Interlude 13.z: Selections From Keeper Anomaly Log

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AO-0075

 

Containment: Object to be stored in a standard low-security locker in Luxemburg facility. Object to be examined at least once per week when not engaged in testing.

 

Description: A rectangular music box measuring 25x40x20 cm, made from mahogany, silver, and velvet. Silver fittings and handle exhibit tarnish consistent with prolonged wear. When the handle is turned, the box produces a rendition of Beethoven’s Für Elise consistent with music commonly produced by similar music boxes.

 

All individuals listening to this music report intense feelings of melancholy and longing, with no clearly defined target for this feeling. The intensity of the feeling intensifies with prolonged exposure, with 15 minutes being sufficient to inspire suicidal ideation in 65% of subjects. Testing on animals, lycanthropes, etc. suggests this response is not restricted to human subjects. Recordings of the music exhibit no anomalous effects. Mode of action is currently unknown.

 

Acquisition: Found in a Munich house during investigation following the suicide of seven consecutive property owners.


AO-0096

 

Containment: Object to be stored in a standard medium-security locker in Beijing facility. Access restricted to senior site personnel only. Testing prohibited.

 

Description: A pane of glass measuring 11x14x7 cm, inscribed with geometric structures. Inscription pattern is three-dimensional, with etchings throughout the glass; extrapolation from the pattern suggests that it is actually a representation of at least four dimensions, and possibly as many as seven. Additional inscriptions on the surface of the glass in Aramaic detail the item’s origin and use.

According to these notes, the glass is a stored spell triggered by the breaking of the glass plate. Upon this trigger, it will cause all glass within approximately one kilometer to shatter. The exact radius of this effect is unknown, as is the degree of similarity to the crystal structure of glass which is required for an object to be affected.

 

Acquisition: Created by original Maker and removed to Keeper storage following his death.


AP-0103 (AKA “Jeremy Potts”)

 

Containment: Subject to be stored in a standard low-security humanoid containment cell in Seattle facility. All facility personnel to be briefed on anomalous effects and password protocol. Due to difficulty in containment, reasonable efforts are to be made to keep the subject placated.

 

Description: Humans looking at AP-0103 perceive him as being a person with whom they are vaguely familiar, usually an acquaintance or family member. The precise person seen is unpredictable; individual subjects have reported a resemblance to as many as 93 distinct individuals. The only known constant is that the person observed is never one which the subject has seen within the past twenty-four hours.

 

This effect is observed in all recorded media. AP-0103’s actual appearance is, as a result, unknown. Evidence suggests he is the approximate size and shape of a human, but significantly more dense than human average; skin is most likely covered with grey or brown scales. AP-0103 claims to have been born with this condition; testing to determine his heritage and the source of this anomaly is ongoing.

 

Animal testing suggests this effect is not universal, as animal subjects do not exhibit any apparent familiarity with AP-0103. Testing to determine the extent of human qualities necessary to be affected by the perceptual anomaly is ongoing.

 

Acquisition: Found by Watcher team during investigation following unusual reports from a Seattle hospital.


AO-0122 (AKA “Sessho-seki,” “The Killing Stone”)

 

Containment: Following recent developments, object is no longer in containment and is believed to be neutralized. Deletion from logs is in process.


AO-0147

 

Containment: AO-0147 is to be kept in a high-security vault in a dedicated site in Mongolia. When a spawning event is expected, vault entrance is to be under constant guard by no less than 3 armed personnel and 1 Guard. At other times, vault entrance is to be under surveillance. Access to vault is allowed only by written permission of a Conclave member.

 

Instances of AP-0147-A are to be housed in a standard low-security containment cell in the Seattle facility. Instances of AP-0147-B are to be housed in a standard medium security containment cell in a secondary site in France, China, or North America. Access to instances of AP-0147-B is to be restricted, and any breach of parole on the part of AP-0147-B is to be met with lethal force. Instances of AP-0147-C through -E are to be killed on sight.

 

This item is currently set to be terminated. Testing to determine how the item can be destroyed is ongoing.

 

Description: AO-0147 is a pine coffin measuring 2x1x0.5 m. The coffin can be damaged normally, but repairs itself within 2 hours. Removed sections rot in this time, while the coffin regenerates to fill the gap which is left. It is currently unknown how this repair process functions.

 

AP-0147 is a human of varying age, sex, and ethnicity. Testing has confirmed that all instances of AP-0147 are the same individual, and all instances retain memories formed by other instances. However, different instances exhibit markedly different personality traits, currently categorized into 5 broad types termed AP-0147-A through -E. Notably, all instances have been observed to have magical talent typical of a human mage; specific skills vary with instance type.

 

Following the death of any instance, another instance will appear in AO-0147 within 48 hours. The process by which this occurs is currently unknown; Doctor Anderson’s theory of spiritual manifestation is currently the best available explanation (but see also Doctor Corwin’s proposed theory of random generation). At no time has more than one instance of AP-0147 been observed to exist at once.

 

In all instance types, AP-0147 presents a consistent narrative regarding his origins. He claims to have been a minor wizard practicing in Greece in the late Byzantine period. During this time he attempted to prevent a major Sidhe noble (specific identity unknown) from hunting a young girl, at which point the noble cursed AP-0147 with “a fractured mind which does not end.”

 

To date, the following instance types have been observed:

 

-AP-0147-A: Comprises 65% of observed instances. These instances appear to be human males aged approximately 35, with features consistent with a Mediterranean origin. Personality is pleasant and agreeable; this instance type is generally cooperative. Exhibits skill primarily with defensive magic and wards. AP-0147 has confirmed that this personality and magic is consistent with his appearance in life.

 

-AP-0147-B: Comprises 20% of observed instances. These instances appear to be human females aged approximately 25, with features consistent with a northern European origin. Personality is pleasant, but manipulative; this instance type has been diagnosed with narcissistic and histrionic personality disorders. Exhibits skill primarily with mental magic, including a highly refined capacity to detect and manipulate emotions.

 

-AP-0147-C: Comprises 10% of observed instances. These instances appear to be human males aged approximately 50, with features consistent with a Middle Eastern origin. Personality is hostile and aggressive, with strong violent tendencies and no evidence of remorse. Exhibits skill primarily with kinetic force.

 

-AP-0147-D: Comprises 5% of observed instances. These instances appear to be human males aged approximately 20, with features consistent with an Asian origin. Personality is extremely hostile, apparently sadistic, and remorseless. Exhibits skill primarily with alteration of the bodies of other humans; in particular, has repeatedly used a highly refined magical technique to render victims paralyzed before killing them. Survivors report that this paralysis is extremely painful; treatment has been largely ineffective at mitigating either the paralysis or pain.

 

-AP-0147-E: This instance type has only been observed once. AP-0147-E appeared to be a lycanthrope or other semi-human entity, with physical traits resembling a partially animalistic humanoid. This instance appears to specialize in physical augmentation and fire magic. This instance type is extremely aggressive and violent; in its one known appearance, it destroyed most of the facility which AO-0147 was at that time stored in, requiring an update to containment measures.

 

Acquisition: AP-0147-A turned himself and AO-0147 in to the Watchers.


AP-0276 (AKA “Taylor Jones”)

 

Containment: Subject to be kept in a standard low-security humanoid containment cell in the Arizona facility. Cell is to be modified with full suicide prevention equipment and standard Biosafety Level 4 containment protocols. Access to the subject is to be limited to individuals trained in BSL 4 protocol. Cell is to be under surveillance at all times; at least one trained guard is to be posted when an incident is expected. During an incident, subject should be subdued immediately by nonlethal means. Under no circumstance is lethal force to be exercised. Under no circumstance is the subject to be exposed to personnel not equipped with BSL 4 personal protective equipment.

 

Reasonable requests by the subject are to be granted, at the discretion of site director Dr. Michael Staver. Current requests include a video game console and monthly allowance for games (granted, with restriction), installation of speakers in cell and access to radio (granted), access to religious services (granted, with restriction), and alteration in diet (denied).

 

Description: AP-0276 is a Caucasian female human aged twenty-two years which exists in a symbiotic relationship with a malevolent spiritual entity. Entity is resistant to all known exorcism techniques and exhibits periodic control over AP-0276. Previous evidence suggests that the entity cannot terminate this relationship except by death of host, at which point it is able to enter the same relationship with another host. Entity has exhibited control over host’s body and multiple other abilities, including the capacity to produce pathogenic bacteria and access to information which is not available to AP-0276; testing to determine the origin and extent of these abilities is ongoing.

 

Acquisition: Recovered by Keeper agents following suicide of previous host.


AO-0359

 

Containment: Object to be kept in a standard medium-security locker in Beijing facility, with following modifications. Object to be suspended in copper wire within locker, and locker interior is not to exceed 2% relative humidity. Wire to be checked weekly for corrosion.

 

Description: Object is a gold medallion, roughly circular in shape and 17 cm in diameter. The rim of the medallion is incised with runes in the Younger Futhark alphabet; expert analysis suggests these runes do not express a coherent meaning and were likely chosen by someone with little knowledge of the alphabet used.

 

Upon coming into contact with water, AP-0359 produces a solution of nitric acid. Current theory suggests this is done via a specialized Otherside connection; testing to determine the details of this connection is ongoing. Contact with silver inhibits this process. Contact with most other materials produces similarly corrosive substances.

 

Copper has been found to be approximately 70% as effective at inhibiting acid production as silver, and considerably cheaper. As such, containment procedures have been updated to use copper rather than silver wire. Testing to determine whether inhibition is related to electrical conductivity is ongoing.

 

Acquisition: Seized during a Watcher raid on a wizard suspected of violating the name-alteration ban.


AO-0550

 

Containment: Kept in personal collection of Keeper Anastasia Blake.

 

Description: Object is a knife, 63 cm in length, with a bone handle. Analysis suggests that the blade is composed of a high-carbon steel alloy and the bone is human in origin, most likely the femur of an adolescent or young adult human. Upon cutting living tissue, AO-0550 causes rapid putrefaction of surrounding tissues. This effect does not occur when cutting nonliving objects, including corpses. Testing to determine how this effect functions and how it distinguishes between living and nonliving tissue is ongoing.

 

Acquisition: Found by Keeper Anastasia Blake during a raid on a vampire collective in southern Italy.


AP-0593 (AKA “Julian King”)

 

Containment: Released from containment due to budgetary limitations. Agents are to observe for further developments, and if possible prevent further incidents.

 

Description: AP-0593 is an Indian male aged 31 years. During the 24 hours of the full moon he exhibits a markedly different personality, including information which he has no known way of having acquired. This change is accompanied by the manifestation of abilities which do not closely map to known human magic, including accelerated growth of nearby plants, increased healing rate of nearby animals, and alterations in the perception of humans, who typically report favorable impressions of AP-0593 regardless of typical attitudes towards him. AP-0593 claims no understanding of or control over these effects.

 

Magical signatures associated with these effects most nearly match rakshasa signals of known signatures. Inquiries to rakshasas regarding AP-0593 have to date not received any response.

 

Subject has exhibited similar changes, with slight variations in personality and effects, during other celestial events, including solar and lunar eclipses, and at least one planetary alignment.

 

Acquisition: Found during an independent investigation led by the Blake clan following numerous reports of unusual occurrences.

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2 Responses to Interlude 13.z: Selections From Keeper Anomaly Log

  1. Ari

    Do AO and AP stand for Anomalous Object and Anomalous Person?

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