This post was last modified: Mar 6, 2024 at 6:53 AM by Spooks?.

I'd like to take a look at [Journal - Enhancement Project] and [Failed Experiment Document] when we have a moment.

You present two files...

[Journal - Enhancement Project]

[DATE: OCT 13, 2026]

Soon, we will begin work on the Enhancement Project. While human bodies may be incompatible with Esotera without full synchronization, as shown by Subject [DATA EXPUNGED] and his corrupted form, the use of masks as a conduit for Anomalous abilities is proving to be a reliable substitute.

Inanimate objects possess far greater capabilities for the housing of Esotera in various forms than modern human beings, therefore outside of our final goal of global synchronization utilizing the [REDACTED] Directive, masks and other closely-held items are the recommended conduit for Anomalous power - though many of them carry the risk of severe, irreparable memory loss.

We have created an Anomaly capable of preparing masks of situational power, yet even with the knowledge of their creation… the masks beckon to me too. The power to protect anyone I care about… to fight back the evils of the world… I have to resist. The Esotera infusion process is untested, and channeled through an Anomaly we have little control of.

I will remain resolute.

- Dr. H. Crowe

[Failed Experiment Document]

[SEPT 30th, 2026] - Attempts to imbue a regular Labrador Retriever with Chaotic Esotera extracted from [REDACTED] have resulted in failure. The animal remains alive, yet the inherited Anomalous abilities are actively detrimental.

[OCT 14th, 2026] - Testing was performed on masks as a means of imbuing a host (wearer) with the energy and abilities of an anomalous entity. Dr. [REDACTED] attempted to utilize a mask for himself, believing it to “provide him the strength to protect the future”. Results were [DATA EXPUNGED], Dr. [REDACTED] remains in custody, currently comatose..

[JAN 14th, 2027] - Liturgic Esotera, in contrast to my own Occultic Esotera, appears to be a mutually beneficial form of energy - promising strength to others in exchange for worship. In pursuit of control, a mask of Liturgy may yet be created.

[MAY 24th. 2027] - BPI-1000 is far beyond what liturgy would suggest. Their followers boundless, tempted by the false light. We must seal it away, as soon as possible. Send it far away from here. I can hear the bloody bodies approaching, slithering along the floor as the hymns continue. Please, please make it stop.

[MAY 25th, 2027] - HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY

[JUNE 3, 2027] - BPI-1000 has been silenced, suppressed by BPI-[REDACTED] in his newly-found form. Forced back into containment, its followers purged. It shall be shipped far away, gone from this world.

Riki not hide. Show friends Sunken City, Qstia Operation, and Facility Operation!

Still go to Dexter and special Heropon meeting. If Dexter nice, Riki elevate to Dex-Dex.

Finally, you present your last document, on the Sunken City...

[Archaeological Report - Sunken City]

Upon the Director’s guidance, we have been instructed to dig deeper.

Within the lower levels of the former Whisper Valley Mines (at the base of the mine elevators, etc.), the caverns open up into an expansive skyline - a city long past… yet still existing. The architecture appears impressive, and unlike anything seen from the native peoples of the region.

Towering buildings, hewn from stone in a way deemed largely impossible by human hands - at least in the quantity determined to have dwelled in this city by means of examining their remnants…

Their script, much like that of ancient Qstia, has also been deemed nigh-impossible to translate without an expert. The majority of the homes seem empty, yet the occasional set of skeletal remains can be located in various homes, contorted into a position consistent with deaths observed from [REDACTED].

It is possible that these dwellings were once populated by the followers of the ________ _____ ______, historically said to have been cast out across the world after the [DATA EXPUNGED] recorded in their history. It appears their greed ran too deep, however, as [DATA EXPUNGED] appears to have struck once more.

The Director seems to have taken interest in one location, some form of religious temple at the edge of the city, housing a book of unknown origin. Construction has begun in that area, and throughout most levels of the surrounding caverns. Despite the new facility integration, work has been performed to preserve the city at all costs.

Yet… I worry about the Director’s plans. Whatever he has constructed within the depths, I see the pulsating light, and hear the rattling chains. His infernal machine… will surely serve as our guide… Towards the heavens’ light…

Post Music: A Writer's Dream - Alan Wake (1)

Two more victims. Two more murderers. And as I shut the door to my bedroom, leaving my new friend tucked in his blankets, I reflected on the night's events. Being saddled with the seal had put a damper in my plans, but I've been stuck with worse people. The seal reminded me of one of them, in fact - Barry Wheeler, my agent and a long-time friend. A name I gladly gave to my new atlantic friend, in honour of.

...But, not everything tonight could be treated with levity. The Thalassic Seal has been broken, its energies taken by one of the Bureau's staff. Two more seals - the Stellaric and the Telluric - has also been uncovered. And while another member of the Crimson Eye has been found dead - the fact that she was a well trusted scientist within our midst was truly disheartening.

And we are still no closer to finding out why we are here. Why have the Bureau placed these monolithic seals? Why does evil Spooks and his master want them unsealed? What happened in Whisper Valley twenty years ago? Who is the Abyss Team? What is the Codex Nocturnum?

More and more, the events here remind me of the horror anthology TV series I wrote for years ago, Night Springs. The newspapers, the ritualistic murder investigations, the mysteries coiled around the eponymous town.

...I can't rely on my experience as a writer to get me through this. As this story continues driven by its unseen author, more and more people are dying - whether by our own hands, or at the whims of the cat's master. Something had to be done, but what?

---

...Sorry. My mind was elsewhere. My night was busy, mainly looking after Barry. I'm sure you've all seen my new friend - and no, Astrid, as far as I know, the real Barry is alive and well, probably back in New York.

My main plan tonight was to get some people together to go explore the woods, but it seemed most of you had other plans tonight - most of them involving the lake.

Let's see... before the event... I had a quick chat with BPI-2300 and Nancy - I needed "Beepee"'s help with something, but Nancy offered in his stead. I also needed to find some food for Barry, and she directed me to the kitchens.

I, uh. Saw Dodo downstairs shortly after. On a trampoline.

I walked up the shuttle line to the kitchens, and found some frozen fish for Barry. Then, I went back down through the line, up to the Lobby where I think Morgan's... fight club was under way?

I headed to the Patio shortly after, but not before grabbing myself some yellow paint from the boiler room. I'm following an example that was set quite some time ago, and planned to paint myself a trail to whatever we found in the woods tonight.

After that, I sat and waited on the Patio for people to arrive, while keeping an eye on Barry. A few people came and passed - someone wearing some kind of mask, Pegasus. Columbo blinked a flashlight in my eyes a few times, thanks for that. Giffany also headed north.

After a quick donation of equipment from a portly plumber, our groups were ready - There, uh, weren't many pairings to make. Only Revy, Ciel, and Izumi Konata had actually shown up. I paired Revy and Ciel together, who immediately ran off before I could really explain anything, leaving me with Konata and Barry.

The woods were even more treacherous with the fog tonight than usual - and other than a quick run-in with Tinkaton that left me separated from Konata, the only thing I personally found was Columbo.

Eventually, we both left the woods, and I spent the rest of my night by the fountain, letting Barry relax in it. I had a quick talk with Astrid as she passed by, but she seemed pretty busy. After that, I returned to my room.

This post was last modified: Mar 7, 2024 at 6:42 AM by Nashu Mhakaracca.

Music

More new questions than answers tonight. Who is the Director, really? Just what is the Heavens' Light? What suspicious characters are being hired for this purpose?

Most of the new evidence we've gleaned in the last sun pertains to the Bureau and its objectives. Concerning allusions to some sort of directive that involves global synchronization of anomalous energies...Is that the true purpose of their esotera research? A trial run for some means of transcending our humanity, which the Director intends to enact on a scale spanning the whole star? Mayhap a fine notion on paper, but what does it entail? What are they willing to sacrifice to achieve it? I mean...look at what they did to the dog!

It seems that at least one operative of the Abyss Team is directly involved in the implementation of this mysterious directive as well, after being reassigned from the Qstia Operation (I will put aside the morality of fomenting disorder in a developing nation for now). I can posit a guess that this is the aberration lurking around, who I now surmise to be one entity with a means of quickly traversing the facility to protect each seal. "Inversion protocol," was it? Gods know what that means.



We've also learned about the successor to the esotera infusion experiments: the Enhancement Project. It seems the Bureau sought to use inanimate objects, namely masks, as conduits to more safely channel esotera without repeating the birth of the aberrations. That might be why there are so many masks lying around the place - and apparently, there's an anomaly who creates them. Nevertheless, this approach still had disastrous consequences in the case of the unrestrained power of BPI-1000, and use of the masks in general can induce amnesia in test subjects. It seems one of the researchers assigned to the project, one Dr. H. Crowe, succumbed to the masks' allure and donned one himself in a bid to “provide him the strength to protect the future”. How tragic.



There's also the matter of the sunken city beneath the facility. It seems that place might be the origin of the Codex Noc...Not Turning...Nocturnum? Or where the Bureau found it, at least. Are the erstwhile denizens of this ancient metropolis "those who bore the tome" - those exiles from the bygone era of the Traveller? Were they annihilated by the return of the Shadow Plague? Though the modern strain fabricated by Roxanne Wexlyn doesn't kill the afflicted, mayhap the genuine article was a touch more...ruinous.

I also wonder whether the Traveller may have been a native of ancient Qstia - they claimed the Black Scribe "betrayed our ancient people," and a recently discovered recording suggests that this figure was a part of ancient Qstian mythology. This would suggest "the Plague" decimated Qstia, mayhap spurred on by this Black Scribe or its followers, who meddled overmuch with arcane forces. Those who continued to practice magic were exiled out of fear of the plague's return, and some of them found their new home here, until their hubris spelled their doom once more. And yet, the Director would use that selfsame magic to pursue his goal.

Anyroad, I would like to believe we should still cast our lot with the Bureau, but I remain skeptical of this "Heavens' Light" project. I would also like to have faith in the Abyss Team; Brother Dodo at least seems to regard our situation with an even hand, and Agent Liz is...apparently missing. The real one, not this "Shoggoth the Manipulator."



Hold a minute. A masked man...comatose for many moons...suffering from memory loss...with the strength to protect his allies...?

I...I shouldn't raise this subject. Tis merely a theory.