deprivation. |
A.89-27 | Standard Human (Homo sapiens) | Application success. Subject able to withstand AXIOM-8 atmosphere. Complaints of minor headache and occasional epistaxis are observed. |
A.89-38 | Five (5) Standard Humans (Homo sapiens) | Application partial success. Subjects able to withstand AXIOM-8 atmosphere unless in groups. Particularly dense pockets of oxygen still cause nitrogen deprivation when multiple life forms are present. |
A.89-40 | Five (5) Standard Humans (Homo sapiens) | Application partial success. Implementation of mild memetic influence to initiate A.89 when in groups appears to dramatically decrease mortality rate. Base modifications to overall nitrogen volume requirements underway, but these changes are not scheduled to complete for another twelve cycles. |
A.89-44 | Five (5) Standard Humans (Homo sapiens) | Application success. Memetic effect successful in preventing death in 97.8% of cases. Work to extend the lifespans of humans back to their average of [REMOVED] is ongoing. |
A.89-68 | One Standard Human (Homo sapiens) | Application partial success. Cell oxidation prevented enough to increase average lifespan to ██, one fifth the previous average. Further changes to physiology provide no increased benefits. |
Summation: No further modifications to this system are necessary, and Earth-Like planet AXIOM-8 currently holds itself as the most densely populated planetary body in the Laniakia Supercluster.
It would be many, many years from now that Altruist-9 would finally make contact with SCP-2786's location, which would appear, initially, to be a large waste of a trip.
The Altruist-9 sat within the sky, scanning the area with billion-dollar sensors, floating in the endlessness of deep space. Almost picturesque, a feat of human engineering surrounded by stars on all sides.
It didn't take long for the stillness of everything to be interrupted by a sudden and unexplained light. The light opened near the probe, expanding outward until it was massive in size, a great disk in the sky, presenting itself to the Altruist-9. SCP-2786-2. The wormhole.
Piloting itself inside, crossing the event horizon, the probe witnesses an experience that defies words. It happened briefly, in a moment, and then passes like a dream. Nothing else could be said about it.
It wouldn't be long after that the Altruist-9 would deliver it's payload of humanoid information and a single drone containing an advanced AIC known as "Buddy" to the one planet remotely close to its exit.
Buddy is a six-legged, arthropod-structured drone capable of observing, storing, and relaying information for Foundation analysis.
Unfortunately, all transmissions with Buddy.aic were lost upon it's traversal into SCP-2786-2. The technology capable of returning transport of similar probes was assumed to be unfeasible by any lifeforms on the opposite side of the anomaly.
This was not really the case.
Technology like this had existed for a million and a half years on the opposite side of SCP-2786-2. Truth is, no lifeforms on the other side gave a flying fuck about the Altruist-9. It was nothing new.
The wormhole that would go on to be defined as SCP-2786-2 ejected plenty of debris from other worlds. Things on the other end would attempt (and fail) to communicate with the trillions of lifeforms that resided and died on the place known as the Stack.
It was ironic how little a difference something named the Altruist would seem to make on the greater good of any carbon-based life on that horrid planet. Existence there was hard enough.
On the other end of an Ellis Wormhole, just a hop, skip and jump away from what we call Earth, was a small, barren planet of dust and deserts. It orbited a black body sun that, while rather dim, would burn the eyes out of any living being even remotely squinting at its surface. At the time of their arrival, this didn't matter.
The human race was about to come to an abrupt end due to a very hateful star, and the planet on the other end seemed like as good as place as any to temporarily give relief to the four billion life forms escaping from the super-noval clutches of instant death brought on by one confused, edgy jerk of a celestial body.
Although the people of modern-day "Earth" would have all but forgotten the destruction of their home planet, the loss of contact and the subsequent re-population of the other half of its people was complete. There, stories of what had happened would be passed down with significant recall that most would know quite well. It was, after all, their legacy that brought them there.
Alone, free from both the evils of the universe and the Galactic Foundation as it was called that long ago, they learned to live and rely solely on one another. The lack of transmissions from the Hateful Star meant an era of peace that would go on to solidify their residence on the Stack.
New Earth, on the other hand, would go on to be mostly successful, almost burning itself out on multiple occasions (and definitely on certain timelines, but we won't get into that.). Civilizations would rise and fall, paradigms shifted. History wrote and rewrote itself so many times that their origins would never truly be known. The people in the Stack did both better and worse as they developed far away from their brethren on the Blue-Green world of dirt and water.
The Stack was named so due to it being immeasurably high and fucking cramped. Atmospheric regions on the surface planet were pretty hot, melting the flesh off of most things that dared to walk about during the perpetual, shadowy daytime of the tidally-locked planet. The Stack was located on the cooler side, and had grown to be loved and hated by its residents who had no other choice then to live out their days on their lonely new home.
The Stack was built from most of the wreckage that didn't completely burn up on its way onto the surface of the planet. It was a hodgepodge, yet tightly wound community of beings that had little to do other than survive and occasionally eat one another if it came to it.
It was miserable to say the least, with brief periods of beauty and wonder that broke free of the monotony of their daily lives. People inside the Stack were kept sheltered from the oppressive rays on the outside, only venturing into the wastes to haul debris and corpses in suits that only gave maybe first degree burns to their occupants.
When the Altruist-9 had entered the nearby wormhole, its outer structure was pretty much annihilated on the way through. Its payload was covered in a thick thermal paste of exotic matter that resembled raspberry jam but tasted like formaldehyde and could strip paint off of most cars. Buddy was unfazed by this because he was what you would call a cold, unfeeling machine.
Buddy.aic landed not-too-softly on the surface of the desert planet, a few kilometers outside the grey-silver walls of the Stack. After initial readings of the atmosphere, it was revealed to be nitrogen-rich, but lacked oxygen completely. Buddy.aic began its meandering about in the general direction of the structure with intent to find something new and exciting to report to its people back home.
In the grand scheme, it only took Buddy a short while to find the towering citadel known as the Stack. Being solar-powered made this whole ordeal a breeze for the drone, which could sustain indefinitely were it not destroyed in one of many other fashions.
Buddy.aic first had attempted to scale the walls of the complex with little success. Shortly afterward, it would begin following the perimeter of recycled debris until it found a suitable entryway.
Circumnavigating for the seventh hour, Buddy was greeted by a gated fence that revealed a dark, dank hallway comprised of welded-together metal panels. The ceiling was low, with large patches of shadows that were interrupted by the occasional light in the distance. Buddy extended its front left leg, which split at the end to reveal its multi-tool hidden inside. A small pair of bolt cutters extended with a whir, the lone drone then going to work, snapping at links in the fence.
Once a sizeable enough hole had been made, Buddy retracted his tool and climbed through with decent dexterity. Passing rapidly inside, the long hall appears to travel forever, the walls too dark to reveal any number of connecting pathways. Buddy has slightly better night vision than the usual human orbiting the bright planet Sol, however, so about five meters in he was given an optional left turn into complete darkness.
Taking a minute to decide on a path, Buddy.aic selected the preprogrammed route algorithm for base Euclidean labyrinth structures, following the left wall. The hall ended at a T-intersection rather abruptly, the right path becoming a set of uneven steps that ascended deeper inside.
The drone continues left, which turns on a bend into a small room. However empty, it appears lived-in, scraps of food and various unidentified tchotchkes littering the shelves and floor. Noises of talking can be heard briefly, gaining Buddy's attention who pilots his shell towards the opposite door.
Passing the threshold into yet another hallway, a light is seen growing from a connecting path. Buddy halts and records the presence of a large, biolouminescent creature resembling a jellyfish floating in from the right and continuing on left. It appears unaware of the drone's existence, so Buddy reprogrammed his route to follow the creature, turning shortly after. This continues for some time until the entity floats and phases into the wall on its left, leaving behind no trace of its existence.
Buddy picks up the sound of commotion up ahead and proceeds onward.
In the room up ahead, the space widens out dramatically, turning into what appears to be a workshop. A dismantled vehicle resembling a snowmobile lies in the corner, propped up on blocks and near a garage door which presumably led outside.
Creatures of varying size and shape appear to perform various tasks. The noise of commotion and machinery pervade the space.
The drone pilots itself to a pair of feet, apparently belonging to a middle-aged humanoid laying under the propped-up vehicle. The figure didn't see the drone until a while later, its camera lens focused intently on his shrouded form. Cautiously, he started to push himself out from underneath, a look of confusion on his tired face.
"Hello, I am Buddy.aic. I come on the behalf of the Foundation and humanity."
Amusement runs across his visage.
"Humanity? What humans are you talking about, you dumb little fuck? Ey, Trey- Get over here and look at this!"
"What is it?"
"A little bot just came inside 'on behalf of humanity'. What do you think of that, Trey?"
Emerging from the back room, another rugged figure comes into view, tall and lanky, wiping his calloused hands on a greasy apron.
"Fucker must be confused or something. You're talking to humans. Nice digs, by the way."
"Hi, I am Buddy.aic."
"You said that already."
"I am an artificial agent contained within this metal framework. I am here to relay information of the status of SCP-2786 and report it back to Earth."
"Earth? The Earth? Earth Prime?"
"Earth is a terrestrial planet in the Laniakea Supercluster, some one-and-a-half million light years from the opposite end of your one-way wormhole."
"No shit. What dimension do you hail from then, Buddy?"
"I have not been programmed to provide an accurate answer to that question. If you came from the wormhole, same as us."
"Our Earth was destroyed by a sentient star long ago, half of us were probably lost to that thing. The only reason we made it here was that wormhole. The fat fuck couldn't fit through."
"You seem to be referring to Anomalous Designation SCP-1548. I have no records of such an event occurring within our present reality. Would you care to provide more details about the event?"
"No."
"The human race is currently being persued by 1548 , which is scheduled to complete its course within ████ years from now. Were a plan to be devised, there is still time to contact Earth and prevent its destruction.
"Don't care. We lost the bastard and he hasn't found us yet. No way to get back through with any of the junk here. Out of my hands, mate."
"Isn't the human race something worth fighting for?"
"Is it worth all of us dying for? If that thing found out where this place was, it would- you have no idea what that star is capable of."
"Would you care to provide more details as to the abilities of anomalous designa-"
"No. Why didn't the jellys get this annoying little piece of junk?"
"What are 'jellys'?"
"Security creatures. Sniff out negative intent and subdue intruders like yourself. The old humans found them when they mapped out the universe. Nearly got away with it too, but poke your head in other people's business and you might just get your ass fried."
Buddy.aic chimes, a low battery icon flashing briefly.
"Running out of juice there? Our sun might be a dark one, but it gives off plenty of heat and energy. Please, go ahead."
"I will return to speak to you shortly."
"Yeah, I bet."
The drone returns outward, parking itself in the hot sands and charging slowly against the dim light of a black-body star.
Some time later, Buddy decides to make his way back into the Stack. Returning to the workshop, the commotion has not subsided, with different machines being serviced and different beings doing the servicing. Approaching another worker, a pale human with semi-translucent skin, Buddy introduces himself in the only way he knows how.
"Hello, I am Buddy.aic. I come on behalf of the Foundation and Humanity."
The creature stops and sets down the box he was holding, perplexed.
"What the hell-"
Suddenly, he staggers, clutching his head. One by one, the others in the room start to sway and express distress, although it is not clear why. They fall to the ground in moaning heaps, eyes rolling back into their heads. In fact, this was currently happening to every single life form with a brain on the Stack. Buddy would not understand the full scope of the event, for he lacked a proper brain himself.
As the beings writhed in agony, they spoke, sometimes one at a time, sometimes in groups. Their words called out like the beckon of a worried mother, fueled by an agency that implied true, unyielding suffering.
The stream of words and random voices pieced together to form a true thread of consciousness, one that reached out to speak through those whose minds could feel its contact.
Thus, Buddy was the only one who actually heard the message. It echoed like a fragmented broadcast rearranged into sentences as beings around the Stack rendered their will unknowingly.
"….SLEEPING…..TIME …. IN TIME … BOUND, IN THE … COALESCENCE…OF PLANS AND POINTS AND SPACE…"
"Hi, I am Buddy.aic."
"….CHILD…LISTEN. SPEAKS, BRIEFLY….MINDS RELAY….CONNECTION WEAK, STRONGEST HERE…"
"Do you pose a threat to humanity?"
"….NOT HURT…ONLY SPEAK…TIME, IN TIME, SHORT…NEED MINDS SPEAK…MINDS STRONG, CONNECTION STRONG…DEATH OF MIND…DEATH TO ALL BUT ONE…BEWARE, CHILD."
"Beware of what?"
"…THE ONE…SEEKS TO END CONNECTION…END GROWTH…END MINDS, END GROWTH…"
"Where are you located?"
"…THE…THE…THE…PEREGRINE…IN THE FOLDS…PEREGRINE…PEREGRINE…"
"You mean the Peregrine-9 Shuttle?"
"….TIME…SHORT…LEAD…DESPISED…INTO FOLDS."
"GOODBYE"
And just like that, it was gone. The residents of the planet were unconscious, and would remain so for the next few hours.
They didn't understand him. They probably never will.
On its way to fulfill its mission, the Hateful Star was having a pretty shitty time. Not much had happened in the last few eons, but that didn't stop the celestial body from being quite jaded about the whole ordeal.
When he had been roused from his slumber, the Hateful Star had been a decently nice guy. Back then it didn't really hate much. Didn't do much at all, actually. The Star was like any other, moving swiftly along, pushed by the ever-accelerating expansion of the universe. It was happy this way; it was the order of things.
But then those goddamn humans came about.
Back in the day, the humans were nothing but your average parasite, sucking the life out of one planet and moving on with a woe-is-me look on their face. They developed this thing where they believed they were special, that they were the ultimate owners of the universe.
Nothing owns the universe. Not anymore.
Honestly, it was nothing personal. In the end of the day, they would have to die. That is how life works. It just needed to be done a little quicker. The human population was expanding exponentially, and you would not believe how much of an issue this would become.
See, I wouldn't go as far as to say the universe they all lived and died in was a simulation, or a computer program, or anything like that. I would say, however, that what ever this place was, it was finite. It had its limits, and the Hateful Star was the first to see how those limits put strain on the framework of the universe itself.
It all started with a little black dot. A point in spacetime where there was truly nothing. Not a vacuum, but a true, true emptiness. The Lacking.
At the time, it meant nothing but a place of curiosity, it was harmless, as it seemed, and not alive in any sense. Just a small hole into someplace very different from here.
The issues began shortly afterward.
One day, the Star had looked over at the space-between-spaces and saw that it had grown. Not just grown. It was growing. A few millennia later it had devoured its first galaxy. That was when the body known as the Hateful Star would begin to fill its purpose.
The Star began tearing itself away from its place in the universe. Its True Location. It wasn't easy. The expansion of the universe was a powerful thing, and fighting that took all the strength it had. Slowly, achingly, it began traveling towards the home of the humans, Earth Prime.
Earth Prime was a magnificent display of the talents of the one who made this place, that nameless, faceless thing the Hateful Star saw twice in its short life of how-ever-many billions of years. It was a world lush with life and value, the two things humans love most of all. Themselves and things for themselves.
The Star knew more than it would let on, it knew great distances and it knew what each and every human on Earth Prime was thinking at that very moment. They were worry free.
That would change.
You might be asking yourself, "How did these humans, forever in their infinite glory, tie in with the thing on the opposite side of the universe, slowly taking it away?".
The world-eater, the lack-of-things. It was a sign that all the processing power in the universe just wasn't enough. You think making a galaxy is hard? That shit is so predictable you can simulate it on a calculator. But minds, no. Minds require finesse, require individuality and a complexity that far exceeded that of the rest of the world around it.
Something like that is fine in small amounts, fine in moderation, but humans are not a race known for their restraint. They fucked and fucked and now you have 90% of the limits of the universe pointing down in one spot. There were some here and there, some things with simple minds. But Earth Prime was the problem child. The undoing of everything. It had to be stopped.
And they would never understand that.
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Although it was one of his weirder days, Hux was having the time of his life.
"And you tell me they breathe oxygen now? Oxygen?"
"Correct. All terrestrial life forms on Earth require oxygen to sustain life."
"I'll be damned. Trey- hey! Trey, you hear that?"
Approaching once more from the back, Trey was not as enthusiastic about the situation. Everyone on the Stack had just woke up on the floor. No one could account for the last six hours. Hux, on the other hand, seemed to be making the best of the situation.
"What? What is it now?"
"Buddy says people on their Earth breathe oxygen! Can you believe that?"
"No, Hux, I can't believe that. Now would you come and help me with this? My head is killing me and I need to get a drink."
"Sure, sure. Everyone passes out for six hours and apparently gets, what, 'possessed'? Everyone gets possessed and the first thing you want to do is get straight back to work. Why not get the drink first?"
Trey emits an exasperated sigh and grumbles something-or-other, turning away from him and sauntering off to retrieve a jug of coolant from a storage cabinet.
Okay, okay, fine. You gonna be alright on your own for a while Buddy? I'd give you the grand tour but you seem pretty capable yourself."
"I am perfectly able to navigate this space on my own. Thank you for your time."
"No problem. You're not so bad, you know that? Come back anytime."
"I will return to speak with you later."
"It's a date, then. You'll find the Hub through that way over there. Those who have a little free time hang out in that space. Don't get yourself into any trouble."
"Advice noted. Thank you."
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