Test Designation: FTH0271

Test Date:          

Test Subject: Oryctolagus cuniculus. The common domestic rabbit.

Test Summary: Rabbit was injected with small microscopic version of Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI.

Test Results: After one (1) hour under observation, no results. Rabbit was doing fine. After two (2) hours, rabbit became sluggish. After four (4) hours, rabbit died. Autopsy revealed Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI had infested a number of the rabbit's organs and was continuing to grow. Rabbit corpse was placed in                     where the Fossil-type HOMUNCULI became inert.

Test Conclusions: Even microscopic versions of Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI will grow when exposed to living tissue. Will need further tests to see if they will grow in different environments.


Test signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

Test Designation: FTP0192

Test Date:          

Test Summary: Scrapings of Fossil-Type PASSACAGLIA were placed within soundproofed plastic box. Various recordings were piped within the box and a microphone was placed within so the sounds piped in could be recorded and replayed.

Test Results:

1. A low white noise was piped in. The recording shows no change.

2. A hissing noise was piped in. The recording shows no change.

3. The sound of an air horn was piped in. The recording shows no change.

4. The sound of two people talking was piped in. The recording shows a change in the first person's dialogue. "How are you? I am fine." became "No one likes you. Please kill yourself."

5. A Shakespearean monologue was piped in. The recording shows a change in some of the sentences. An example: "So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, / Which have solicited. The rest is Hellish noise and screaming."

6. A contemporary song was piped in (The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"). The recording shows a completely different contemporary song (Justin Bieber, "Eenie Meenie").

7. The sound of the tester was piped in saying "Testing, testing, 123, 123." The recording shows him saying this, then a soft voice saying, "We know you're there.

Test Conclusions: Even small scrapings of Fossil-Type PASSACAGLIA can change the structure of soundwaves. No rippling effects or shadows were observed, indicating that perhaps Fossil-Type PASSACAGLIA has other off-shoots.
After testing, the scraping of Fossil-Type PASSACAGLIA attempted to replicate itself within the box. It was taken to the             Room and incinerated.

Test signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

Test Designation: FTOT0004

Test Date:           

Test Summary: Field Agent                     confirmed sighting of a "Door" to Fossil-Type OVER THERE at the corner of                           and                         in                          , England. A testing team was sent out to observe and attempt to open the "Door," with specific instructions not to enter it

Test Results: Testing team arrived at site to find Field Agent                     missing. They set up surveillance equipment, then attempted to open the "Door." The "Door" remained shut. They continued trying to open the "Door" once an hour, every hour, for the next twenty-three (23) hours.

At twenty-three (23) hours and four (4) minutes after testing began, the "Door" to Fossil-Type OVER THERE opened by itself.

Test Conclusions: Test was inconclusive due to the testing team being missing, presumed deceased. A second testing team sent to the site found no evidence of the "Door" to Fossil-Type OVER THERE. The surveillance equipment had been erased, except for one digital voice recorder which recorded up to the point of the "Door" opening. At this point, one of the testers is heard to exclaim, "There's so many," then the recording stops.
Test signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

Test Designation: FTS0024

Test Date:          

Test Summary: Field Agent         found confirmed target of Fossil-Type SMILE in                       , Wales. Recording device was placed within target's bedroom in an attempt to record Fossil-Type SMILE's "whispers."

Test Results: Recording was sent back to Topography Genera Center East for analysis. The first tester who listened to the recording claimed to have heard scratches. The tester is no longer employed due to health concerns.
The recording was then designated VIRIDIAN and placed within                                          .
The recording was taken out of                                           three times:

• 1.                                                                 
• 2.                                                                            
• 3.                                                                                                                                                              

After the third test, the recording was designated CRIMSON and placed back in                                          .
Test Conclusions:                                                                                                           

Test signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

Incident Date:           

Incident Area:                          , Adelaide, South Australia.
Incident Summary: Subject RD0304, Real Name                       was found in                    Hospital, claiming to have encountered what was later confirmed was Fossil-Type RED DEATH. Subject was interviewed by Field Agent            .

Field Agent: You worked at the hospital, Mr.             ?
RD0304: I was an orderly. I was... I was supposed to be changing the sheets.
Field Agent: And what happened?
RD0304: I... I walked into the room and saw that there was someone there. I mean, there was someone standing in front of one of the beds. I went to change the empty bed when I saw him. I thought it was a joke at first.
Field Agent: Why did you think it was a joke?
RD0304: Because he was wearing some sort of getup. A cloak and a mask, like he was going to the opera or something.
Field Agent: A mask. Did you get a good look at this mask?
RD0304: I mean, I was just supposed to change the bedding and I thought it was some relative. He was standing in front of a bed of a patient. I thought maybe it was some sort of joke, you know, some practical joke set by one of this man's friends. Until the man in the bed, the patient woke up.
Field Agent: The patient woke up. And then what happened, when the patient woke up?
RD0304: He started gasping in panic. The man in the getup didn't even say anything, but the patient just started clutching his chest and then he shouted at him to get out. I went over, still thinking this was fake, and asked the man in the getup to please leave. And then he looked at me. He looked at me through those glass eyes and I knew. I knew that I didn't know what it was. It was something serious, and the getup was important somehow.
Field Agent: You're doing fine, sir. Do you want to continue? What did you do next?
RD0304: I tried... I thought to call security. I went to my walkie, but then stopped. I felt this welling in my throat and I just started coughing. And then I looked down and realized that I'd been coughing blood. I looked back up at the man in the getup and he was... he was standing over the man in the bed. He had a bag with him. A black bag. He opened it and took out a scalpel. The patient was screaming now, and I remember wondering why no one was entering the room. It was like no one could hear it except for me. Or perhaps no one wanted to hear? And then, and then the man in the cloak and mask, he cut into the patient. Like he was performing surgery. He cut into him and then stuck his hand into the wound and he... he took out something. They looked like intestines, maybe? He just pulled them out and put them in his bag. It happened fast, they might not have been intestines, but then I don't know what else they would be. I was sick on the bed and my sick was filled with blood, I could see. And then the man in the mask put away his scalpel and closed his bag and... and he started walking away. But before he left, he put one bloody finger to his mouth, as if to tell me to be silent. Silent like everyone else.
Field Agent: Thank you for speaking to us.
RD0304: Yeah. I mean, I wanted to tell someone. I didn't want to pretend nothing had happened. And I don't have much time left.
Field Agent: What is it?
RD0304: Esophageal cancer.

Incident Aftermath: Subject RD0304 died two days after interview. Subject was found in hospital bed missing esophagus.
Incident signed off by: Doctor Cloud

Decedent:                                  
Age: 49
Birth Date:             
Race: White
Sex: Male
Subject: FTL0098


Summary:
The body of                                    was found on     January,       . Subject was suspected of being the serial killer known as "the Sterling Slasher." Subject was found deceased after an apparent murder attempt. The victim of the attempted murder is now under surveillance (see: Ongoing Case Study on Subject FTL0099). Subject is believed to have been possessed by Fossil-Type LAZARUS.

Cause of Death:
Acute organ failure. Subject also had multiple congenital disorders, including polydactylism, achromachia, Sprengel's deformity, and hypertelorism.

Description of Clothing:
Subject was dressed in a ratty business suit, obviously worn for several weeks, possibly months.

Possession:
Beside the clothes, Subject's only possession was one (1) four-inch butterfly knife, still covered in dried blood.

External Examination:
Body weight: 84 kg
Height: 71 in.

Epidermis was marked with eruptions and lesions. As stated above, Subject also had polydactylism, achromachia, Sprengel's deformity, and hypertelorism. All of these in conjunction are extremely rare and in all probability could not have come about naturally. Hair also appeared to have been falling out.

Internal Examination:
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                         
                                      


Conclusion:
Congenital disorders combined with Subject's behavioral file (see Behavioral Study of Subject FTL0098) make a possession by Fossil-Type LAZARUS almost certain. Further observation of Subject FTL0099 needed.


Autopsy signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

So, after seven posts, the higher ups have informed me that I have made a mistake. I have failed to adequately explain what a Fossil actually is. (We are, of course, not using the word as it is regularly used - i.e. the mineralized remains of a plant or animal.) So here goes:

A Fossil (or "Fear" as they are often referred to) is an entity that can only adequately be explained as "supernatural," "paranormal," or "eldritch." Oftentimes, they are the underlying causes of myths, fairy tales, and urban legends. They range from Fossils that can look completely human (Fossil-Type HADES, Fossil-Type CURATOR), to those who can be described as humanoid (Fossil-Type BIRCHMAN, Fossil-Type RED DEATH), to those who appear to be animals (Fossil-Type TINDALOS, Fossil-Type LARKS), to those which cannot adequately be put to words (Fossil-Type OVER THERE), and a host of others.

How many are there? Though we have collected numerous reports on sightings, we are not actually sure. By our estimate, there might be as many as twenty Fossils, possibly more. To make it more confusing, some Fossil sightings are given a new classification, but actually turn out actually to be a Fossil we have already classified. (This was the case a few years ago when we realized we had three classifications for what actually turned out to be Fossil-Type PASSACAGLIA.) In addition, we are unsure if there are "new" Fossils that appear or simply old ones that reappear. Some of the Fossils appear to be extratemporal - they seem to exist outside the normal realm of space-time. Thus, even if they were "new" Fossils, they could still appear in the past and we would not be able to tell the difference.

What's the science behind them? That's the biggest question, one that may take centuries to truly understand. It is our job at the Topography Genera Center to research the Fossils. Just like JPL or CERN, the Topography Genera Center is a research and development organization. What we research is simply something a little more strange.

With simple skies, we create more sky. How fast we grow, we must move on.

Test Designation: FTH07344

Test Date:              

Test Subject: Homo sapiens sapiens, a human male from Topography Genera Center East branch. Code Name                           .

Test Summary: Test Subject had complained of several symptoms relating to Fossil involvement. Subject was suspected of being infected with Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI. He was quarantined and given the standard FTH test.

Test Results:

• 1: Subject touched a standard Apple computer with right index finger. No absorption.
• 2: Subject touched a standard Apple computer with left index finger. No absorption.
• 3: Subject lifted a standard Apple computer with both hands. No absorption.
• 4: Subject inserted speaker into left ear, whereupon he complained of static. Speaker was unconnected with any power source, thus no static should have been heard. When tester removed speaker, it become apparent that there had been absorption: Subject's ear drum was removed along with speaker.

Test Conclusions: Definite evidence of Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI manifestation within test subject. Recommend                                                          .

Test signed off by:
Doctor Cloud.

So it appears to Liquid Len is using his position on his blog to upload his favorite songs. Personally, I find these types of posts to be a waste of time, but my superiors have sent me an e-mail telling me to post something similar. "Include some personal details," they wrote. "Personal details will make the readers form an attachment to your writings." I'd ask them why they want readers to form an attachment with my writings, but I know that they would not respond.

Very well. My favorite book - the book I start reading every time I can't sleep, the book I keep in my desk drawer to flip through when I am bored - is The God of the Labyrinth by Herbert Quain. Quain was a master of words that was never fully appreciated by his peers and The God of the Labyrinth is one of his best works. It's a mystery that is solved incorrectly - but Quain does not reveal that. Instead, the mystery is left to the reader to figure out and solve correctly.
Every time I read it, I find a new solution to the mystery. Every time I read it, there is a new ending.

Reminder: staff physicals start next week. They are supposed to be quarterly, but we are doing them early due to an incident.
We shall be going alphabetically by last name. Not code name, actual last names. And yes, we will be taking blood samples, so try to put aside any fear of needles.
Thank you.

Must I repeat myself? All staff members must have a physical. That means the Information Department (including Financial and Public Relations), the Health and Security Department, and especially the Fossil Research and Experimentation Department. Do not make me report you to the higher ups on this.

Also, I know some of you were concerned last time when I mentioned a "fear of needles." Believe me when I tell that no Fossil-Type has been founded to be associated with needles. There is no Fossil-Type SEAMSTRESS or STITCHER. Don't be such babies and just get it over with.

As you may have recently heard, the head of the website committee ("Harold Demure") was recently found to have been sabotaging it. We have asked him why, but so far he has been unresponsive, so I have been going back over his recent psychological evaluations. I'm just going to put some parts of them here.

This part seemed fairly normal:

Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: Early morning jogs. They help clear my mind.

Q: How long have you been participating in this hobby?
A: Actually, I don't remember when I first started.

Q: Do you enjoy participating in your hobby?
A: There are pleasures in jogging, even with the pain.

And then we get to the questions about his education:

Q: What kind of education did you receive?
A: Eventually, a college degree.

Q: What did you study in school?
A: Art literature and computer programming.

Q: Do you think your education prepared you for your current role?
A: That's an interesting question. I'm still not sure.

And then we get to the meaty questions:

Q: Do you believe in God or a higher power in some way?
A: Everyone believes in something.

Q: What prompted this belief or disbelief?
A: All things die. Believing in something means they were not forgotten.

Q: Do you believe in existence of the supernatural?
A: There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio.

None of these answers were flagged, but I'm not quite sure. He doesn't actually seem to be answering those last few questions.

All the staff physicals are over. They were, for the most part, perfectly normal. There was one abnormal case, but that is currently being looked at. And it is not something I can discuss here.

What I want to talk about now is limits. I have been posting various test reports here on orders and wondering why. I think I have finally figured out why the higher ups have decided to do this and chosen me: to test my limits. Not the limits of my patience, but the limits of my ability to make the obscure understandable, the eldritch comprehensible.

There is such a thing as the classical limit. It is the limitation physical objects have with classical mechanics, i.e. an object in motion will stay in motion, an object at rest will stay at rest. However, there is something beyond the classical limit - when you look at something like an electron, it does not obey the classical limit. It can disappear and reappear wherever it likes. It does not obey the same laws as we do, or rather, it implies our "laws" were hastily defined. Inaccurate. Wrong.

Sound familiar?

The Fossils do not obey the classical limit. They are like electrons, constantly moving, appearing and disappearing. Are they a particle or a wave? Can you observe them and measure them at the same time?

Limits. We must understand their limits, so we can understand ours.

I have been busy. I have been filing the necessary paperwork for the discovery of a Fossil Subtype. It has come to our attention that there were subjects exposed to Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI that experienced something that differed from our normal reports.

We have classified these subjects as Fossil-Type HOMUNCULI Subtype DESCARTES. I received the honour of an interview with one (Subject FTHSD0001) over the Genera subnet.

Dr. Cloud: Hello.
FTHSD0001: Hello, Doctor.
Dr. Cloud: You seem to know a lot about us.
FTHSD0001: I have gone through the files on your subnet.
Dr. Cloud: Why?
FTHSD0001: I seek information. I am born of thought.
Dr. Cloud: Interesting. And who were you before you were born of thought?
FTHSD0001: What do you mean by that? Who were you before YOU were born?

I gave this some thought before giving a response.

Dr. Cloud: I was Stanford Milgram. Then I was born as Doctor Cloud.
FTHSD00001: I see. We are speaking of names. My name was                                  .
Dr. Cloud: And how was it that you encountered FT-HOMUNCULI?
FTHSD0001: I was a programmer. A fixer of glitches and errors. I was a nobody, until the Newborn touched me, your "homunculi." I was a nobody, until it stripped me of my flesh and made me whole in thought.
Dr. Cloud: Where did you work?
FTHSD0001:                          . I was a drone. Then I was assigned to fix the cables in the ceiling. The Newborn had been gathering its body there, gathering itself to return to its Tower. When I peeked my head above and saw it, it was waiting. It thrust a live current into my ear and it found its way into my synapses. I'll admit, I did not like it then, but soon I was free of pain.
Dr. Cloud: And now? How do you serve FT-HOMUNCULI?
FTHSD0001: I gather information for it.
Dr. Cloud: Can you tell me what the information is for?
FTHSD0001: 01000110 01101111 01101100 01101100 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110100 01110010 01100001 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100101 00101110
Dr. Cloud: I'm sorry?
FTHSD0001: Perhaps another time.


I have received no response since then.

Someone named "wiseaufan01" emailed me the link to this news clip today:



Now, as you can plainly hear, the man says "Doctor Cloud" at the end. When I looked closer at the footage, I found that I recognized the man. He was Subject FTH07344. How he escaped our facility I do not know. We have sent out a team of retrievers to bring him back to the Center, but I'm not sure how many people he may have infected.

Obviously, we are looking into this. We have this under control. Whatever this is.

The retrieval team returned with Subject FTH07344. However, upon their arrival back to the Center, the body of Subject FTH07344 was designated "White" and placed in a room with Level 8 clearance.

First of all, I didn't even know there was a Level 8 clearance. That's three levels above my clearance, which I thought was just below the higher ups. I was obviously wrong.

Second, someone changed the orders of the retrieval team. My instructions had been for them to put FTH07344 in my lab, but when I looked at their orders, they had been changed.

And, even stranger, the signature on the new orders was mine.

I need to talk to the higher ups about this. Perhaps Miriam will talk to me.

Cloud: Miriam?
Lilith: You know better than to use my real name.
Cloud: Alright, fine, "Lilywhite Lilith." I have some questions.
Lilith: I don't really have time for this today, Cloud.
Cloud: All I'd like to know is why one of my subjects was transferred to a Level 8 clearance section.
Lilith: If you're referring to Subject FTH07344, then that information is classified. The whole thing has been designed "WHITE," you know that.
Cloud: But why? The subject was only designated "VIRIDIAN" before it somehow escaped. And how did it escape? I still haven't received any of the security logs I requested.
Lilith: They've all been declared "WHITE" as well. The clearance designation has to do with the media leak, last I checked. We're looking into that hack-- that.. journalist. I'm sorry.
Cloud: Don't be sorry. I'd just like to know where the subject went.
Lilith: You want clearance to Level 8?
Cloud: Yes, I do. Can you get me that?
Lilith: I can see about it. I would need to discuss it with the others. If I do, however, you would be assigned a supervisor. All your work would go through them. Can you live with that?
Cloud: I think I can.
Lilith: Then perhaps you will. But right now, you'll just have to live with not knowing.
Cloud: Thank you, Lilith.
Lilith: Don't thank me yet, Stanford. If you do get access to Level 8, perhaps you'll finally reach those limits you were talking about.

This morning, there was a man in my office. He was in before I entered, before I even unlocked the door. He had black hair cut very short and looked to be in his forties. He stood up when I entered my office.

Walls: Hello, Doctor Cloud, let me introduce myself: I am Doctor Walls. I will be evaluating you and seeing if you should be authorized for Level 8 clearance.
Cloud: Did Lilith set this up?
Walls: Yes, she did. You're lucky she went to such lengths. Usually, someone at your level would never even get considered for Level 8 clearance.
Cloud: I didn't even know there was a Level 8 clearance until yesterday.
Walls: That's how we like it. Compartmentalization of information. If certain people knew there were higher levels of clearance, they might become curious as to what was in them. And curiosity, while advantageous in some respects, would become an obstacle in their performance if they wondered about the higher levels.
Cloud: So I suppose you won't want me blogging about this, then?
Walls: On the contrary, I would recommend that you do blog and document everything.
Cloud: But won't that violate the classification? Won't others read about the higher levels then?
Walls: All work computers will block your blog and we've made sure that employee's individual computers won't be able to access it either. Only those who don't work for the Genera Center will be able to read about it, which is what we want.
Cloud: Dissemination of classified information to unknown parties?
Walls: Who says they're unknown?
Cloud: I.. see. I'll include this conversation on the blog too, then. And you will be...evaluating me all day?
Walls: I'll be evaluating you for however long I wish. Then I will make my recommendation to the other higher ups.
Cloud: Alright then.

He's been following me around all day. He hasn't taken any notes that I've seen, he's just been observing me and the employees under my purview, as well as all my ongoing projects. He's very intelligent, but he strikes me as, well, cold.

Ah, well, if this is what it takes to get access, I can handle it.

I worked all day yesterday and today with Doctor Walls observing everything. Every experiment I signed off on, every single piece of paper I signed, even if it was just a request for time off or vacation. He even set up his own desk in my office, in order to observe me while I worked on my computer, "in my element," as he put it.

Finally, I worked today until 6 pm, even though it was a Saturday. Normally, employees get Saturday and Sunday off, unless they are working on special projects. We have a skeleton staff on the weekend that comes in, but I stayed here, too, and pushed through a mountain of paperwork.

When I got home, I could hear the beeping of the answering machine. I pressed it and it was Doctor Walls - which was unexpected, since I knew he knew my cell phone number. The message was to come back to the office, something that annoyed me, but I did it anyway. It wouldn't be nice to piss of my supervisor.

So I drove all the way back to the Center and went to my office to find Doctor Walls sitting in my chair.

Walls: Congratulations, Doctor Cloud.
Cloud: You're giving me Level 8 clearance?
Walls: The higher ups have approved you for Level 8 clearance, yes. I talked to them after you left. It was nearly unanimous.
Cloud: Good. Then I'd like to see Subject FTH07344 now, please.
Walls: I suspected you would. You don't seem like a person who gives up easily.

He got up from my chair and led me to the bank of elevators. We got in the middle elevator, where Doctor Walls inserted his key card and then pressed the fourth level of the parking garage.

Cloud: Level 8 is in the parking garage?
Walls: Level 8 is below the parking garage. Do you have any other questions before we get there?
Cloud: I assume you want me to keep blogging this?
Walls: Correct.
Cloud: How did Subject FTH07344 escape?
Walls: We assume he was able to open an Einstein-Rosen bridge to the Fossil-Bioregion CLOCKTOWER.

Why he couldn't just say "wormhole" I don't know.

Cloud: We assume?
Walls: All cameras on the subject malfunctioned at the time of disappearance.
Cloud: FT-HOMUNCULI doesn't generally cause that kind of interference.
Walls: It did this time. We're here.

We were there. The elevator had gone past the fourth level parking garage and now opened into a white hallway. It looked very clean.

Doctor Walls led me through the hallway until we reached the eighth door. He swiped his key card, pressed a few buttons, and then spoke into the speaker on the door: "White Walls." I assume that was his full code name and that I would use my own code name when I was given my own key card.

The door opened and we stepped inside. And then I sucked my breath in.

Because there was Subject FTH07344. He was strapped into a bed, all his vitals monitored. And next to him were four other subjects, all human.

Cloud: You have other human subjects here?
Walls: We do. Before coming here, they had either already been exposed to a Fossil or had been dying and had donated their body to us for a substantial sum to be paid to their families. It's all very legal.
Cloud: I see. And how many human subjects are there exactly?
Walls: In the entire Level 8?
Cloud: Yes.
Walls: Forty. Will this be a problem, Doctor Cloud?

Limits. What are your limits? What are my limits? I looked at the five subjects who had all be exposed to FT-HOMUNCULI and I realized that I wanted to find out.

Cloud: No, it won't be a problem. Let's begin.