 2-051, from 05-12 R-E-D-N-D, Urgency High I hope this gets through. If you're like me, seeing things on the BBC and the New York Times before getting briefed on by staff is doing a number on you. It's over. The only thing left is to tell you what I know. 2 is dead. We only know that because she told us herself. Nice of her to leave a note, I guess. I've established contact with 3, 7, and 13. The rest, who knows. There aren't any protocols for something like this. The best we can tell is that they put on a performance. The man at the threshold, Act 1, 35 years. Act 1, Scene 1 0-943 hours local time, disturbance in the vicinity of Giza Plateau, Egypt Egyptian military mobilized in response to apparent mass gathering in front of the great sphinx based on initial intelligence of a Muslim Brotherhood action. Embedded media present, massive information leak of anomalous phenomena. 0-947 hours local time, spontaneous powerful sandstorm encircling an approximately 100 kilometer radius of the great sphinx. A battalion of the Egyptian army is present to witness the performance. Four humanoids, appearing to be some medic in appearance and clothed simply in white cloth and sandals, appear spontaneously at the scene as well. Several rounds discharged by soldiers present suggest that the humanoids are non-caporeal. The as-yet unidentified beings take no notice of any actions occurring around them. Proteus, I hope that I'm not being improper when I say that I am scared. Melita, we're all scared Proteus. This is the day that our cohort have been preparing for our entire lives. Proteus, three of us will be chosen. Have we made enough of our time here? Will it comfort us if we are cast outside? Agus, just look at the things we've done together. We've mapped an unknown star system. Wrote a song that made us the heroes of the summer convocation. Scaled the shadow past the mountain of ice. I tell you Proteus, if they cast me out today, I can say that no matter what comes after, it was all worth it. Proteus, I hope to be as brave as you when I enter the chamber. Dona Shir, all except what they are given in the threshold. Melita, how could it be otherwise? Agus, how could it be otherwise? 1017 hours local time. Sandstorm intensifies briefly, obscuring all vision in the local area before immediately subsiding. When visibility is re-established, no anomalous humanoids are present. However, the great sphinx has been removed, replaced with a blue light holographic projection, in the appearance of the sphinx and of approximately the same size, with no discernible source. Numerous photographic and videographic records are taken and circulated. Existential threat to consensus reality and progress. Act 1, Scene 2, 1143 hours local time, darkness falls midday in Tyra Square in Cairo, Egypt. No evidence of a solar eclipse, cloud cover, or any other possible source of such conditions is apparent. Nine moons appear to be visible in the night sky. Riots begin almost immediately, and messages proclaiming the end times begin to be broadcast over PA systems attached to several local mosques. Images corresponding to the four humanoids appearing at the great sphinx are projected to be an unknown source onto the side of the Magama building, visible to all within the square. Activity stops as sound begins to accompany the images. The man, this set of four, born on this day 35 years past, are you ready to enter? Melida Aegis Monashir. We are. Proteus. We are. The man, do you see, as it has been intended, how even those cast in the exile may have a taste of our beautiful world, and how those that remain have shared the shadow of death with those that must take their leave now? Melida Aegis Monashir. We do. Proteus. We do. The man, look then, out of this world, on this day, this is the threshold. This is the place where human society is made. It is here that the salvation of the few, so great in its perfection, so sacred in its magnificent beauty, is earned by the fate of the many. It is they who will make the ultimate sacrifice, and they who deserve our love and our honor most of all. Do you choose to pass the threshold of your own volition? Melida Aegis Monashir. We do. Proteus. We do. The man, Melida's snowfall of the shadow peaks, step forward. Melida, I stand ready. The man. You shall dwell on the planet of eyes. Melida, I accept my duty. The man. Aegis Sky Sail, third denizen of the watchcliffs. You shall be taken to the planet of skin. Aegis, I accept my duty. Aegis appears to stumble slightly, close to feigning. The man. Monashir Violent Light, the Lady of the Tower. Monashir, I stand ready. The man. You shall remain. Remember always the great love of your departed sisters and brothers, now and forevermore. Monashir, I shall. Monashir begins to weep. The man. Proteus Hammersmith, the Wayfinder. Proteus, I stand ready. Proteus trembles. The man. You are to come to the planet of hands. All 32 hours local time. Upon concluding with the above dialogue, daylight returns to Tyra Square. Of the estimated 10,000 people gathered in the square, several thousand spontaneously lose vision, and several hundred appear to be instantaneously flayed alive through unknown means. All other persons present in the square no longer have hands after the conclusion of the anomalous display, instead having completely healed stumps. All news networks, in particular Al Jazeera, begin to run coverage despite attempts at coordinated interference with dissemination of information. All nations have put their militaries on high alert, and a few look to have already taken the opportunity to settle all few scores in the confusion. That's the only thing that makes sense now, really. What do you think they're mobilizing against? A way to look like they're doing something anyway. The churches, mosques, synagogues, etc. are overflowing. The Abrahamic folks are convinced that judgment is a hand. Everyone else just sort of figures that we're all fucked. The first reports of murder suicides are coming in. Not as many as we might have expected, though. People have options. 001 made sure to let them know that. Act II The Traveler Prepares Act II, Scene 1 1521 hours local time. News emerged from Beijing of the unbombed corpse of Mao Zedong, ambulating under its own power from its mausoleum and in the Tiananmen Square. Visual confirmation emerged on Shenhua News Service outlets several minutes later. An anomalous humanoid projection, similar to that seen in the part of Proteus in the Cairo disturbance, appears in the middle of the square alongside the corpse of Mao, which appears to have assumed the role of the man. The Man There is no sense in lingering. We all have our appointed places. Proteus But there's simply no sense in it. Our world is immense. Our use of its resource is efficient and wise. Surely none of us must live in exile. The Man Problems of the far future become the problems of tomorrow for a race that has no end to its days. Proteus There must be a way to manage it. If all women and men live for as long as they care to, we must have no need for birth. What purpose the creation of life if it is to suffer? The Man I have had this duty for a very long time, my friend. These are not new questions, and my answers are not new. Our kind ascended when we understood the true nature of ourselves. We must always be able to create new life. Our minds, subtly interconnected through the air and through the dreamscape, turn dark and destructive when the act of creation is taken from us. Proteus What is suffering? What is the cruelty that lives on our nine moons? The Man Suffering? Yes, there is suffering. It must be so, and we must know of it, taste of it, build our houses upon its foundations. As life prays on life, so does human enterprise need vast inputs of suffering. It binds us together. The knowledge that there are others that cannot have what we have built affects us deeply. It is a cornerstone in our souls. That is something we discovered a very long time ago. It is vital, and it was this discovery that paved the way to Heaven's gate. The Man But cruelty? No. We do not do these things because we wish to cause pain. We do it for those that remain in the wonder society that we have built. We have given beauty and truth without end to those that are chosen. If even one person may taste of the infinite good, is that not worth any amount of finite suffering? Proteus But why must it be I who pays the price? The Man My friend, come with me, I shall escort you. Fifteen-fifty-nine hours local time. Upon conclusion of the anomalous occurrence, crowds in Tiananmen Square become highly agitated, tearing apart the corpse of Mao Zedong and resisting an assembled cordon of riot police. Leaders of major world governments have begun issuing statements urging for calm among their population to sign to struggle to explain the occurrences in Cairo and Beijing. Thousands are reported to have died in civil unrest and population centers throughout the world. Act II, Scene II Sixteen-ten hours local time. The three gorgeous dam in Hubei Province, China spontaneously disappears. The immense volume of water being held back by the dam previously does not move. Within minutes, helicopters operated by local emergency authorities are on the scene. Humanoid projections appear on the vast surface of the Wall of Water. Proteus What is this place? The Man Do you see our planet in the sky? That wondrous blue sphere? You are on the planet of hands, my companion. Proteus, I don't understand. It looks like it's been on fire. Buildings. Rubble. The Man There was a time when we merely exiled those whose duty was to come here. They built their own societies in a fashion. They were driven by what they could not have. Their slender hope twisted into a sort of vengeance upon their children at the center of this great constellation. They built great structures, vast ships, terrible weapons. The uprisings happened many, many millennia ago. The last conflict our humanity will ever have to face. Now, it's a simple matter to ensure that it never happens again. No perverse hope to tempt anyone to foolish destruction. Proteus By taking away our hands The Man By taking away your hands, the mindset of a planet of those without hands is the proper one for all of us. Proteus, where is everyone? The Man. Come. 1632 hours local time. The waters of the Yangtze River are released, causing massive flooding, widespread destruction of homes and property, and thousands of deaths along the area of the river's banks. The destruction further inflames instability in the People's Republic of China, and the country's ruling Communist Party is overthrown in a popular uprising within a matter of hours after this event. It's all come apart, one. Everything that we worked for, crushed in a matter of hours, and the only thing holding them all together, keeping things from being even worse than they are right now, is one idea, going home, wherever home happens to be. Act 3 To the People of Earth Act 3, Scene 1 2301 hours local time. All notable buildings within the Capital Mall region of Washington, D.C. change coloration, from white to red. The Washington Monument emits a bright column of red light, stretching up into the sky invisible from hundreds of miles away. 10 meter tall holographic projections of several humano, similar to those previously depicted, appear directly over the monument's reflecting pool. Prochius, we have traveled many miles. The man, the planet of hands is vast, but look, we have another. Handless woman. More people? I must be close to the blessed end. Prochius, who are you? Handless woman. I no longer have a name. We have no need for such things here. Prochius, do you remember your home? Handless woman. This is my home. Prochius, I mean the place you came from, to hear. Handless woman. I remember a time when I wasn't starving, but that was a long time ago, it's difficult to recall. Prochius, your ribs are showing. Would you like me to find some food for you? Handless woman. There's nothing to find. This is a place of ash and salt, but the hunger is a blessing. My mind feels clear, my being so light and clean. God speaks to me here. He tells me to lift my stumps to the blue light in the sky, and so I do. And I pray, and I am filled with the knowledge that I am here for a purpose. I am suffused with happiness. Prochius, this place makes you happy? Handless woman. The last gift of the body before it evaporates is divine revelation. I live in truth. I live without fear, without doubt. I dwell in the spirit that had made this place. This is a place of ecstasy. Handless woman collapses. The man. And now her time here is at an end. No torments of false hope, no food nor water to sustain her suffering longer than it must. It is but a little sacrifice when faced with the salvation that it brings. Prochius, how long was she here? The man. A fortnight. Prochius, she did not seem to be suffering. The man. The joy and martyrdom obliterates all suffering. It is a secret known only to those of the outer planets, a gift to those who make this sacrifice. No, she is truly transcended. Prochius, I am ready. 2333 hours local time. Crowds estimated at approximately 50,000 people have gathered around the Washington Monument to witness the anomalous occurrence. Law enforcement authorities were not present at the scene, having been summoned to contain unrest elsewhere in the Capital Region. Act III, Scene II. 2340 hours local time. A large doorway in the center of the Washington Monument opens. Nothing is visible inside but a faint green light. The holographic projections continues. The man. Present your hand, Father of Humanity. The man holds a ceremonial blade aloft in one hand, a torch in the other. Prochius, I stand ready. Prochius holds his hand before the man. The man. Do you accept a gift of sacrifice, for those brethren that shall remain in the light for all of time? The man saw as that Prochius left wrist. Prochius, I do. Prochius bleeds profusely. The man. Do you offer your suffering for the good of the whole, your exile for the benefit of the collective psyche of humanity? The man wrenches Prochius' left wrist, snapping bone and tendon, then slicing the remaining ligaments, keeping the hand in place. Prochius, I do. Prochius spurts blood from left wrist. The man. Do you renounce the unstable reality of the universe outside the system? Commit yourself to the preservation of sanity within the system of planets? The man burns Prochius' left stump with the torch, cauterizing the wound. Prochius, I do. Prochius screams. The man. With the left hand, you accept your duty. With the right, our duty to you. The man clearly slices off the right hand of Prochius in one fluid motion. Prochius, I thank you. Prochius bleeds profusely. The man. Weed the living, shall keep a society of perfect harmony, perfect justice, perfect beauty. Weed the living, shall keep our human natures pure, living in the highest purpose that is possible for our forms. Weed the living, shall transform your suffering into the most divine purpose imaginable. The man burns Prochius' right stump with the torch, cauterizing the wound. Prochius, I am honored beyond measure. Prochius screams. The man. In this holy pact, we shall know love without measure or end. Go forth, Father, complete your journey. Prochius, I accept my duty. 2359 hours local time. The humanoid projection portraying Prochius enters the doorway within the Washington Monument. Other projections vanish upon its entry. The doorway begins to slowly close. Several spectators from the closest ranks of the crowd rush into the doorway, followed by increasing numbers of onlookers, until an estimated 3,000 bystanders enter the monument before the gateway closes. No person entering the monument has been contacted or seen since its event. 13 asked me if what we worked to preserve was ever-natural. What a stupid question. What does it matter if the world we enabled was unnatural? It was better than what waits for us. The thing in Washington gave people lots of ideas. People have managed to summon a couple more of these gateways in a few places. They're fleeing into them. It's hard to blame them. We've lost any meaningful ability to control anything. The jig is up. The world knows that science is an illusion, and certainty is a cruel joke. Why not take the chance? Better a refugee than a corpse, or worse. Me? No, I will not. I will not end my life as one of the cattle. It was a pleasure to serve one. Well.