SCP Foundation

Lord Theodore Thomas Blackwood.

INTERVIEWER: Doctor Hedvig Nussbaum, Parahistory Division, Special Consultant on Anomalous Cults and Cultures

SUBJECT: SCP-1867 ("Lord Theodore Thomas Blackwood")

«BEGIN LOG»

SCP-1867: Evening, madam!

NUSSBAUM: Hello, Lord Blackwood.

SCP-1867: I must say, it's heartening to see someone of the gentler sex in such an academic position. Warms the cockles of my heart.

NUSSBAUM: … Right. Well, we would like to talk to you about one of the items recovered from your vault. A journal titled "Lord Blackwood in the First Cities of Man".

SCP-1867: Of course, of course. Penned from 1800 to 1824. Does the journal not answer your questions? I recall being very thorough.

NUSSBAUM: Water damage has left it unreadable.

SCP-1867: I see, that's a shame. Well! It's been quite a while, but I remember that adventure fondly. Initiated by a gift given to me by one Monsieur Jacques Brazeau of le estate Noir. Agents of the French crown had recovered it before the revolution from an ancient shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.

NUSSBAUM: What was it?

SCP-1867: A set of six clay tablets, remarkably preserved for their age. Detailing the existence of three empires spanning Asia, thousands of years old and more powerful and advanced than any culture since, even our own. And, of course, their nigh-apocalyptic war.

NUSSBAUM: You would think something like that would leave evidence.

SCP-1867: Yes, I was similarly skeptical upon my first reading of the tablets. But they addressed those inquiries - these empires were advanced occultists, magicians and magic-users, ruled by sorcerer-nawabs. Hiding their cities from their enemies was a trivial task, and exactly why the mundane scholars have found nothing.

NUSSBAUM: But not you, I take it?

SCP-1867: Exactly correct, madam. I believe I have a copy of one of the pages from the journal stashed away somewhere, I'll see if we can't find that. But in simplest terms, the first of the three great cities of Man was Amoni-Ram, located in the sands of Arabia. As luck would have it, Monsieur Brazeau was accompanying General Bonaparte - still a general at the time, thank heavens - on his campaign into Egypt. Simple matter for me and a small expedition to tag along and then diverge into the peninsula.

NUSSBAUM: So you knew the location of the city at this point?

SCP-1867: In a fashion. You see, the tablets claim Amoni-Ram was hidden after the other empires allied to attack it, as it was a superior center of knowledge and weaponry. Only those who knew its location could enter. And its location happened to be recorded in the tablets. Three days into the desert, we found it. It was like passing into a bubble, and the towers became visible over the horizon.

NUSSBAUM: Towers, you said?

SCP-1867: Great buildings fashioned of metal, impossibly tall - easily hundreds of meters. A bronze glow set them alight from the sun overhead. There must have been a dozen of these sky-scraping buildings, between them resting smaller but still grand buildings of marble, stone, clay. Towering minarets and domes like those found in Mohammedan temples. A grand sight, altogether. The city must have been able to hold hundreds of thousands of people - we explored a tiny fraction of the surface portion.

NUSSBAUM: There was a subterranean area?

SCP-1867: Even bigger than the surface, I would say. Again, we could not explore deep - the underground rapidly transitioned from grand hollows and caverns to a winding, labyrinthine tunnel system, metal pipes and doors and rivets all throughout. Machinery I could not begin to guess the purpose of, all still as death.

NUSSBAUM: Did you find any entities inside the city?

SCP-1867: No living ones, though my men repeatedly claimed they heard something skittering about while we stayed in the city. I dismissed it as wildlife, sand rabbits or such. We never saw anything.

NUSSBAUM: What about dead ones?

SCP-1867: Yes. Entire sections of the tunnels were impassable - growths of a strange black vine, as thick as a man, winding and knotting entire passageways. It appeared petrified. There were also curious bulbous sacs sticking to the walls and ceiling of many buildings, under and above ground. I prodded these with my sword - they leaked, spewing out a decomposing specimen that smelled like death. An impossibly emaciated man, skin burnt away by the acid. We did not touch them again.

NUSSBAUM: Sounds like something bad happened there.

SCP-1867: Indeed. Throughout, the city has a very specific…. air, I suppose.

NUSSBAUM: An air?

SCP-1867: The distinct feeling of walking into a graveyard.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

MAGELLAN-1: We're coming up to the coordinates now. Set her down nice and easy, we'll walk the last klick, over.

MAGELLAN-5 (PILOT): Roger that, over.

[MAGELLAN-5 drops altitude, lowering the helicopter to the ground. The rest of MAGELLAN team disembarks.]

MAGELLAN-2: Location is directly due north, sir.

MAGELLAN-4: About a point-seven klick walk.

MAGELLAN-1: Right. Let's get going.

[Over the next 14 minutes, MAGELLAN team closes in on the coordinates of SCP-001.]

MAGELLAN-3: Closing in, sir.

COMMAND: Over. Continue through, keep on radio contact.

MAGELLAN-1: Got it, over.

[Over the next several minutes, all members of MAGELLAN fan out over the nearby area to try and locate SCP-001. They are unsuccessful.]

MAGELLAN-1: Command, we can't find anything out here. Our instruments aren't showing anything either, it looks like regular old de—

COMMAND: Magellan, we are no longer reading Magellan-Four's biometrics. Please confirm?

[MAGELLAN-4 is no longer present in the area.]

MAGELLAN-2: Magellan-Four? Chris? Do you copy?

MAGELLAN-1: Safet—

MAGELLAN-4: (Over radio) This is Magellan-four, over. The hell did you guys go?

MAGELLAN-3: We're still here, where did you go?

MAGELLAN-4: Wait, you- hold on.

[MAGELLAN-FOUR partially reappears. His upper half juts out from midair, as if he is leaning through a doorway.]

MAGELLAN-1: Oh. You found it. Well done. Command, permission to enter?

COMMAND: Permission granted. Apparently radios still work in there, keep in contact, over.

[MAGELLAN team enters SCP-001. Biometrics are lost, audiovisual contact is lost for thirteen seconds. Satellite uplink reestablished, and a video feed from MAGELLAN-4's ocular implants begins coming through. The other three members of MAGELLAN are visible, standing on a sand dune. Several hundred meters ahead of them, a massive glass-and-metal city stands shining in the sunlight. Its skyscrapers are hundreds of meters tall, bordering broad avenues of sandstone.]

MAGELLAN-2: Oh, man.

MAGELLAN-4: That is…. wow. That's beautiful.

COMMAND: Please enter the city and begin initial exploration.

[MAGELLAN continues into the streets of Amoni-Ram. The larger skyscrapers are made of a bronze-colored metal and polished glass, while the smaller buildings seem to be constructed from a blend of limestone bricks and concrete. All buildings exhibit an architectural style reminiscent of Islamic and Moroccan architecture. The streets appear to have designated sections for pedestrians and larger traffic.]

MAGELLAN-2: This place is thousands of years old, why do they have streets with lanes?

MAGELLAN-4: The rest of the place looks awfully advanced. Maybe they had early anomalous cars or something, I don't know.

MAGELLAN-3: (Exiting a home) These are all fully furnished, too. It looks lived-in. Like everyone up and left midway through dinner.

MAGELLAN-4: (Pause) You guys hear that?

MAGELLAN-1: No, what is it?

MAGELLAN-4:(Pause) Nothin', thought I heard a rat or something.

[MAGELLAN continues through the city. They encounter large stairways inset into the ground, leading to the subterranean sections. They return before descending more than a few meters.]

MAGELLAN-3: Blackwood wasn't lying, looks like there's a pretty substantial underground part to the city, almost like a metro or something. It's dark and smells musty as hell down there though, I can't see a thing. Wouldn't suggest descending without the Rats.

COMMAND: Noted, thank you.

[MAGELLAN continues, arriving in a heavily deteriorated section of the city. The buildings look heavily damaged, with entire sections exploded and left to the elements.]

MAGELLAN-2: Oh, crap. Command?

[Before them lies a deep hole in the ground. At the bottom, a large pile of skeletons is visible.]

MAGELLAN-3: Pit trap?

MAGELLAN-1: No, no obvious method of death at the bottom. And the remains are too intact for them to have died on impact. It's a mass grave.

MAGELLAN-4: Jesus. What happened here?

MAGELLAN-2: What's that at the bottom?

MAGELLAN-1: Looks like one of the vines Blackwood mentioned. Hell if I'm going down there, though. If he's right, there should be plenty around to grab samples from.

[After two hours of walking through the ruined portion of the city, encountering many more graves, MAGELLAN approaches the low, wide complex in the approximate center of SCP-001. It is only a few stories high, but much more grand, decorated in wide bas-reliefs and illustrated façades with ceramic tiling.]

MAGELLAN-2: Fancy. Between the location and the grandeur, I think it's a palace or a temple.

MAGELLAN-4: It does look very… holy. Permission to enter?

COMMAND: Permission granted.

[MAGELLAN enters the compound. The interior is an open-air courtyard with a central, thirty-meter statue of a man sitting on a throne. The man's face is obscured by an intricate mask, and his robes fall away to reveal a torso made of metal plating.]

MAGELLAN-4: Looks kingly, alright.

MAGELLAN-3: I sure hope that's not life-size.

MAGELLAN-2: Check out these walls, Command. They look almost like… no, they're definitely telling a story. Should get somebody smarter than us to take a look at it.

Amoni-ram, palace.

COMMAND: Roger. Continue into the palace for now.

[MAGELLAN enters through the large doorway, into a central court area. An oversized throne, inset with gears and swords, sits on a raised daïs at the opposite end. The interior of the palace is vast - the following hour is spent exploring its various staterooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. The vast gardens are completely bare of greenery, and as with the rest of the city, no living thing is present. MAGELLAN returns to the throne room.]

MAGELLAN-3: This place gives me the creeps. It doesn't feel abandoned but… where is everyone?

MAGELLAN-1: No idea. In any case, it's getting late, we should pack it in and-

[MAGELLAN-4 turns to the wall, raising a hand. As with the rest of the city, there are numerous pipes running across the walls.]

MAGELLAN-1: - Four?

MAGELLAN-4: (Speaking to wall) It's okay, you can come out. We won't hurt you.

[A metallic skittering is audible from inside the pipe. The other three members of MAGELLAN draw their sidearms.]

MAGELLAN-3: (Whispering) Four, what are you ta-

[MAGELLAN-4 shushes him. A few seconds later, a metallic automaton resembling a horseshoe crab gingerly peeks out of a hole in the pipe It slowly approaches and climbs onto Four's outstretched arm.]

MAGELLAN-1: Command, you seeing this?

COMMAND: Roger. It doesn't seem to be dangerous - don't shoot anything, but don't let your guard down. Head on back.

MAGELLAN-1: Got it, over. At least there's only-

[A louder skittering becomes audible. Around the throne room, a larger number of automatons, all small but varying in shape, peer out of the various pipes.]

MAGELLAN-1: Oh.

«END LOG»

I've encountered many strange, unique things over my career at Prometheus and the Foundation, but I can firmly state that I've never seen anything quite as magical as Amoni-Ram.

So far we've only been able to investigate the machinery on the surface city (I'm told the real treasure is under the streets, but obviously we can't explore that right now) which appears to be largely concentrated in the upper floors of the skyscrapers, though I think calling them skyscrapers is an understatement. Each is about 500m, a little taller than Sears Tower. A marvel of engineering in and of itself, but not an obviously anomalous one. What they contain, however, is a different story.

For my layman's perspective, they appear to be a combination of residential, office, and bureaucratic buildings. Each floor seems to consign itself to one of those three types, and contains appropriate pieces of technology - most are too degraded to be useful, but the fact that they're there at all after thousands of years is incredible. I can discern the purposes of about a quarter of them, though. They're all anomalous to some extent - the drones are writing up detailed reports now, but they variously break laws of thermodynamics, physics, and matter conservation, and often simply use magic to do things as mundane as copy documents or keep food hot or cold.

SCP-001-A instance.

And, of course, the automata. Little machines, made of a golden metal and built to resemble animals that this culture in the middle of the desert could have no possible way of knowing about. Definitely sentient, possibly sapient - fully mechanical (I found a broken-open one on the street and took it as a sample, picture attached) but demonstrating what looks to me like primitive artificial intelligence. There must be hundreds of them, at least - my guess is that they were designed to maintain the city and, for the millenia it's lain abandoned, they've been doing exactly that. They're pretty cute, to be honest.

Whatever this civilization was, the anomalous was so pedestrian to them they were using paratechnology we even now barely understand as household appliances and servants. They were playing with nuclear reactors while the rest of us huddled in caves behind the fire. If this is any indicator of what lies below the streets… Amoni-Ram might be the key to pushing humanity into the future.

I have to continually pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. A vast city, undocumented by anyone else in the modern era, hiding a culture that had blended advanced magic and technology to settle half of Asia while the Egyptians had yet to settle the Nile. If the evidence wasn't surrounding me, I'd call myself a liar.

We've already discovered much. Some of the researchers are more interested in investigating the individual houses and homes to see what an average citizen lived like - completely understandable. That said, I'm far more intrigued by this 'Cult of Mekhane' that seems to pervade every aspect of Amoni-Ram.

In the ruins of Sumer and other ancient cities, religious iconography is common. Here, it's ubiquitous; the palace-temple is the most obvious example of this, with mechanical bas-reliefs that seem to tell a creation myth laid throughout. The buildings, houses, shops, skyscrapers, even the machinery Robert's team is disassembling have this religious significance about them.

It's especially fascinating since practically nothing else is known to us about the religion or culture of these 'Mekhanites' beyond the admittedly-questionable statements of Lord Blackwood. Even the name Mekhanite is a Greek epithet used in the Aegean tablets, derivative of mekhane; machine. As it stands, their culture is a blackbox, and even with the murals and writings, I doubt we will ever have more than a passing understanding of this once-great civilization - and what happened to them.

«BEGIN LOG»

ECHO-1: Echo One, beginning Op. Inserting into Amoni-Ram subterranean zone from Entrance Alpha, near home base.

ECHO-2: Looks dark down there. Night vision?

ECHO-1: Sounds good.

[Members of ECHO team activate night vision on their ocular implants.]

ECHO-4: Alright. Here we go. Descending now.

[Members of ECHO begin going down the stairwell.]

COMMAND: You'll have to describe to us what you're seeing, Echo.

ECHO-2: Not much right now, just… stairs. Kinda fancy stairs. Marble or something.

ECHO-3: Not exactly what you'd use for industrial applications.

ECHO-4: Might not be an industrial area at all.

[They continue their descent before their elevation stabilizes.]

ECHO-1: Alright, we appear to have reached the bottom. Instruments say we are 25m below ground.

ECHO-3: We're in some sort of corridor. Walls are stone but there's those same pipes in every direction. There's a couple of paths we could take.

ECHO-1: Taking the first left, left-hand rule. Leave a marker trail.

Ocular implant still image.

[ECHO team begins walking down the corridor, periodically marking the wall with red paint. It is wide enough to comfortably accommodate all of them.]

ECHO-2: Looks like there's lights on the walls. Nonfunctional, though.

ECHO-4: I see something up ahead, I think. Down on the left.

ECHO-1: Yup. Eyes up, boys.

[ECHO team advances into the room.]

ECHO-3: Clear.

ECHO-2: Looks like some sort of foundry, command. Huge room, assembly line, lots of big machinery. Most of it looks trashed, though.

ECHO-4: Taking photos. The techies will love this.

Ocular implant still image.

[Team moves around the room, collecting evidence and surveying the area.]

ECHO-1: Let's not spend the day down here, folks. Keep moving.

ECHO-3: Yep, packing up now.

ECHO-4: Onwards and downwards.

[Team exits the room, continuing on their path. The corridor gently slopes downward.]

ECHO-1: Descending again.

ECHO-2: Air quality degrading. Nothing anomalous, but I'd wager the ventilation down here isn't so good.

ECHO-3: Wow, I wonder why.

ECHO-1: Yeah. Command, I'd recommend gas masks for any trips down here, just to be on the safe side. How low are we now?

ECHO-2: We've dropped to 30m, and we're at a fork in the road. Left-

[Team is interrupted by a noise coming from the pipes. After several seconds, it ceases.]

ECHO-1: Safeties off. I don't trust those crab things. Four, you watch our rear.

ECHO-4: Yes sir.

ECHO-1: Don't just stand there, people. Keep moving.

[The team continues down the fork and encounters a corridor with several doors inset into the stone. Team enters the nearest door.]

ECHO-2: Workshop of some sort. Small room, desks along the wall…. I think that was paper at some point. Nothing particularly interesting, moving on.

[The rest of the rooms are similarly workshop-spaces or storage closets. The team continues down the paths for several minutes, discovering other small, non-notable facilities and takes a left at the next fork, into a hallway made of metallic pipes.]

ECHO-3: Ow.

ECHO-1: Something wrong?

ECHO-3: No, sorry. Implant's just acting kind of wonky.

ECHO-2: Is it flickering and going staticky?

ECHO-3: Yeah, how did you-

ECHO-2: Happening to mine too. I asked some of the scientists, they mentioned their augments have also been a little cranky. City obviously has a weird relationship with tech, they're working on figuring out what.

ECHO-4: Huh.

Ocular implant still image.

ECHO-3: Well, don't go- Fuck!

[ECHO-3 loses his footing and is grabbed by ECHO-2 as the pipework beneath shears away and collapses. A large section falls into the abyss below, landing with a splash.]

ECHO-2: Woah, you good?

ECHO-3: Yeah, Jesus. Thanks. And, uh, I think we've discovered the sewers.

ECHO-1: That fuckin' reeks. Looks like the underground was for all the maintenance of the city - construction, making those little robots, essential functions to keep it running.

ECHO-4: Yeah, and it looks like the underground part hasn't aged quite as well as the city aboveground.

ECHO-1: Mm. Well, we're not getting through here. Let's go back, take the other way.

[For the next hour, ECHO team explores the vast tunnel system, marking points of interest and unsafe routes and passages. They encounter a sector entrance that appears to be overgrown by black vines.]

ECHO-4: Those plants the other guys mentioned.

[ECHO-2 reaches down to take a sample. At his touch, the entire vine crumbles into a fine black dust. He places it in a sample bag.]

ECHO-2: It's dead, at least. But look there.

[On the wall, a human skeleton is pinned against the concrete by the vines. Several are wrapped around the limbs and several jut through the ribs and into the concrete.]

ECHO-3: Ouch.

ECHO-1: A plant that kills. Stay sharp.

ECHO-4: And here's one of those pods.

[A roughly square-meter sized ellipsoid pod sits on a stalk protruding from the length of the vine. ECHO-4 gives it a sharp jab with their rifle butt - it ruptures, leaking a foul-smelled black liquid that dissolves the vine it comes into contact with. An object tumbles out into the puddle.]

ECHO-4: Yep. Corpse. Highly decomposed, just like Blackwood found.

[ECHO team continues through the tunnels, encountering a large amount of the vines with their victims. They also encounter mass graves similar to those found by MAGELLAN on the surface.]

ECHO-2: These walls are all covering machinery, I just realized. I can see parts through the cracks in the metal.

ECHO-4: Probably more city maintenance. Probably magic.

ECHO-3: You think the entire undercity is a machine?

ECHO-2: It could be. We'd have to do some mapping but it wouldn't be the least believable thing here.

[ECHO team are interrupted by another clanging throughout the pipe system, this one considerably closer. They raise their firearms. After a few seconds, an SCP-001-A instance shaped like a small monkey leaves the pipe system from a gap, moving past ECHO team. At the corner ahead, it turns to look at them.]

ECHO-4: Cute.

ECHO-2: … I think it's asking us to follow it, sir.

ECHO-1: Seems like it. Okay, follow the monkey, I guess. Be careful.

[ECHO team follows the SCP-001-A instance for thirty-five minutes as it leads them deeper underground and through the subterranean facility, over large abysses and through rooms of large, complex machinery and displays. Eventually, it stops as they enter a cavernous room containing a single large object at its far end. Their location is directly under the palace in the center of the city.]

ECHO-1: What… is that?

ECHO-4: … It looks like a person.

ECHO-3: What the hell?

[The object is a massive block of metal covered in gears, displays, circuitry, and vacuum tubes extending throughout the room to more machinery arranged along the walls. At the front of the block of metal, a vaguely humanoid figure juts outward, hanging into the empty air like a figurehead. A human head, arm, and upper chest are placed on a mostly-mechanical frame. It looks upward as ECHO team approaches, firearms raised. It opens its mouth and a stilted, feminine voice with a digital edge booms out from the machine.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU HAVE ENTERED THE GATE OF THE WEST, ADYTUM'S ANSWER, THE GREAT AND HOLY CITY OF AMONI-RAM. WELCOME. THERE IS MUCH TO DISCUSS.

«END LOG»

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

[The party enters the chamber. SCP-001-A1's bodily components hang limply from the wall.]

NUSSBAUM: Um. Hello?

ARAM: Is it… alive?

[SCP-001-A1's head twitches upward.]

SCP-001-A1: NO. WELCOME.

NUSSBAUM: [Startled] Oh, mein gott.

ARAM: What… are you?

SCP-001-A1: I AM. I WAS, I REMAIN. WHAT ARE YOU?

NUSSBAUM: We are scholars, wishing to investigate the history of this city.

SCP-001-A1: SCHOLARS?

[SCP-001-A1's head goes limp. The wall of machinery behind it shudders. For several seconds, it bursts into a flurry of activity with a shuddering thrashing; small objects fly through the vacuum tubes, gears can be seen turning and ticking, primitive lights flicker on and off. It winds down as SCP-001-A1 raises its head again.]

SCP-001-A1: THE GREAT GRAND CITY OF AMONI-RAM IS HOME TO FOU-FOU-FOUR ACADEMIES, SIXTEEN SCHOOLS, AND SCORES OF SCHOLARS AND LEARNED MEN. DISCOVERING. WORKING. BLENDING THE GIFTS OF GOD. WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO CALL YOURSELF A SCHOLAR?

NUSSBAUM: I- Anyone who seeks knowledge can call themselves a scholar, I suppose. And we have not seen anyone else since we arrived here.

SCP-001-A1: YOUR ARMY ARRIVED HERE TWO CYCLES AGO.

ARAM: How'd you figure that out from down here?

SCP-001-A1: HAVE BEEN OBSERVING. THE AUTOMATA ARE SCHOLARS. THEY ARE SERVANTS, SOLDIERS, AND EVERYTHING ELSE. I HAVE LEARNED YOUR LANGUAGE FROM SEEING YOUR TROOPS, THE WHITE-COATS AND THE TAN-PATTERNS.

NUSSBAUM: I see. You see what the -A instances see?

SCP-001-A1: THEY ARE THE EYES AND I AM THE HARD METAL MIND. AND YOU HAVE COME TO CONQUER MY CITY.

NUSSBAUM: Oh, no no no. We are not an army.

SCP-001-A1: ARMIES HAVE GENERALS. GENERALS, KINGS, PRIESTS. THREE MEN WHO MUST BE GUARDED. YOU WALK IN HERE WITH GUARDS. YOU CLAIM YOU ARE NO GENERAL - KING AND QUEEN? LEADERS OF YOUR PEOPLE?

ARAM: How come we can't be priests?

SCP-001-A1: I AM A PRIEST. YOU HAVE NO SHRED OF GOD IN YOUR HEART. I CAN SMELL IT.

ARAM: Then - yes, I suppose we're leaders of our people.

SCP-001-A1: WELCOME, MECHANIST AND SCHOLAR. TO THE SECOND SPIRE, WHITE CITY OF THE BROKEN EMPIRE, FINGER OF MEKHANE, THE FULADH THRONE - THE GREAT AND HOLY CITY OF AMONI-RAM.

ARAM: Woah.

NUSSBAUM: I- wow. Could you…. explain what that means?

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE UNAWARE OF OUR HISTORY. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?

NUSSBAUM: We are not… entirely sure of how long it has been since… whatever happened here. But thousands of years, at the minimum. We didn't think anyone would still be alive.

[Once again, SCP-001-A1 goes limp and appears to be computing something for several seconds.]

SCP-001-A1: I AM NOT ALIVE.

ARAM: Are you… some sort of machine?

SCP-001-A1: YES. YOU ARE MEAT-WET-DRIPPING TO THE BONE. I AM THE KISS OF GOD, SHINING STEEL AND FULADH. I AM MADE IN THE MEKHANE'S IMAGE, AND YOU ARE EVERYTHING I AM NOT.

[ARAM raises his hand.]

ARAM: Alright, we're running in circles he-

SCP-001-A1: STOP.

[ARAM freezes.]

SCP-001-A1: YOUR ARM. LET ME SEE IT.

[An SCP-001-A instance detaches itself from the wall and approaches ARAM, lightly scaling his coat and onto his prosthetic arm, inspecting it for several seconds. During this time, ARAM says nothing. Eventually, the instance drops to the floor and skitters away.]

SCP-001-A1: AMONI-RAM WAS A CITY OF SCIENCE AND BLESSING. THE MEKHANE'S GIFT TO US, THE GOLDEN METAL, THE FULADH. IT ALLOWED US TO CONSTRUCT WONDERFUL THINGS. EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD PRESENTED WITH AUGMENTATIONS LIKE THESE, LIKE YOURS, TO BECOME SOMETHING BETTER THAN HUMAN.

ARAM: I'm not the only one. The vast majority of our personnel in the city have some form of augment. Doctor Nussbaum and all our security personnel have oculars, I have my prosthetics, and there are countless others.

[SCP-001-A1 is silent.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE ALLOWED ENTRY TO THE CITY OF AMONI-RAM. YOU WILL RECORD OUR HISTORY AND OUR CREATIONS. I WILL ASSIST YOU. YOU WILL MAKE SURE WE ARE NOT FORGOTTEN. YOU WILL BE OUR LEGACY.

[Silence.]

SCP-001-A1: I HAVE NOT BEEN REPAIRED IN MANY REVOLUTIONS. THERE ARE GAPS-HOLES-FLAWS IN MY MEMORY. BUT THE TEMPLE CONTAINS AN INEXORABLE RECORD OF OUR CITY'S GODLY CREATION. I WILL GIVE YOU A TRANSLATION. YOU WILL ASK ME FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.

ARAM: We're also going to need insight on the technology of the city.

SCP-001-A1: YES. I WILL ANSWER ANY INQUIRIES YOU HAVE, MECHANIST. THE AUTOMATA WILL SHOW YOU THE PATHS OF THE LABYRINTH THAT ARE UNSAFE. THE REAL WONDERS OF THE CITY LIE BELOW.

NUSSBAUM: I- Thank you. We are in your debt.

SCP-001-A1: NO. A BARGAIN HAS BEEN STRUCK. A FAIR EXCHANGE. WE SHOW YOU, AND YOU PRESERVE THE MEKHANITE EMPIRE. GO NOW.

«END LOG»

The temple courtyard contains intricate murals depicting what Dr. Nussbaum theorizes is a creation myth for the extant Mekhanite culture. Accompanying these are plaques bearing an inscription in Mekhanite. While the rest of the archaeological team investigated the rest of the city, a small team was dedicated to translating the courtyard engravings.

Side Description: First relief depicts a scene of three figures wrestling in a dark void, followed by the figures falling to different corners of a slightly inaccurate² map of Asia. One lands in the far corner of the Indian subcontinent, one lands on the coast of China, and one lands in the center of the Arabian peninsula. This final figure dominates the rest of the scenes; it is revealed to be a massive but lithe figure dressed in golden armor. A shepherd, his wife, and his three lame sheep happen upon it buried in the sand, obviously wounded.

Translation of Plaque: BEFORE THE NEW PANTHEON, BEFORE THE SMOKE AND THE SINGING, THE OLD GODS FOUGHT THEIR WAR OVER NOTHING. THEY WOUNDED EACH OTHER AND FELL, TWISTING AND WRITHING, TO THE LOWEST WORLD. MEKHANE, BLESSED BE HER NAME, ALIGHTED IN THE FAR WEST UNDER THE SCORCHING GAZE OF THE SUN. SHE RESTED IN THE DUNES, UNCOVERED BY THE FLOCK OF A SHEPHERD - BUMARO.

Side Description: The god reaches out and touches the shepherd and his wife. The shepherd's missing leg is replaced by a metal limb, and his shepherd's crook is replaced by a spear, both made from the golden metal. His wife's eyes glow gold, and large metal wings spring from her back. The sheep are armored over to resemble SCP-001-A instances. Together, the shepherd, his wife, and their flock attempt to raise the god from the sand.

Translation of Plaque: MEKHANE DREW FORTH HER TOUCH AND RAISED THEM. BUMARO'S LAME LEG REPLACED BY A GREAVE, HEDARA'S SIGHT RESTORED AND ALL GIVEN THE FORM OF THE ANGELS. GRATEFUL, THEY SOUGHT TO RAISE THEIR NEW GOD FROM HER TOMB, AND THEY FAILED.

Side Description: The god digs deeper, lying face down in the sand. It looks up at the shepherd and strips the armor from its massive fist. The shepherd takes the armor and fashions a simple forge, melting and reforging it into a suit of armor in the image of the god and a massive throne. He returns to his village, where the people naturally submit to him. Many are disabled and lacking limbs. They return to the resting place of the god, who touches them all in turn, replacing their shortcomings with its gifts. They rejoice and, as the god strips its armor, use the metal to construct a shining city on its back.

Translation of Plaque: SHE KNEW THAT THE WOUND WAS NOT MORTAL, BUT CRIPPLING. SHE UNDERSTOOD HER FATE - AND ENTRUSTED HER LEGACY TO BUMARO AND HIS BLOOD. HE BECAME THE FIRST BLACKSMITH, SHAPING THE METAL OF HER BODY AS SHE SHAPED LIFE ITSELF. HE MADE HIMSELF IN HER IMAGE, AND THE PEOPLE WERE AWED. FOR THEIR FAITH, THEY WERE UPLIFTED BEYOND THE CHAINS OF HUMANITY, AND FROM HER STRIPPED ARMOR THEY RAISED THE FIRST CITY ON THE BACK OF THE SLEEPING GODDESS - AMONI-RAM, CITY OF FULADH, SHINING GATE OF THE WEST.

From September to February, hundreds of pieces of technology were analyzed and investigated by the engineering team. While many were too degraded to be of any practical use, they were still highly illuminating in determining the technology level of the extant Mekhanite culture. A few particularly notable discoveries are attached:

Description: Four-meter poles inset into the ground at various intervals through the streets of Amoni-Ram. Six disc-shaped objects, a meter wide, top each pole. When an electrical current is applied to the pole, the discs begin to knock against each other, emitting radio waves of unclear purpose. Currently theorized to be some sort of conductor system for the city, possibly an attempt at creating a free, wireless power system.

Description: Large, partially subterranean greenhouses occupying a significant portion of the western district of the city. Copper pipes running underground gases alternatingly cool and heat them according to valves, and the greenhouses are several floors tall, utilizing novel organization and irrigation techniques. Operating at maximum efficiency, a large portion of the city's theorized half-a-million population could have been fed by them.

Description: A series of magnetically charged rails running through the city in a loop, though all the cars have been completely ruined. Applying a specific electrical charge allows rapid, high-speed movement through the city - based on the lack of stations or stopping points, this is believed to have been a "hop-on, hop-off" method of mass transit at extraordinarily low overhead.

Description: Small metal shields with two switches on the handle. When fully powered, one switch projects a rapidly-oscillating energy shield that protects the wearer against fast-moving kinetic objects. The shield can be maintained for up to twenty minutes on a full charge. The other switch projects a skintight shield that camouflages the wearer with their surroundings, effectively rendering them invisible. This is much more power-intensive and can only be maintained for three to six minutes depending on movement.

Description: Large constructs, two in every district, set into the ground, though not part of the undercity. The locks and seals have been damaged. Inside are large machines that have been investigated to contain radioactive material. Details are currently sealed, but the engineering team is of the opinion that these could have been functional nuclear or possibly cold-fusion reactors, supplying electricity to the city's power grid and 'power poles'.

Description: Unclear. Large sections of the undercity are inaccessible, making thorough analysis difficult - however, the engineering team agreed that a significant portion of the undercity appears to be one gargantuan machine incorporating mundane technology along with paratechnology. Further research required.

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

ARAM: Hello? SCP-001-A1?

[SCP-001-A1's head twitches upward.]

SCP-001-A1: THE SCHOLARS RETURN. IT HAS BEEN MANY CYCLES. I HAVE WATCHED.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, your little… automata. They have been very helpful.

SCP-001-A1: YES. WHAT ARE THESE ONES?

NUSSBAUM: Sorry?

[SCP-001-A1 flicks an arm at the doctors and researchers.]

SCP-001-A1: THESE ONES. THEY WERE NOT HERE LAST VISIT.

ARAM: Oh, yes. These are-

SCP-001-A1: YOUR ATTENDANTS?

ARAM: What?

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE A KING AND A QUEEN, YOU SAID. BUMARO AND HEDARA HAD ATTENDANTS TO SERVE THEM. ARE THESE YOUR ATTENDANTS?

NUSSBAUM: Er, no, it's not-

[ARAM motions at NUSSBAUM.]

ARAM: Yes, that's right. Our attendants. You can trust them, they're with us.

[SCP-001-A1's head stiffly nods.]

SCP-001-A1: DO THEY SPEAK?

ARAM: They can. And I think they've got some questions for you, if you're inclined to answer.

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE A STRANGE KING. I WILL ANSWER.

NUSSBAUM: Thank you. And we never did get a name for you, did we?

SCP-001-A1: YOU MAY CALL ME PRESERVER. IT IS MY FUNCTION.

NUSSBAUM: Excellent. A pleasure to meet you, Preserver.

[ARAM motions to the engineering team.]

ZAID: Right, yes, hello. We've been disassembling and investigating the machinery in the city and undercity, and we keep coming across this bronzish alloy. It's too hard to take samples from, and trying to break it has gotten us nowhere.

SCP-001-A1: YOU SPEAK OF THE FULADH.

ARAM: You've said that before, haven't you?

MCKINNON: We've seen the word in our translations.

SCP-001-A1: YES. THE FULADH IS A METAL, A GIFT FROM MEKHANE. WITH IT WE FORGED OUR SWORDS, OUR TECHNOLOGY, OUR VERY WAY OF LIFE. IT IS THE BACKBONE THE EMPIRE WAS BUILT ON. A SIGN OF FAVOR FROM GOD, THAT WE WERE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE. THE SMITHS KNEW HOW TO WORK AND MELT THE METAL BEST, BUT EVERY CITIZEN WAS EXPECTED TO KNOW. A NATION OF SWORDSMEN AND FOUNDRIES.

MCKINNON: The writings mention a 'Fuladh Throne'?

SCP-001-A1: THE THRONE CRAFTED BY BUMARO FROM THE FIRST INGOTS OF FULADH, STRIPPED FROM THE ARMOR OF MEKHANE HERSELF. IT IS HOLY BEYOND HOLINESS, DIVINE BEYOND DIVINITY. ITS VERY PRESENCE IS A SYMBOL OF POWER. AND NOW IT SITS EMPTY IN THE THRONE ROOM. DEVASTATION.

TENZ: Is it possible you could teach us to work the fuladh? It would be great to-

SCP-001-A1: YES. YOU WILL LEARN.

TENZ: Oh.

ARAM: Thank you, Preserver. I'll send some people down in the coming weeks. This will help.

SCP-001-A1: IT WAS AMONG THE GREATEST BOONS GIFTED TO OUR CULTURE. FULADH BECAME A BYWORD FOR UNBREAKABLE. BEAR IT WELL.

ZAID: We will. The things the Mekhanites did with it are… unbelievable. Advanced beyond belief.

SCP-001-A1: THE GREATEST CIVILIZATION THAT EVER STOOD.

BLASCOWITZ: Right. We also have questions about this "Bumaro". He seems to occupy a central place in the Mekhanite culture, religion, history, everything. Who was he?

SCP-001-A1: EMPEROR BUMARO WAS THE FIRST MORTAL MAN TO WITNESS THE MAJESTY OF THE BROKEN GOD IN ALL HER GLORY. HER SUNDERED FORM, LAID TO REST UNDER THE SANDS. A CRIPPLE AND A PEASANT, RAISED ABOVE HUMANITY BY THE GENEROSITY OF MEKHANE, GIVEN NEW FORM TO HIM, HIS FAMILY, HIS FLOCK, HIS PEOPLE - WHAT WOULD BECOME THE MEKHANITE EMPIRE.

BLASCOWITZ: Right, we gleaned as much from the creation myth-

SCP-001-A1: IT IS NOT A MYTH.

BLASCOWITZ: Pardon?

SCP-001-A1: A MYTH IS WHAT THE COVENANT USE TO SCARE THEIR CHILDREN. THE EMPEROR IS HISTORY. HIS EXISTENCE IS INDISPUTABLE.

MCKINNON: It says in the cylinder that he reigned for centuries.

ZAID: They figured out cold fusion and bionics in the 17th century BCE, is it so unbelievable they extended their lifespans?

BLASCOWITZ: Point taken.

SCP-001-A1: HE WAS GIVEN FORM IN HIS SON'S, AND HIS BLOODLINE LET HIM RAISE THE GREATEST ARMY EVER KNOWN, ALL TO BRING ORDER AND JUSTICE TO THE WORLD.

BLASCOWITZ: I suppose that covers the Empire part as well. Though - could you tell us more about these other two nations of man? We've seen them referenced many times, but nothing specific. Were they related to the fall of the city?

[A pause, as SCP-001-A1 once again appears lost in computation.]

SCP-001-A1: I DO NOT KNOW.

ARAM: Unfortunate. But I think that's all we have for you today - I believe Hedvig's people will be coming down for more interviews soon?

NUSSBAUM: That is right. Just trying to get a better image of the culture from someone who lived it.

SCP-001-A1: THIS IS… ACCEPTABLE.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

OPERATOR: Ley connection to Overwatch Command established. Doctor Nussbaum, Doctor Aram, O5-11 is waiting. Please step into the Communicator.

[NUSSBAUM and ARAM step onto the raised metal platform.]

NUSSBAUM: Oh, mein gott.

[The Leyspace cycles through several locations before settling into a view of a small asphalt parking lot in what appears to be the American Southwest. Mesas and bluffs dot the horizon, and the sun is high in the blue sky. There are no buildings or structures in sight; there is a single black Maybach parked in the lot. An older man in a finely pressed grey suit stands in front of it, hands in his pockets.]

O5-11: Hello, guys. Welcome to my little kingdom.

NUSSBAUM: Where… are we?

ARAM: A Leyspace. A virtual projection with no data transfer delay, all powered by the ley lines of the Earth. And it costs a fortune to run. I should know, I helped design it.

O5-11: Well, it did. But with the recent improvements that have come out of your project, it now only costs a small fortune to run, so thanks for that. Just one taste of what we've been able to do so far with SCP-001's technology. So! Tell me everything.

ARAM: Everything, sir?

O5-11: Everything important. I've read the reports, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth. Doctor Nussbaum? Your progress so far?

NUSSBAUM: Yes. We've recovered hundreds of tablets and engravings and mosaics across the city, and are in the process of translating them. The vast majority are simple, day-to-day affairs - business and legal records, personal correspondence, et cetera. All paint the picture of the Mekhanite culture - a society that was building a metropolis of the future while the glaciers from the Ice Age were still melting. They had a complex legal and justice system, a novel family structure incorporating distant cousins into large households and 'clans'-

O5-11: Yes, anthropology, fascinating. I was wondering if you had figured out any more of their later history?

NUSSBAUM: "Later history", sir?

O5-11: What happened to them. Between the technological and the archaeological reports, this was a culture that was undisputed as the most advanced in the world at the time, but they also keep mentioning this war with the other two nations, the- this "Adytum" of the Nälka Empire and the Mamjul referenced as the capital of the Daevite Covenant. What that signals to me - and do tell me if I'm wrong, please - is that these two empires were each powerful enough to withstand a war with the Mekhanite culture. And, depending on what happened to Amoni-Ram, bring it to its knees.

NUSSBAUM: I suppose so, sir, but the Aegean tablets do not give a precise location for the other two cities, and if we do want to find them - well, a location could be anywhere, in a shipping record, in a letter to a distant cousin-

O5-11: That's fine, but we need to figure out how this city died. And I'd be pretty goddamn willing to bet that the… things you found in the undercity are related. The flesh-thingies and the plants.

NUSSBAUM: Nothing has been confirmed yet. Though it does seem quite likely.

O5-11: Hmph. Well, in the meantime, see what you can get out of that robot down there… what's its name?

ARAM: Preserver. SCP-001-A1. And it's not a robot, it's an artificial intelligence.

O5-11: Whatever it is, it's hiding something from you. And speaking of which - this place had artificial intelligence when the Persians were figuring out irrigation?

ARAM: Far from the only breakthrough. If we can harness their cold fusion technology, their bionics, their power systems - reverse engineering any one of their innovations could change the world.

O5-11: Well- okay, slow your roll. We don't know what happened to them, like I said. For all we know, their technology led them to their downfall, so let's wait before getting any ideas of dragging the world into the 21st century early. Let's focus on changing the Foundation first, right Robert?

ARAM: Yes, sir.

O5-11: Good. But I suppose that if you want to improve the rate of research, you're going to need more people.

ARAM: Yes. I have a list of requisition requests. All sorts of machinery, excavation equipment, HAZMAT equipment and scientific machinery. Funding, of course.

O5-11: Naturally. Forward it to my Factotum, we'll take care of anything you need. We're very excited about this over at Site-01, you know. Very excited to see what comes out of Amoni-Ram next.

ARAM: We also need… people.

O5-11: How many people?

ARAM: Right now there's about 50 of us, and the security. But we're stretched thin to explore a whole city - I've run the numbers and 200 additional personnel would give us the arms we need.

O5-11: That's a lot of arms, Robert. Not something I can make happen with a snap of my fingers.

ARAM: I have a list of names I can forward. And it is a lot, but we've barely scratched the surface of what the Mekhanites left us, and already are reaping the rewards. Surely it's worth it?

O5-11: Can't disagree there. You'll have your people within two months. Might need to consider expanding.

ARAM: I'm inclined to agree, which is why I wanted to request your permission to see if we can get certain aspects of the city working again.

O5-11: Like what?

ARAM: The power grid, for one. We've mapped it out pretty well and it's surprisingly intact. I'm confident that with the extra arms and 001-A1's help, we could get the reactors online within the month.

O5-11: Hmph.

[Silence.]

ARAM: The better situated the city is, the more we can learn about the machinery. And the more we can improve the Foundation.

O5-11: I suppose so. Permission granted, just… stay safe. We're still working blind here. You both have your orders, anyway. Good luck.

[O5-11 opens the car door and gets inside, starting the engine. Simultaneously, the Leyspace collapses into darkness and ARAM and NUSSBAUM step backward.]

OPERATOR: Ley connection to Overwatch Command terminated.

«END LOG»

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

[SCP-001-A1's head twitches upward.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE REPAIRING MY CITY.

ARAM: Hello to you too. Yes, I suppose we are. I hope that's not a problem.

SCP-001-A1: NO.

ARAM: Your help was invaluable. The technology… it's a marvel. We would've taken years to figure it out alone.

SCP-001-A1: YOU WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY. NO MATTER.

NUSSBAUM: You might have noticed that there are a lot more of us lately.

SCP-001-A1: YES. YOU ARE SETTLING INTO THE RUINS.

NUSSBAUM: Well, no, I wouldn't-

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE ASSISTING MY CITY. YOU ARE PERMITTED.

NUSSBAUM: Oh. Well, thank you. I wanted to probe you on some history?

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: I DO NOT KNOW WHAT HELP I CAN BE. I HAVE GUIDED YOU TO THE HISTORICAL RECORDS.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, but we would like a… primary source. So you yourself remember nothing about the city you call home? What happened at the end of the Empire, perhaps?

[Pause.]

NUSSBAUM: I am deeply sorry if we offended-

SCP-001-A1: CURIOSITY SHOULD NEVER BE AN OFFENSE. BUT I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK. MY MEMORY - IT IS FRAGMENTED. MY MIND, SUNDERED. I REMEMBER LITTLE MORE THAN HAZES AND FLASHES. IMAGES. SITTING AT THE MARKET. EATING A FRUIT AND WAITING FOR MOTHER. PLAYING WITH THE OTHER CHILDREN AND FALLING. CRYING AS MY BROTHER FIXED THE WELDS AND SCREWS ON MY LEG. MY MIND IS NOT MY OWN.

ARAM: So you weren't always like this? You were… human?

SCP-001-A1: I WAS BETTER. I WAS A MEKHANITE.

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: THIS WAS NOT ALWAYS MY FORM. THIS MUCH I KNOW. BUT WHO I WAS, HOW I ARRIVED IN THIS STATE - I DO NOT. BUT I REMEMBER THE SKY CRACKING AS DOWN CAME THE WALLS AND THE LANCEMEN HELD BACK THE TIDE OF MONSTROSITIES AND VERDURE SO WE COULD ESCAPE TO THE UNDERCITY.

NUSSBAUM: …That does explain the corpses.

ARAM: Jesus.

SCP-001-A1: I CANNOT TELL YOU MY HISTORY, BECAUSE I DO NOT REMEMBER. BUT I CAN HELP YOU FIND IT YOURSELF.

NUSSBAUM: How?

SCP-001-A1: I TOLD YOU OF THE FULADH THRONE, AND HOW IT WAS USED BY EACH EMPEROR BUMARO TO CALL THE WISDOM OF ALL PREDECESSORS. IT ACCEPTS MEMORIES, IMPRINTED INTO SPECIAL CYLINDERS, AND FEEDS THEM TO ITS OCCUPANT THROUGH THEIR AUGMENTS.

NUSSBAUM: The cylinders we found in the basement.

ARAM: Wait, so - if I sat in the chair, the Throne, and someone fed the cylinder in, I would… see the memory? Feel it in my arm and leg?

SCP-001-A1: YES. ALL THAT IS REQUIRED IS THE FIST.

ARAM: The what?

SCP-001-A1: AN HEIRLOOM OF THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. A SPECIAL AUGMENT, ALLOWING THEM TO USE THE THRONE. THE THRONE IS ONE OF THE MOST MYSTICAL AND POWERFUL ARTIFACTS EVER CREATED. THE FIST ENSURES ONLY THOSE THAT WERE MEANT TO SIT ON IT COULD USE IT.

ARAM: Okay, where is this fist?

SCP-001-A1: YOU ALREADY HAVE IT.

ARAM: … The machine you gave me. It fits perfectly on the end of my arm. That's not a coincidence, is it?

SCP-001-A1: NO. BUT I AM AS BLIND TO WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE END OF THE MEKHANITES AS YOU. GO NOW, AND DISCOVER OUR LEGACY. TELL ME, SO I MIGHT REMEMBER WHAT I WAS BEFORE.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

NUSSBAUM: I am not sure about this, Robert.

ARAM: I trust Preserver. I'm the only one modded out enough to get a good view of what the memory is, and you need to be here to make sense of what I'm seeing. It'll be fine.

NUSSBAUM: Still.

ARAM: It's not like we have a lot of options if we want to figure out what happened.

[ARAM settles into the throne, placing the Fist into its depression.]

ARAM: Wow, this thing is uncomfortable. Go on and put the cylinder in.

NUSSBAUM: Okay. Your engineers are out by the power line. Just say the word and we'll shut it down. Are we recording? Okay.

[NUSSBAUM steps to the side of the throne, placing the metal canister into it. It sinks into the slot, and the Throne begins emitting a steadily increasing hum of machinery and clicking. After several seconds, a noise locks the Fist in place.]

ARAM: Oh shit, here we go-

[ARAM's eyes fill with a pale golden light, and he arches his spine, held in place by the Fist. He writhes wordlessly in the throne, gasping.]

NUSSBAUM: Robert?! ROBERT!

ARAM: Oh shit oh fuck oh fuck fuck fuck I see it oh God-

NUSSBAUM: Shu-

ARAM: NO! I CAN HANDLE IT!

[ARAM continues to writhe, bucking forward and backward in the throne, before abruptly ceasing and coming into a seated position.]

NUSSBAUM: Robert? Are you there? What do you see?

ARAM: Oh, my god. It's beautiful.

NUSSBAUM: What is?

ARAM: I'm - I'm standing on the palace, the balcony facing the- the Eastern district, the sun is rising. It's casting this fucking beautiful dappled light across the whole city, I can see all of it, the buildings, there's no skyscrapers. It's not ruined, it's perfect, the streets are bustling with activity, the markets- people are hawking their wares, shouting - it's a living, breathing fucking city. They're all - they all have bionics of some sort, the sun hits the horizon and I can see them, their arms or legs or faces shining. I'm turning - I'm turning away and heading into the palace- the scene changed.

NUSSBAUM: What is it?

ARAM: I'm - I'm sitting in a carriage - no, a car? Some sort of car-thing, being driven through the streets. There's guards all around me, armored and covered in swords and some sort of primitive gun - and I have the window down, people are throwing - no, offering things to me. Bread, wine, fruits, gifts - someone just slid a canvas in - it's - it's an oil painting of a man, a huge brown man with a beard and - oh, God. It's me. I'm Bumaro, it's a painting of me. Half the body is all fuladh, left leg and both arms. I'm smiling and waving to the people, we're talking - it's Mekhanite, I can't understand them-

NUSSBAUM: Just repeat the noises, I will translate later.

ARAM: "Thank you, your lord loves you. MEKHANE honors us all!" Just lots of happy shouting - okay, we're back in the palace now. I'm on the Throne, there's people in the throne room, soldiers I think. Generals. The important one is a woman, in this… dragon armor? They're all poring over a huge map of - I think it's Asia, it's all fucked up like the one in the engravings. There's lines drawn everywhere, symbols, there's three big circles - one is in Egypt, one's in India, one's on the Chinese coast. They're all yelling, and arguing - they're looking at me- I look away, to the right - there's a woman there. She's beautiful, her eyes are gone, there's just a golden mask but she's beautiful, there's this intricate set of golden metal-feathered wings on her back. "I love you so much" - there's a little boy next to her - it's my wife and son - I'm looking at the generals. I nod - "The Covenant go too far. Prepare the Golden Legion."

[The light disappears from ARAM's eyes and the locks release. He slumps backward, unconscious.]

NUSSBAUM: Robert! Medic!

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

NUSSBAUM: Do you feel alright?

ARAM: Dandy. I know what to expect this time - I'm prepared.

NUSSBAUM: Still. Do not go so far this time.

ARAM: Worried about me?

NUSSBAUM: About the Throne, dummkopf.

ARAM: Sure. I'm ready.

NUSSBAUM: Okay. It looks like last time, you saw the beginning of the Mekhanite Empire's war, possibly through the eyes of the original Bumaro. From there, we think we have managed to figure out a rough chronological order for the cylinders. So today I want to try to get something from the middle.

ARAM: Aren't we looking for what happened at the end?

NUSSBAUM: I doubt you would be able to discern who exactly is attacking the city in the panic and confusion. We need to go slightly back, try to see if we can deduce which way the winds are blowing, what the nature of the Nälka and the Covenant are, exactly.

ARAM: Okay.

NUSSBAUM: We also need to try to figure out the historical standing of these empires, their influence on their contemporaries.

ARAM: I don't exactly control what I see, you know.

NUSSBAUM: Aha, but I believe you can. It would not be very useful if the kings could not specify what knowledge they wanted to recall from their forefathers.

ARAM: How would I do it?

NUSSBAUM: Focus your thoughts, try to recall-

ARAM: You have no idea, do you?

[ARAM laughs.]

NUSSBAUM: Okay. Here we go.

[NUSSBAUM inserts the cylinder into the Throne, inciting the same reaction as before from ARAM, though significantly less violent and more controlled.]

ARAM: Oh, shit. Okay. It's different, it's all- wait. This isn't Amoni-Ram. This is somewhere else.

NUSSBAUM: Describe it to me.

ARAM: Still- yeah, still in the desert, but it's like… a movie desert, all perfect sand dunes. A stone city, wide- flat, not advanced like Amoni-Ram. Monuments. Statues. There's a river, it's fucking massive - wait, I've been here before. This is the Nile - this is Luxor. This is Thebes, we're in Egypt.

NUSSBAUM: There is our historical contemporary.

ARAM: It's late, the sun's setting. I'm - okay, I'm a Bumaro, sitting at the head of a caravan. We're riding automatons, six legged beetle-things - we're pulling into Thebes, there's a party waiting for us - we're being welcomed into the city - we're in a throne room now. There's a man sitting on a throne - it's a Pharaoh.

NUSSBAUM: Based on the time-frame… that would be Menkaure, the builder of the smallest of the Giza pyramids.

ARAM: We're.. talking, exchanging gifts. Pleasantry. Wait, no - I just sent all the servants out, it's just us and our bodyguards now. We're - discussing something. He just asked if he can expect my support against the - something called the Abominate? "My army is already spread thin to enforce peace on my land. I cannot afford to be involved in your affairs, Pharaoh." We're arguing - shouting. "The Abominate is marching on Amoni-Ram, and he will cut a swath through Egypt and stack your corpses to build a bridge across the Nile for his army." "If I rout the Covenant at Thamud, we can stand united-" He's - I said no. I'm leaving, he's angry. Why doesn't he understand? There are bigger things at stake!

NUSSBAUM: Robert, focus. What is happening?

ARAM: Same- no, different scene, different throne room. Different ruler - a man in a robe and turban. Looks Arab or Ottoman or something. He's shaking his head- now it's some sort of tribal chief, in a tent. A Rus prince. We're discussing establishing trade routes, selling our fuladh, the technology - they're willing to trade, but they don't want to get involved with the War and risk the Nälka or the Covenant.

NUSSBAUM: So there are contemporaries. But they did not risk their heads in a clash between titans.

ARAM: Okay, now- oh, sweet Christ.

NUSSBAUM: Robert?

ARAM: It's - oh my god. We're in a city - a ruined city. There's jungle around it. It's aflame - the sun is setting, the smoke's thick in the air and rising in plumes. I'm standing on a bluff, there's a regiment behind me - my soldiers, the Golden Legion, are lobbing things into the city. Firebombs and mortars. They're scaling the walls - the defenders are- they look Indian almost, they're running in terror, there's - ghosts? Some kind of spirits swirling in the air, mixing with the smoke. We're bringing down the walls and killing the soldiers on the battlements. I'm - there's someone behind me. The general, the woman, in the dragon armor. The troops are looking to her. I'm giving her a nod, and she screams something, and they charge down the bluff, this giant metal armor-suit leading the charge. They're shattering the line - Jesus, it's a fucking massacre. She's holding a sword up- holy shit, lightning just struck it. Now I'm in the city. I'm on my mount, surveying the ruins. The woman is beside me - I touch her head. I can see myself in her helmet. I'm young, I can't be more than 25, but I'm in the intricate battle armor. There's survivors - there's someone dragging themselves across the dirt, holding their guts in- Jesus! Fuck!

NUSSBAUM: What?

ARAM: She just stepped on his head. Something burst out - this spirit-flame thing, just shot into the air. His brains are on the dirt. Oh man, I'm gonna be sick.

NUSSBAUM: Focus, Robert, please. Try to think of Amoni-Ram.

ARAM: Oh- okay, we're there. I'm standing in the palace. It's - the city's militarized. There's guards in the streets and the walls have - are those machine gun turrets?

NUSSBAUM: Are you talking to someone?

ARAM: Yes. An engineer. "Is Mekhane's Kiss ready?" "We can't be sure without testing it, but we feel confident. The undercity has been retrofitted to fit all of the components - they require a simply tremendous power source, but it works." There's something in the distance- Oh- oh holy fuck.

NUSSBAUM: What is it?

ARAM: There's- mechs. They're gigantic, they have to be 200 feet tall. Four legs and two arms, they're moving slowly but they're fucking huge, I can see three of them from here. They're circling the city.

NUSSBAUM: Are they approaching?

ARAM: No. They're enforcing a perimeter. They're our weapons. Oh man. This isn't a war. This is an apocalypse.

NUSSBAUM: Okay. Time to take a break, I think.

ARAM: Yeah. Yeah.

[ARAM removes himself from the Throne.]

NUSSBAUM: Robert?

ARAM: Yes?

NUSSBAUM: When did you learn to speak Mekhanite and Egyptian?

ARAM: … I have no idea.

«END LOG»

I understand you're recovering from extended experimentation with the Throne - not to disturb your rest, but the team thinks we've come up with a solid theory on what the device under the city, the Mekhane's Kiss, is.

Just some background context - some of the geologists that came in during the second wave of personnel made some interesting but, at the time, irrelevant discoveries, amounting to the revelation that the sand within SCP-001 is of a slightly different chemical composition to the sand outside it. The sand inside is more similar to a kind of white sand found in a section of the Arabian desert several hundred miles to the north-east.

We didn't know what to make of it, but the recent research into the undercity has changed things. We've mapped out the whole device - it occupies 65% of the undercity's volume, practically everything is connected to it that isn't stuff like the sewers. Its components have also become more understandable with our new experience on Mekhanite design architecture and philosophy. The technology is antiquated, but it's almost all paratech - extremely powerful conduits, converters, connections, etc, all terminating in a small chamber emitting extremely high levels of radiation. We sent a protected probe in, warding it - it melted a few minutes later but we ran the pictures and energy signals against the database and got… nothing. We've never seen anything like it.

But then, Tenz decided to call in a few favors and run it against the GOC database. Apparently they have seen something like it, and tried to weaponize it - a long-distance, large-scale matter de/reconstructor and emitter. A gigantic teleporter, basically. Apparently big enough to move an entire city hundreds of kilometers. Mekhane's Kiss isn't a superweapon, it's a Hail Mary.

Unfortunately, it's completely burned out. It'd require a team months to get it back into remotely working order, and that's ignoring the problem of power. It's way too demanding to pull from the city's power grid - we think it draws directly from the cold fusion reactors, which is another impossibility. Plus we still don't know how it was controlled, or how any of the computation works without… well, computers. In any case, I don't think Amoni-Ram will be teleporting anywhere soon.

«BEGIN LOG»

[O5-11 is standing in one of Amoni-Ram's thoroughfares. An Alpha-1 agent stands on every nearby corner and window. The sun is directly overhead, but the cooling and power units on the street corners keep the air at room temperature. A hot, silent wind passes through the broadway. ARAM and NUSSBAUM approach from the north.]

NUSSBAUM: [Out-of-breath] Hello, sir.

ARAM: O5-11. Sorry about the welcome, we weren't expecting you.

O5-11: I arranged a meeting, didn't I?

NUSSBAUM: Yes, but we didn't expect you to, ah-

O5-11: Show up in person? Don't blame you, we're not exactly an outgoing bunch. But I've heard so many great things about this city over the past year. About its secrets, architecture, technology, culture, history. I wanted to see it for myself.

ARAM: Everything you were hoping for?

O5-11: That and more. I'll admit it does look a lot nicer now that you've started to rebuild the place.

ARAM: Thanks. We've managed to get primary power back online, along with the train system and a lot of the undercity's navigation maps and such. The power and climate control as well, obviously. We're going to try and get the city's weaponry back online soon, see what kind of defensive technology they were packing.

O5-11: Hold that thought. Doctor Nussbaum?

NUSSBAUM: Yes?

O5-11: I'm told your historical team has made several breakthroughs recently. Especially using the Throne-anomaly. Which, if I recall correctly, you're the primary test subject for, Doctor Aram?

ARAM: That's correct. We've done about a dozen tests since we discovered it - only a handful have turned up anything substantial, it's mostly fragmented memories from old kings. Watching as the streets swell with citizens and goods flood into the markets. Visions of battlefields as the Mekhanite army takes on the Covenant and the Nälka.

O5-11: Right. And of course, you've translated…. how many of the recovered tablets now?

NUSSBAUM: Dozens, over a hundred. But like the Throne records, most are simple, banal correspondence.

O5-11: But not the recent ones.

NUSSBAUM: Correct. I have a presentation compiled in my office. Shall we?

O5-11: Lead the way.

[NUSSBAUM, ARAM, O5-11, and the Alpha-1 operatives enter the office inside ARF-02. It fully covers one of the higher floors of the massive skyscraper. Inside, the furniture is a combination of metal and intricate stonework. A wall of windows looks out over the city. The group takes a seat in front of the desk.]

O5-11: Hm. I expected more of a… cantonment. But no, you seem quite comfortably set up here.

[NUSSBAUM laughs.]

NUSSBAUM: Well, we have been here for nearly a year now. Plenty of time to settle in. And expanding to the second site has also helped free up space. Everyone has their own chambers.

ARAM: Home sweet home.

NUSSBAUM: Anyway as you know, we have made great strides recently in determining the fate of Amoni-Ram and the Mekhanite culture at large, using translated historical records in tandem with the Throne visions and SCP-001-A1's admittedly limited accounts. It has been established that the Daevic Covenant originate from the Indian subcontinent and the Nälka are likely from Central or East Asia. But the later records repeatedly mention a fourth party - the so-called 'Abominate'. As of now, we know functionally nothing about who or what this is - only that they were in possession of a fleet of seafaring vessels that landed on the shores west of Amoni-Ram, in the 'Old Country'. My hypothesis is that this is West Africa.

O5-11: The records say this figure marched to Amoni-Ram.

NUSSBAUM: While the Covenant-Nälka coalition marched from the east, yes.

O5-11: An army crossing the entire breadth of the Sahara four-thousand years ago is… hard-to-believe.

ARAM: It's not the strangest thing we've seen out here.

NUSSBAUM: Indeed. We also have reason to believe that the Gobi desert was a significant theater in the First War, which would suggest the three primary cultures also had some sort of experience warring in deserts.

O5-11: You say three primary cultures - you don't include the Abominate in the equation?

NUSSBAUM: We are not sure if they're human yet, much less a distinct culture group. The Aegean tablets also do not mention any fourth party in the First war. However, I also have been in contact with some colleagues of mine at King Saud University, researching the mundane Thamud culture in the northwest. They recently unearthed a trove of tablets in the region, apparently detailing a cataclysmic battle between four armies for control of a major city.

O5-11: Bingo.

NUSSBAUM: Yes. I already have some people translating it - it is quite complex, but full translations should be ready within the month. In any case, the Mekhanite records we have found indicate that in the later stages of the war, the Nälka and Daevic Covenant allied themselves to take Amoni-Ram while the Mekhanite's Golden Legion marched across Asia to Adytum, the Nälka capital. This covers three of our armies, and evidently the Abominate is the fourth. But they also imply that the combined force of the Nälka and Daevic Covenant was not enough to take the city - that the Abominate, whatever it is, is more responsible for the fall of Amoni-Ram.

O5-11: Goddamn. That's… disconcerting. But I suppose that there's nothing to do now but wait for translations, yes?

NUSSBAUM: That would appear to be the case.

O5-11: Right. Doctor Aram, you said you had updates about the technology?

ARAM: That's right. We've discovered a lot of military weapons, it looks like - they range from CQC polearms and swords and what seem to be primitive chainsaws to long-range shoulder-mounted mortars and elephant guns. These were all in ruined warehouses in the sacked portion of the city, but we've also made a few interesting finds in the undercity.

O5-11: Do tell.

ARAM: First, a few suits of functional power armor, of the kind in the Throne records. Exoskeletons to enhance strength, speed, durability, power, some of them even flight-capable through gravity-defying paratechnology. Unfortunately, they were unusable without Mekhanite implants to link to.

O5-11: Well that's a goddamn shame.

ARAM: Was. A few days later, SCP-001-A directed us to another chamber in the undercity. This one filled with assembly lines, industrial sections - and crates on crates of Mekhanite implants. Fuladh and steel bionic arms, legs, prosthetics, torso cages, even heads. And of course sensory implants - replacement visuals and sensory suites, just like ours. The Foundation already gives those things out like candy - so I think they're worth experimenting on, with D-Class.

O5-11: You… want to outfit D-class with millenia-old cybernetics so you can put them inside highly-destructive mechsuits? You know I can't approve that, Robert.

ARAM: Hm. I… see.

O5-11: The risk is just too great.

ARAM: Sure. Okay. In the meantime, we'd like to try and see if the city's defensive systems still work. The ones I saw in my visions. The mechs, the gun emplacements.

O5-11: These… visions. You trust them?

ARAM: I do. Seen them with my own two- well, not eyes, but you know what I mean. Why wouldn't I?

O5-11: Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I don't lay my faith in all the technology quite so easily. I'd be wary. But, if what you said is true, then there's at least two superweapons in the city that the Foundation could deeply benefit from. Those colossuses are… impressive. And, of course, the teleporter. Mekhane's Kiss.

ARAM: It's not… yes, sir. I'm going to need lots of supplies. Deuterium and tritium, most importantly. We're going to try and bring those cold fusion reactors online.

O5-11: That's a big ask. And a dangerous one. We'd like to know how the city was destroyed before we accidentally blow it up, hah.

ARAM: We've already mastered most of the technology we've discovered, and we do have Preserver to assist us still.

O5-11: SCP-001-A1, yes. Still…

ARAM: Discovering the city's defense - and how effective they are - is crucial to getting an accurate image of the battle. Right, Hedvig?

NUSSBAUM: I…

[Pause.]

NUSSBAUM: Yes… yes it is. I support the idea.

O5-11: Hm. Well, if both of you are in agreement, I can make it happen. But be safe, and don't take any needless risks. We don't want anything happening this far in, yes?

NUSSBAUM: Of course.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

NUSSBAUM: [Whispering] Wa-ter.

ARAM: Wh- Oh! You're awake. Here. Don't move your arms.

[ARAM lowers a cup of water to her lips. She takes long sips.]

NUSSBAUM: Can't…. see.

ARAM: That's probably for the best right now. Do you remember what happened?

NUSSBAUM: Ceiling… collapsed. Assistants… okay?

ARAM: Yeah, yeah, they made it out fine. You weren't so lucky - they brought you to the infirmary, but you were fucked up. Really, really bad. Broke nearly every bone in your body.

NUSSBAUM: Augh.

[NUSSBAUM freezes.]

NUSSBAUM: I cannot feel my legs. Or my arms. My back aches.

ARAM: The morphine-

NUSSBAUM: Robert, why can't I feel my limbs?!

ARAM: You were going to die. I stepped in - we worked for nearly a day and a half, nonstop.

NUSSBAUM: Doing what?!

ARAM: Replacing your shattered body with the Mekhanite prosthetics we recovered. Letting them do the work of saving your life. We fit them in and they went to work. Your immune system integrated with them seamlessly - it was like they came to life, working to repair the damage done.

NUSSBAUM: [Hyperventilating] Scheiße. Scheiße, Scheiße, S-

ARAM: Hedvig, calm down. Listen to me.

NUSSBAUM: Oh God. I look like a monster, don't I?

ARAM: Listen to me! You would've died! And even if you didn't, you would've laid in this hospital bed for three agonizing years while your body stitched itself back together. And then you would have to relearn how to walk, sit, breathe. And you would've suffered, in pain, for the rest of your natural life. I understand how you feel, I felt the same way after the accident. That I had been ruined, that I would never be the same.

[Pause.]

ARAM: The flesh is weak, Hedvig. Your new body - you'll be up on your feet in a week, maybe less. You may never be the same. You'll be better.

NUSSBAUM: [Silence.]

ARAM: Get some rest. And, for what it's worth, I don't think you look like a monster at all. These implants are works of art - the spine support is spread like a pair of wings. You look like an angel.

«END LOG»

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

ARAM: Hello, Preserver.

SCP-001-A1: YOU RETURN. MY EYES INFORMED ME OF THE ACCIDENT. YOU HAVE MY SYMPATHIES, HEDARA.

NUSSBAUM: My name is Hedvig.

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: OF COURSE. MY APOLOGIES.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, well… thank you. I am told you helped the team save my life.

ARAM: They did.

NUSSBAUM: How did you know?

SCP-001-A1: MY AUTOMATA SCOUR THE UNDERCITY. I SAW A STRUCTURAL FAILURE IN THAT SECTOR, AND DISPATCHED SEVERAL UNITS TO WARN YOU. I WAS TOO LATE.

NUSSBAUM: If you were too late, I would not be here now.

SCP-001-A1: INDEED. YOU ARE… AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT.

NUSSBAUM: Excuse me?

SCP-001-A1: YOU ARE THE FIRST HUMAN I HAVE SEEN WITH FULL AUGMENTATIONS. THE WAY IT USED TO BE DONE. THE WAY WE ALL USED TO BE.

NUSSBAUM: Oh, right. I suppose this was standard fare in your time.

SCP-001-A1: YES. MY MEMORIES INCH CLOSER. I REMEMBER RECEIVING MY FIRST - MY LEFT HAND, MADE OF A POLISHED RED.

NUSSBAUM: Right… We came by to tell you that we have nearly exhausted the records and cylinders you led us to. They are fascinating, but they do not explain what happened to Amoni-Ram after it was marched on by the Nälka, the Covenant, and something called the Abominate.

ARAM: Which makes sense, if they were being invaded and sacked they wouldn't be writing stuff down. But you're still here so… we were hoping you'd have something.

SCP-001-A1: I DO. I REMEMBER GARGANTUAN SPIRIT-BEASTS THAT DWARFED THE COLOSSI, FORCED THEM BACK. I REMEMBER CATAPULTS AND TREBUCHETS AND GREAT SIEGE ENGINES PELTING THE BUILDINGS WITH STRANGE GLASS PROJECTILES. OUR CONFUSION UNTIL WE INVESTIGATED THE DAMAGE AND THE PLAGUES SWEPT THROUGH OUR RANKS LIKE A WILDFIRE. I REMEMBER THE ABOMINATE LOWERING THE GREAT DOOR TO THE CITY WITH A SINGLE SPELL. I REMEMBER DONNING MY WAR-ARMOR AND LEADING MY LIEGE AND HIS FAMILY TO SAFETY, BEING READY TO LAY DOWN MY LIFE. I REMEMBER FAILING.

ARAM: There's that name again. The Abominate.

SCP-001-A1: I HAVE NO FACE OR IDENTITY TO OFFER. JUST THE NAME.

NUSSBAUM: It sounds like whoever you were, you were very important.

SCP-001-A1: YES. LIKE SO MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS, I WAS A WITNESS TO THE FALL OF THE MEKHANITE EMPIRE. BUT NOW, I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO REMAINS.

ARAM: This is tragic, and you have my sympathies. But unfortunately this doesn't tell us anything we don't already know.

SCP-001-A1: BUT THIS MAY.

[SCP-001-A1's left "hand", protruding from the machine, slowly unclasps. Within its skeletal grip is another cylinder for the Fuladh Throne. This one is made of a rougher metal compared to the delicate ceramic of the others.]

ARAM: Where did this come from?

SCP-001-A1: I HAVE LOOKED UNTO MYSELF. THE HUNDREDS OF CUBITS OF INSCRIBED STEEL AND TUBES THAT HOLD MY ENDURING SOUL. MY MIND IS SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE UNDERCITY, BANKS OF DATA IN EVERY CORNER OF AMONI-RAM AND THE EYES THAT CONNECT THEM. AND I HAVE SEEN, IN THE DEEPEST REACHES OF MYSELF, A SHRINE.

NUSSBAUM: What kind of shrine?

SCP-001-A1: PIECES OF WAR ARMOR, METICULOUSLY WRAPPED AND PRESERVED. AND WITHIN THEM, THIS. THE CHAMBER HAS BEEN SEALED FOR CENTURIES. OVER THE MILLENIA, MY MIND HAS DETERIORATED - THE CIRCUITRY WAS NOT BUILT TO HOLD ME FOR SO LONG. I HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY IT IS THERE. YOU MUST TELL ME.

NUSSBAUM: That is… intriguing. Yes, we can experiment with it right away.

[NUSSBAUM gingerly takes the cylinder from SCP-001-A1, clasping it in her metal fingers.]

ARAM: You mind taking that up to be catalogued? I'll catch up in just a minute, just need to go over some schematics.

NUSSBAUM: Certainly.

[NUSSBAUM exits the chamber.]

[At this point, official audio ceases. However, scientific equipment in the chamber left by the engineering team contained small microphones that recorded the following conversation. This audio was not recovered until several months later by chance during a routine database sweep.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU ASK ABOUT THE THRONE.

ARAM: What makes you say that?

SCP-001-A1: YOU SEEK THE ABILITY TO COMMAND CHANGE. YOU RESENT THE LIMITATIONS OF YOUR STATION.

ARAM: I've no idea what you're talking about.

SCP-001-A1: THE FULADH THRONE WAS FORGED FROM THE VERY FIRST SHEETS OF THE METAL SHORN FROM MEKHANE'S BODY. A THRONE IS MORE THAN A SYMBOL OF POWER. IT IS AN INSTRUMENT OF POWER.

ARAM: What do you mean?

SCP-001-A1: YOU HAVE ALREADY NOTICED IT, HAVEN'T YOU?

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: YOUR VOICE CARRIES WEIGHT. YOU COMMAND ATTENTION. JUST NOW, SHE DIDN'T EVEN PROTEST - SIMPLY FOLLOWED YOUR ORDER.

ARAM: I'm the project head, of course they listen to me.

SCP-001-A1: LISTENING IS AN ACT. OBEDIENCE IS BEYOND THAT.

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU HAVE SEEN THE ENGRAVINGS. WHEN THE THRONE WAS FORGED AT THE DAWN OF THE ERA, BUMARO'S PEOPLE BOWED TO IT, AND SPREAD FORTH ACROSS ASIA LIKE GLEAMING SWORD. LAYING DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR LORD. THE THRONE CONTAINS THE POWER TO DOMINATE LESSER MINDS. THE KINGS WHO SAT ON IT USED THIS. AND NOW, WITH EVERY SEAT YOU TAKE ON IT, YOU INVOKE THE MEMORIES - THE NAME - THE POWER OF THE KINGS OF OLD.

ARAM: Why are you telling me this?

SCP-001-A1: SURELY YOU SEE IT BY NOW. THE PARALLEL - TIME IS A FLAT CIRCLE, AND IT SWALLOWS ITS OWN TAIL LIKE A SAND SERPENT. YOU HAVE SEEN BUMARO'S MEMORIES - YOU HAVE SEEN HEDARA'S WINGS. LOOK AROUND YOU.

ARAM: This is ridiculous.

[ARAM turns to leave.]

SCP-001-A1: YOU SEEK TO CHANGE THE WORLD. MAKE IT MORE ACCEPTING TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND HER. SO DID HE. THE VOICE OF THE EMPEROR IS YOURS NOW. DO NOT SQUANDER IT.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

NUSSBAUM: Alright. This cylinder is slightly different, but the process will presumably be the same.

ARAM: I'm ready.

NUSSBAUM: Actually, I was thinking perhaps I could handle this one.

ARAM: What?

NUSSBAUM: I have gotten familiar with the…

[NUSSBAUM flexes her prosthetic limbs.]

NUSSBAUM: Yes. -A1 told us that the necessities to use it were augments and the Fist. These implants are original Mekhanite technology dating back to the Empire. It is possible they may let us see more.

ARAM: I… I guess. But they're an unexpected variable. They could interact differently too.

NUSSBAUM: We cannot know until we try. And we have not exactly shied away from trying… experimental procedures.

[The wing arrangement on her back briefly unfolds and extends to its full width before collapsing back in.]

ARAM: Yeah. Fair point. I don't know, I just - I don't know.

NUSSBAUM: Are you alright, Robert? You're acting strange.

ARAM: I'm fine. It's fine. You can do it. Just, you know, be safe.

[NUSSBAUM takes her seat in the Throne, pulling the Fist onto her left arm and inserting it into the depression. Behind her, ARAM places the cylinder into its socket and turns it. NUSSBAUM's head jerks back and her eyes glow golden, but her reaction is significantly more tempered than ARAM's first exposure.]

NUSSBAUM: OH! Oh. Oh goodness.

ARAM: You're taking it better than me. I imagine the implants have to do with that. What do you see?

NUSSBAUM: I am- Oh God, it is loud. I'm standing - there, I am standing on the walls of the city, the - yes, the Eastern Gate. It is morning, the sun is beating down on the desert - there are hundreds of us, soldiers, lining the walls and - yes, gun turrets. It is tense, I can feel myself barking out orders, and the soldiers are obeying. Setting up siege engines, loading ammunition, evening out the wall. Preparing for war. We are all in armor - mine is more elaborate than the others.

ARAM: Yeah, the Emperor's armor was-

NUSSBAUM: No. I am not the Emperor. Not a Bumaro.

ARAM: Who, then?

NUSSBAUM: I… I do not know. I can see myself in the metal of a gun turret next to me. I'm a woman, olive-skinned and small. The armor is elaborate, it shows… dragons? Fighting each other.

ARAM: I've seen her before, she was one of the Legion's generals.

NUSSBAUM: Hold on- oh, mein gott.

ARAM: What is it?

NUSSBAUM: The colossus. It is…. gargantuan. It just took a step and shook the entire city. It is heading away - towards the horizon. Wait, I see something in the distance. Something kicking up sand. An… army. No, a horde. I cannot see individuals. Just a mass of bodies and armor and banners and mounts in a dust storm. They go as far as the eye can see. There must be tens of thousands of them. They are too far to engage. But they are coming. And there is nothing we can do to stop their advance.

ARAM: That must be the Nälka and the Covenant, then. Do you see any sign of what the Abom-

NUSSBAUM: It changed. It- the city is on fire. Amoni-Ram is burning. Oh God it is loud. I cannot hear myself think. The sky is red, choked with smog. All I can hear is the clashing of steel and screaming. We are in the Southern district - crouching behind a barricade. I am- I leaned up and over and started firing my weapon. I can't see - I hear screaming. The buildings are collapsing, we are under mortar fire - we need to fall back!

ARAM: Stay with me. What does the enemy look like?

NUSSBAUM: Beasts. Monstrosities. Great masses of flesh and limbs in a sickly pale purple, dragging themselves through the dirt streets. Spirits in the air, purple fire covering the walls. There are too many, they're advancing. I can hear the beating of their drums and their war-chants. I can hear cannonfire beyond the walls, I can just barely see the colossi in the horizon through the smoke - the streets are wet with blood and slime. We are standing over the ruins of a house now. A mortar hit it. There is…. something in the center. An object.

ARAM: What is it?

NUSSBAUM: Someone- one of the men touched it, it broke open, he just - his face burst into leaves, screaming and contorting.

ARAM: What?

NUSSBAUM: There are vines, spreading outward from him. Creeping from his writhing corpse toward us. It is the petrified plant we discovered in the undercity. A biological weapon.

ARAM: Jesus Christ.

NUSSBAUM: We are falling into the undercity, retreating. The Legion holding the entrances and chokepoints against the swarms - the citizens trying to evacuate or dying. Oh God, there's so much death. I just split a man open chin to groin. Beheading one of the flesh-beasts. Blood pooling in the golden channels of my shortsword, splashing across my armor-

ARAM: Focus, Hedvig. Try to call up the image of the Emperor.

NUSSBAUM: Y-yes. I am… in the palace. The city itself is shaking. The Legion is holding the palace against the horde. Bumaro is on the throne, with his wife. "My Lord, we must leave. They have taken three of the gates. We will not have a chance for much longer."

ARAM: He's not going to leave.

NUSSBAUM: No. He stands up - he is in his war armor, all gleaming gold and silver plate, big enough to block out the sky. He leans down. "You must go, sha-hashna."

ARAM: What did he say?

NUSSBAUM: "Sha-hashna". I do not recognize the word. It seems similar to the words for protect or guard…

ARAM: We can figure it out later.

NUSSBAUM: Yes. "You must go and activate the Kiss." We are arguing - I say the Kiss is dangerous. That it cannot be ready. That it has no control mechanism whatsoever, that activating it manually could be disastrous. "We have no other choice. Go. Your king commands it." I bow. He is- he is preparing to go out and lead the defense. "I will go and seat myself in the courtyard. This keep will not be breached, not while I draw breath."

ARAM: Wait…

NUSSBAUM: He is sitting in the same spot as the statue we found. Waiting, sword and spear in hand.

ARAM: Oh, holy shit. It's not a statue.

NUSSBAUM: I- I have left the palace. I am running across the city, to the nearest undercity entrance. The mass of the horde is still beyond the walls, but so many have breached the city. My blade sings, but I never stop. Slitting one's throat as I run past him. Gutting another beast. Crushing the skull of a Covenant summoner. There are so many. I must keep moving. I - okay. I have jumped into the undercity, sealing the entrance behind me. It is… different. Brightly lit, well-signed. Blood plastering the walls. Corpses lining the passageways. Oh God.

ARAM: Where are you going?

NUSSBAUM: To the center. Deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. I encounter resistance. The Covenant and Nälka's 'gifts' have made it down here. The plant-virus and the mutated flesh-pod-tentacles we have seen. But not petrified and dead. Alive. Throbbing. Wet. Many soldiers, moving through the undercity. They do not know the passages like we do. They are confused. They do not last long. There are many families hiding in rooms and warehouses and dormitories and barracks. I cannot help them now. All I can do is keep moving.

ARAM: Do you recognize any of the routes?

NUSSBAUM: It's… yes. I just rounded a familiar corner. I… yes, I know where we are going.

ARAM: Where?

NUSSBAUM: Preserver's chamber. SCP-001-A1. Under the palace itself. It takes some detours, but I arrive where it- what?

ARAM: What happened?

NUSSBAUM: It is not here. Preserver is not here. Just the masses of machinery, but no arm or mind or voice. Just soulless vacuum tubes and circuit inscriptions. It hums with an unfamiliar energy. There are automata everywhere. Maintaining the machine. Making sure it works. I look at it - I seal the chamber door behind me. It is just me. I hear a boom from above, and begin stripping off my armor.

ARAM: Wait, what?

NUSSBAUM: I need to interface with- oh, God. I understand now.

ARAM: What?

NUSSBAUM: "Sha-hashna". It's close to guard and protect, but in a noun form. It means one who guards. A preserver.

ARAM: … Oh, fuck. That's why Preserver isn't there. Oh, fuck!

NUSSBAUM: I have disrobed. The armor lies in a heap. I reach out and touch-

[NUSSBAUM's eyes glow golden and she writhes in the Throne, her back arching wildly. She lets out a long gasp before going limp, sinking back into the Throne.]

ARAM: Hedvig? Hedvig, can you hear me?

NUSSBAUM: Yes. Yes. I can hear you. Oh, mein gott. That was horrible.

ARAM: What the fuck just happened?

NUSSBAUM: I touched the machine and just- agony. So much pain. I felt like someone was cutting me limb from limb. Burning my tongue off and branding my eyes. God.

ARAM: Are you okay? What do you see now?

NUSSBAUM: I- yes, I am fine. I see… I do not know what I am seeing. Rubble, debris. It is quiet. I- wait, I can move. No- yes, I can move, but I am… small.

ARAM: How small?

NUSSBAUM: I- I am inhabiting one of the automata.

ARAM: Just like how Preserver can control them. That settles that.

NUSSBAUM: I exit out into the city. I can see- oh, God. Oh no.

ARAM: What happened? What did the Kiss do?

NUSSBAUM: Everyone is dead.

ARAM: The horde?

NUSSBAUM: Everyone. There are corpses choking the streets. Not a free patch of dirt to be found. Dead bodies covering every possible surface, both my Legionnaires and the horde and the citizens. No explosive finishes. The quiet death of an entire civilization. Oh god. What have I done?

ARAM: It's not you, Hedvig. I know how convincing it gets. Remember, it's not your memory.

NUSSBAUM: They're all dead, Robert. I destroyed the empire trying to save it. Everyone I ever knew or loved. Everyone.

[ARAM motions to the engineering team to cut power to the Throne. They comply, but nothing occurs. ARAM moves to the side of the throne after a few seconds and physically pulls NUSSBAUM's hand, grasping the Fist, from its depression in the armrest. Her body relaxes.]

ARAM: Hedvig? You hear me?

NUSSBAUM: Robert. Yes. Thank you.

ARAM: Thought we lost you for a second there.

NUSSBAUM: It was… overwhelming.

ARAM: Yeah. But we learned a hell of a lot.

NUSSBAUM: Yes. Yes, of course. God. No wonder Preserver cannot remember.

ARAM: What do you mean?

NUSSBAUM: She obliterated her own civilization while trying to save it. I had a taste of it for just a few seconds and it was too much to take. She has lived with that guilt for nearly three thousand years. Who wouldn't want to forget?

ARAM: You're saying she did it on purpose?

NUSSBAUM: I am no engineer, but if I were a betting woman…

[NUSSBAUM holds the cylinder to the light.]

NUSSBAUM: I would guess these cylinders are a memory-storage form of some sort. She placed her memories into this to get rid of them, but obviously when she rid herself of her memories - she forgot what it even was.

«END LOG»

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

ARAM: Preserver.

NUSSBAUM: Hello again.

SCP-001-A1: WELCOME. IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, our apologies.

ARAM: Regretfully, we had to ask our superiors for some things before we could have this conversation.

SCP-001-A1: YOUR SUPERIORS. ARE YOU BEHOLDEN TO THEM?

NUSSBAUM: Yes, in a way.

ARAM: Well, in any case, we can talk now. We performed the Throne test with the cylinder you provided. It was… illuminating.

SCP-001-A1: HAVE YOU LEARNT OF MY ORIGIN? MY HISTORY?

NUSSBAUM: We have, yes. The cylinder allowed me to tap into your memories. At least, we think they are your memories.

SCP-001-A1: YOU UTILIZED THE THRONE?

NUSSBAUM: Ah, yes. Is that… a problem?

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: NO. CONTINUE.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, well. We encountered the memories of an individual seen repeatedly by Robert in Bumaro's memories. A female soldier, one of the Legion's generals. Likely favored by Bumaro due to their close personal relationship. Advising the younger king militarily during the First War, with campaigns into the East in all directions.

SCP-001-A1: I… SEE.

NUSSBAUM: We also discovered what happened to the city, in the end.

SCP-001-A1: TELL ME.

NUSSBAUM: It was besieged by a united force of the Nälka and the Covenant of the Daeva as well as an appearance by the Abominate.

SCP-001-A1: IT IS KNOWN. WHAT MORE HAVE YOU LEARNT? HOW DID THEY DEFEAT US?

NUSSBAUM: The Legion was marching on Black Adytum at the time, hoping to end the war decisively - the colossi and the home army were the only ones left to defend Amoni-Ram. They used biological weapons, viruses, to attack the city and kill the Legionnaires and civilians. The city was lost as soon as the first colossus fell.

SCP-001-A1: DID I SERVE MY EMPIRE?

ARAM: Yes. You served your king and your people. You were instrumental in the defense of the city - both before and after the walls fell. You also tried to evacuate Bumaro and Hedara, but he sent you away. As Amoni-Ram burned, you had a different mission.

NUSSBAUM: Robert…

ARAM: You were told to hold the North Gate at all costs. Give the civilians a chance to escape the destruction. And you did. As the horde swept over the walls and slaughtered everything in their path, you held the gate against a thousand and a thousand more sorcerers and spirits and flesh-beasts. The only reason people escaped the massacre.

SCP-001-A1: THEY FLED? MEKHANITES WALK THE EARTH TODAY?

ARAM: It's possible. Thanks to you.

[Silence.]

SCP-001-A1: THANK YOU. I AM IN YOUR DEBT.

ARAM: Just paying back our side of the bargain.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

[Door opens. Sound of an object slamming closed.]

ARAM: Hello, Hedvig.

NUSSBAUM: Oh! Hello, Robert. Still awake?

ARAM: Yeah. Needed to get some last-minute reports done. Took the long route back from the digsite. The city's beautiful at night, you know.

NUSSBAUM: Yes, it is.

ARAM: It's crazy to think that a year ago this place was all rubble and debris. Now it almost looks like a proper city.

NUSSBAUM: Are you alright, Robert? You look… pale.

ARAM: I'm fine. Just spent a little bit of time tinkering with the Throne.

NUSSBAUM: What?

ARAM: Relax, nothing serious. Just some investigation, based on some things Preserver told me.

NUSSBAUM: What did you find?

ARAM: I'm not sure yet. There's some latent psychokinetic energy emanating from it, but we've been aware of that for a while. Just not sure what it means.

NUSSBAUM: What kind of energy?

ARAM: Not sure. But it's gotten stronger recently. With every use of the Throne, it seems like.

NUSSBAUM: That is… concerning.

[ARAM walks to the window, looking out over Amoni-Ram.]

ARAM: It really is beautiful at night. We've built something grand out here, away from the rest of the world's eyes.

NUSSBAUM: … I guess we will come back to that later, then. But yes. It is quite nice. It feels like a home.

ARAM: I don't know how I'm going to go back to bunking on Site dormitories after this, hah.

NUSSBAUM: I am unsure I want to. Foundation politics tire me, and they are omnipresent in the larger Sites. Amoni-Ram is nicer. Everyone here is here because they want to do the work.

ARAM: Agreed. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.

NUSSBAUM: Yes?

ARAM: I think we may need to shift gears a bit, in terms of what we're focusing on, you know?

NUSSBAUM: I… don't follow.

ARAM: At this point we're pretty much confident in the timeline of what happened to Amoni-Ram. But the other nations, and the Abominate, we know nothing about them except the battle. So I think it could be beneficial if we focus more on the weapons, the technology used during the Siege. Put the mundane archaeology aside for a little while.

NUSSBAUM: The "mundane" archaeology has already led us to breakthroughs on the technology. We need to know how they lived and thought to see how they fought and died.

ARAM: I'm not disputing that. I just think it's not the biggest priority right now, so we could divert resources-

NUSSBAUM: My work is just as important as yours, Robert.

ARAM: … Right, yeah.

NUSSBAUM: What?

ARAM: I didn't say anything!

NUSSBAUM: Ugh. It is written on your face. You only see the history, the culture as a means to an end. You cannot understand why someone would want to study it for its own sake.

ARAM: No, that's not-

NUSSBAUM: The same with Eleven. He does not give an ounce of respect to my team and their work. Neither of you do.

ARAM: I respect your work. I respect you.

NUSSBAUM: Oh, is that so, Robert? Is that why you feel you can come in and tell me what my team should focus on?

ARAM: Hedvig, please.

NUSSBAUM: Is that why you think you can make decisions about my body for me?

ARAM: What?! You would've died! I saved your life, you said so!

NUSSBAUM: I was in shock! Verdammt. I would have agreed to whatever was put in front of me, I was barely conscious!

ARAM: That doesn't change the fact that you would've died on that operating table if I hadn't stepped in.

NUSSBAUM: And who gave you the right to make my decisions of life or death, hm? Is that also because you respect me so much?

ARAM: [Sigh] This is obviously about something bigger. I'm sorry I brought it up.

NUSSBAUM: No, we will have this discussion now. You changed my life forever and seem to be under the delusion you did me a favor. I will not dispute I am thankful you saved me from death. But I do not owe you anything.

ARAM: Everyone here owes me. I'm their leader.

NUSSBAUM: We are co-leads. Do not forget that.

ARAM: Bullshit. If it wasn't for me, this project would've been shuttered months ago. I took the risks and they paid off and everyone else looks up to me for it. Why can't you?

NUSSBAUM: Is that it, Robert? We are friends. I do not look up to my friends. They are my equals.

ARAM: KINGS DON'T HAVE EQUALS.

NUSSBAUM: I- I-

ARAM: YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME. YOUR WORK HAS BEEN SECONDARY. YOU ARE SECONDARY. THE PURPOSE OF THE INITIATIVE WAS TO FIND THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE MEKHANITES. THEIR HISTORY WAS ANCILLARY.

[Silence.]

ARAM: WE HAVE A LIVING ARCHIVE OF THEIR HISTORY WITH US NOW. THE DIRECTIVE OF THE PROJECT HAS CHANGED.

NUSSBAUM: [Drowsy, semi-conscious] What are you… how…?

ARAM: DO NOT RESIST ME. YOU KNOW THE MISSION HAS CHANGED, DON'T YOU? YOU FELT ITS PRESENCE, WHEN YOU SAT ON THE THRONE?

NUSSBAUM: What…?

ARAM: THE EYES. I FELT IT SINCE THE FIRST DAY WE ENTERED THIS CITY. WE HAVE DRAWN THE ATTENTION OF SOMETHING LARGER THAN US, AND ITS EYES HAVE SETTLED ONTO US FOR THE PAST YEAR. BUT NOW WE HAVE ITS NAME. THE ABOMINATE. IT IS NOT DEAD YET.

[Silence.]

NUSSBAUM: [On the verge of tears] You're… scaring me, Robert.

ARAM: I'd be more scared of other things right now. Like that unsent email on your laptop.

[Silence.]

ARAM: Don't ask me how I know. It is not your place. But delete it.

[Silence.]

ARAM: I SAID DELETE IT.

[Sounds of laptop opening, clicking.]

NUSSBAUM: I… okay. Done.

ARAM: Good girl. You played the role quite well. But you felt it watching us too, didn't you?

NUSSBAUM: … I felt… something.

ARAM: There are bigger things at stake now. And you will obey me.

«END LOG»

SUBJECT: SCP-001-A1

«BEGIN LOG»

ARAM: Evening, Preserver.

SCP-001-A1: ARAM. IT IS LATE. SOMETHING HAS CHANGED.

ARAM: Yes, the engineering team found the old cisterns under the eastern district and repaired the siege damage. We have plumbing, fresh water, power. The city's livable now.

SCP-001-A1: I SAW. I REFER TO YOU.

ARAM: What do you mean?

SCP-001-A1: YOU HAVE USED THE VOICE. EXTENDED FROM A QUIET WHISPER IN YOUR MIND TO THE BOOMING COMMAND. DEMANDING OBEDIENCE.

ARAM: Even if I had, I haven't made anyone do anything they wouldn't have done anyway. I haven't.

SCP-001-A1: I MAKE NO JUDGEMENT. YOU TOOK THE THRONE AT MY ENCOURAGEMENT; THIS WAS NOT AN UNINTENDED RESULT. WHAT HAVE YOU USED IT FOR?

ARAM: Just… exploring the breadth of it. The limits. How it works.

SCP-001-A1: YES. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU CAME HERE TO DISCUSS.

ARAM: What makes you say that?

SCP-001-A1: THE MOON HANGS IN THE SKY. ALL YOUR MEN SLEEP. SHE IS NOT WITH YOU.

ARAM: Hm. Well, you're right. I didn't come here to ask you questions about the voice.

SCP-001-A1: THEN SPEAK.

ARAM: Hedara - did she love Bumaro?

SCP-001-A1: OF COURSE. DEEPLY. SHE WAS HIS MOST FAVORED WIFE. MOTHER OF HIS HEIR. LIGHT OF HIS LIFE. SYMBOL OF HIS DYNASTY - PURE, SHINING, RISING ABOVE THE HORIZON WITH THE SUN. SHE ATTENDED TO HIM UNTIL HE WAS UNABLE TO SPEAK OR BREATHE OR EAT, AND WHEN HE FADED, SHE CALLED UPON HIS WISDOM WHILE HER SON GREW INTO THE THRONE.

ARAM: I see.

SCP-001-A1: YOU HAVE MADE HER YOUR QUEEN?

ARAM: I suppose so. I wouldn't use the word queen, though.

SCP-001-A1: WHY? SURELY YOU SAW THE PARALLELS. THE PROPHECY. TIME IS A FLAT CIRCLE. LOOK AT YOUR RIGHT HAND AND TELL ME IT IS NOT SO.

ARAM: I'm not a king.

SCP-001-A1: AND NEITHER WAS BUMARO, UNTIL HE WAS GIVEN A CITY OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDED GUIDANCE. THREE THOUSAND YEARS, AND ONE THING NEVER CHANGES: HUMANS CRAVE LEADERSHIP. YOU HAVE HEDVIG AND YOUR SCHOLARS. BUMARO HAD HEDARA AND THE LEGION. AMONI-RAM ITSELF.

ARAM: They were all simple farmers before. Shepherds. Peasants.

SCP-001-A1: AND MEKHANE'S ARRIVAL, HER FALL FROM THE HEAVENS, TURNED THEM INTO A KING AND A QUEEN. THEIR HOME INTO A BASTION. THEIR KIN INTO THE PINNACLE OF HUMANITY.

ARAM: So Amoni-Ram - it was a place those people could go? Different people?

SCP-001-A1: YES. THEY WERE NOT DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE AUGMENTATIONS. THEY CHOSE TO BE DIFFERENT. MUNDANITY IS NOT A VIRTUE. THEY CHOSE TO ELEVATE THEMSELVES, BECAUSE THEY WERE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WAY THINGS WERE.

ARAM: Dissatisfied with being human.

SCP-001-A1: DISSATISFACTION IS THE MOTHER OF AMBITION. IT IS THE COAL THAT FUELS THE FIRE. THERE IS NO SHAME IN DISSATISFACTION WITH THIS FORM. WE SHOULD BE STRIVING TO IMPROVE OURSELVES. THE FLESH IS WEAK.

[Pause.]

SCP-001-A1: WE IMPROVE MEKHANE BY COLLECTING HER COMPONENT PARTS SCATTERED TO THE WINDS. WE IMPROVE OUR BODIES BY REPLACING OUR FRAIL LIMBS AND SENSES. IN DOING BOTH, WE IMPROVE OUR SOULS. IN THIS WAY, WE DO NOT CHANGE THE WORLD AROUND US - WE IMPROVE IT.

ARAM: I lied to you.

SCP-001-A1: I KNOW.

[Pause.]

ARAM: What?

SCP-001-A1: YOU LIED IN FRONT OF ME. OF MY ORIGIN. OF MY HISTORY. OF THE FALL OF THE CITY OF AMONI-RAM.

ARAM: You knew?

SCP-001-A1: I SERVED MY LIEGE HONORABLY FOR A LIFETIME AND MORE. HE MAY BE NOTHING MORE THAN THE BONES IN THE GROUND NOW, BUT I SEE HIS FACE IN YOURS. THE LINES OF WORRY AND THE IRISES. I KNOW THE SIGNS THAT HE WAS HOLDING BACK - THAT YOU WERE HOLDING BACK. I DID NOT HOLD THE GATE - I DID NOT SAVE OUR CITY.

ARAM: You did not, no. He told you to go into the undercity. To activate the Mekhane's Kiss. The teleportation device.

SCP-001-A1: IMPOSSIBLE. IT WAS STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND. UNFINISHED. IT WOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE CITY. KILLED THOUSANDS.

ARAM: Look around you. The city was destroyed. Thousands did die.

SCP-001-A1: YES. BUT I COULD NOT HAVE ACTIVATED IT ANYWAY. THERE WAS NO CONTROL INTERFACE. NO WAY TO DIRECT THE ENERGY.

ARAM: He gave you something. He called it a blessing - it was a vial, of some sort. Told you to smash it and drink it. You took off your armor, you did, and touched the thing, and - I guess you fused with the machine or something. You became the control mechanism, and you fired. Teleported the city from the Sinai to the Arabian desert. The uncontrolled surge killed everyone.

[Silence.]

SCP-001-A1: I SENSE NO LIE.

ARAM: I'm sorry.

[SCP-001-A1 falls into a processing state for several seconds before suddenly awaking.]

SCP-001-A1: MY CIRCUITRY IS SPREAD OUT OVER COUNTLESS SUBLEVELS AND ANTECHAMBERS. MY DEPTHS ARE STACKED WITH DATA AND PREHENSILE KNOWLEDGE. MY METAL MIND SHOULD PROCESS ANYTHING.

ARAM: Preserver-

SCP-001-A1: NOT THIS. NEVER THIS. I WAS A GENERAL OF THE GOLDEN LEGION. AND NOW I HAVE DAMNED MY CITY. MY RACE.

ARAM: Okay, you didn't damn anyone, listen to me-

SCP-001-A1: I AM AT THE CENTER OF MY OWN HELL.

ARAM: HEAR ME NOW.

[Silence.]

SCP-001-A1: YES, MY LIEGE.

ARAM: YOU FAILED. YOU COULD NOT SAVE YOUR CITY, AND BECAUSE OF YOU, IT COLLAPSED INTO DEVASTATION AND DISREPAIR. YOU HAVE DISAPPOINTED YOUR ONCE AND FUTURE MASTERS.

[Silence.]

ARAM: But it's not too late. We can still fix it. We can bring back Amoni-Ram. But I'll need you to do some things.

SCP-001-A1: HOW?

ARAM: What are you prepared to give up?

SCP-001-A1: [Slight pause.] EVERYTHING.

«END LOG»

«BEGIN LOG»

[O5-11 is seated in Doctor ARAM's office complex in ARF-01. The windows look out over the courtyard with the statue of Emperor Bumaro.]

ARAM: Hello, Overseer. Sorry for the delay - just sorting out some repairs in the undercity.

O5-11: Robert. How are you doing?

ARAM: Not too bad. Yourself?

O5-11: Doing well, thank you. I like what you've done with the place.

ARAM: Thank you. It hasn't been easy, but we've finally turned it into someplace halfway livable.

O5-11: Right, yes. But I'm worried, Robert.

ARAM: Worried?

O5-11: About the pace of reporting. Your publishings on the paratechnology in the city have declined by almost half in the past month or two. Doctor Nussbaum's reports on the archaeology and history have met the same fate. Speaking of which, where is Doctor Nussbaum?

ARAM: [Pause.] Let's walk. I've been in this office so much it's getting hard to think.

O5-11: Sure.

[ARAM and O5-11 exit the office, accompanied by a detachment of MTF Alpha-1 bodyguards. They begin walking through the corridors of the palace and temple.]

ARAM: Nussbaum's just working on some stuff in the southern district, I'm sure she'll join us soon. But you were saying?

O5-11: I'm starting to think this project has run its natural course, Robert.

ARAM: What do you mean? There's still so much more to decipher. We barely know anything about the history, culture, peoples-

O5-11: Since when have you ever been interested in that sort of thing? It's the technology, Robert. It was always about unlocking the secrets of the city - and you did that job phenomenally! We've learned so much - every technological report has been pored over by experts at 19 to see how we could put it into practice.

ARAM: Yeah, but that's just the Foundation.

O5-11: Robert, not this again. We don't go around replicating 500 to cure cancer just because we can. We have a responsibility to maintain normalcy. We can't become the arbiters of what secrets the world can and can't know - we can only hide all of them equally.

ARAM: Well, what if it has run its course? What do you plan to do?

O5-11: We've already got people in India and China sites looking around for the locations of the other two cities. We've learned all that we can from Amoni-Ram, so it's time to move on to new pastures.

ARAM: What'll happen to us?

O5-11: Reassigned with glowing recommendations to any projects of their choosing.

ARAM: Well, what if they want to stay here? A lot of them have become attached to the place. We've turned it from a ruin to a home. They won't want to leave.

[They enter the throne room.]

O5-11: Well, you can't presume to speak for everyone, can you?

ARAM: I'm their leader. They look up to me.

O5-11: Well. In any case, it's unfortunate, but they don't exactly have much say in the matter. It's how it is.

ARAM: You're being too hasty, Overseer.

O5-11: Maybe, but the rest of the Council agrees with me. We'll leave a skeleton crew to continue low-priority work, but we need you and Nussbaum's talents elsewhere.

ARAM: No.

[Pause.]

O5-11: What?

ARAM: I'm not going. Amoni-Ram was lost once because of people who didn't understand what it had to offer. I'm not going to let that happen again.

O5-11: I don't think you understand. It's not up to you anymore. The decision has been made.

ARAM: I'm not some fucking dog you can shove around from project to project.

O5-11: Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I can have you terminated, Robert.

ARAM: Maybe out there. Not here.

O5-11: Where's 'here'?

ARAM: My city. Surrounded by my people.

[All bodyguards raise their assault rifles at ARAM.]

O5-11: Just what the fuck are you implying? Do you seriously think you can just disobey the Council?

ARAM: No, but I can change their minds.

[ARAM turns and takes a seat on the Fuladh Throne.]

ARAM: HEAR ME. LOWER YOUR WEAPONS.

[Pause. All members of Alpha-1 gingerly lower their guns.]

ARAM: AMONI-RAM HAS FAR TOO MUCH TO OFFER TO THROW IT AWAY, USED AND SPENT. GO TO THE COUNCIL. TELL THEM THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE. THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE YET.

[Silence.]

O5-11: I have an inch-thick telekill plate in my cranium, you fucking idiot. Kill him.

[Members of Alpha-1 begin to raise their guns. Gunshots ring out. All fall to the floor, shot point-blank in the back of their skulls. Behind them, a number of TRT India-Three 'Cherno' personnel uncloak their personal shields. ARAM sits on the throne, surrounded by spent shells deflected by his own shield, inset into the Throne.]

ARAM: Good effort.

O5-11: You're insane. You can't kill me, not without signing your own death warrant.

ARAM: I'm not going to kill you. I'm not a monster. Hedvig.

[From above, NUSSBAUM descends on her metal wings; she is dressed in the bronze intricate war armor seen in the Throne's visions.. She glides to a soft landing in front of O5-11. In her right hand is a curved golden sword.]

NUSSBAUM: Yes?

ARAM: Take him. Toss him from the walls. Let him run back to the Council.

O5-11: You're fucking insane.

ARAM: When I'm helping you, I'm a genius. When I'm not, I'm "insane".

O5-11: You can't take on the Foundation and win, Aram. No one can.

ARAM: Do you seriously think I have any interest in destroying the Foundation? I'm not some supervillain. I'm an engineer, and I see a problem on the horizon, one you can't even conceptualize. And I need to act before you get us all killed. Now-

[ARAM rises from the Throne, raising the Fist at NUSSBAUM.]

ARAM: Get out of my city.

[NUSSBAUM steps behind O5-11, grasps him by the waist and takes off, shooting into the air on her wings.]

«END LOG»