Black Queen Hub

To Alison Chao (Theta),
Known to her world as The Black Queen,

I hope this letter finds you well. I want to apologize for our behavior the other day. Although you're a strong person, discovering your true nature, as well as that of the Serpent's Hand, can be disorienting. It's been so long since I was first introduced to the other Little Sisters that I've forgotten what it's like. Feeling helpless is never a pleasant sensation, particularly when you're used to the feeling of being five steps ahead of everyone else in your world. Lashing out in the way that you did was understandable, if unfortunate. I hope that you will find it in yourself to rejoin us in the Library at some point in the future.

Hopefully this letter will help with some of the questions that were supposed to be answered at the Library. First, there is always a Gears. He always leaves his wife for some extranormal organization. He always loses his capacity to feel. Sometimes this can be fixed, sometimes it can't. Sometimes Gears will get caught up in something that ultimately destroys his universe.

Second, this Gears will frequently have a daughter. She is always shaped by his leaving. After a certain number of years, she begins to seek out her father. Sometimes she becomes a monster, human only in the loosest sense. Other times, she retains something of a conscience. Sometimes she succeeds and rescues her father, only to find him a broken shell. Other times, she saves him and rebuilds her family as it once was. Many times she remains an utterly unremarkable, if damaged woman. Other times she dies before she can even lay down her plans. And sometimes, a very few times, she learns about the Library.

Knowing that your circumstances are not unique, that your suffering is just one iteration of an infinite amount of identical suffering, or that the control you thought you had is non-existent, isn't pleasant to hear. Don't despair. Your influence over the worlds (not world. Worlds.) is far greater than you can ever know. Some of the daughters have limited themselves to their own worlds, using the Library as a safehouse and resource. Others have walked the ways, seeking out ancient and obscure worlds. Some ignore Gears, some obsessively seek him out. A few have decided that all of this convergence is the work of a god or gods. Sometimes people come into conflict.

To call it a group is probably too charitable. More like a collection of individuals with similar experiences.

Whatever ultimately becomes of your plans, I hope you will try and find us again. You're scared and confused, and probably angry. At one point, I was too. But we know you better than anyone else ever can. If you choose to stay, there is no limit to what we can do.

Your Little Sister,
Alison Chao (Epsilon)
Known also to her world as the Black Queen

Open Newspaper?

A Newspaper, Dated September 20th, 2011

SUBLIME SELECTIONS

THE BLACK QUEEN TAVERN

by Annelies the Sublime, Second Wandsman of the Clockwork Plains

I had long heard whispers of The Black Queen from galactic hitchhikers and temporal tourists. A cozy pub just round the corner of the Wanderer's Library. No muss, no fuss, nothing fancy: just good drinks, affordable prices and excellent service. Well you know me dear readers, head on a swivel, always on the look out for a good time. So, the next time my travels took me west of Low-Thuhng you just know I had to drop by.

There's a handful of entrances to The Black Queen. A back alley in A-972, an abandoned pawn shop in B-500, Through the second food court of the Library's Anart History Section or Atop a dark spire in B-236, and a half a dozen others if you know the right Knock. Personally I entered from Hospice's Lampeter tram station. You may enter from any one of these entrances, or a number of them, if you would prefer. Where you're coming from and where you are traveling to hardly matters at the Black Queen.

As I entered the Black Queen, to the sound of dim music and dimmer whispers, I began to fret about what I would say to grab the Barkeep's attention. Would she want to talk to me about her fine establishment? Would she trust a member from an organization such as myself? Or, perhaps, would I not be worth her time? Soon after I sat down, I learned my fears for naught, as a large, roguishly disheveled woman made her way over to me with a pair of drinks, and introduced herself as the Barkeep.

Apparently, she had recognized me as a Wandsman, and felt she simply had to talk to me, as I was likely to have some great gossip. She was bubbly and talkative, though I could tell that it was, to some extent, an act. How could such an outgoing person retain such an enigmatic reputation? Why deception, of course. She had a masterful of derailing conversations, turning them to be about someone or something unrelated, into an entertaining story that frequently made me forget that she had totally avoided answering my questions! Nevertheless, I was able to learn one thing about my mysterious patron; the only thing the Barkeep enjoys more than alcohol is gossip.

She told me a number of scandalous and truly entertaining stories, and though I often had no frame of reference for the people she was talking about, I was never confused by her tales. I, in turn, traded her a few stories of my own. I tried to stick to the comedic, and did not regret doing so. Her hearty laughs made me feel right at home in this place that I had never visited before.

At that moment, I thought to ask her another question, about the returning clientele, and this time she actually deemed to answer! She explained to me that the majority of her customers are not, what she'd call regulars. They are people who come once, for the novelty of it, or return every few years when they are traveling or celebrating something. These people are particularly talkative, and she sources most of her entertaining stories from them. The regulars are much more guarded, but their lips can be pried loose with the right booze after they've developed a sense of comradery. These customers are the ones where she gets her most juiciest gossip from.

As if on queue a customer of particular interest entered the building. While this woman appeared to be another average patron of the Black Queen, I couldn't help but do a double take when I saw her. Her build and hair were completely different, but her face and eyes were an exact match of the interviewee sitting across from me! The Barkeep followed my gaze, and smiled as she saw the other woman, who disappeared behind a curtain under a doorway labeled 'V.I.P.'

When I asked her for an explanation of what had just happened, she laughed, and asked me how I, a multiversal pilgrim, had never encountered another me from another world. While most of us who hop from reality to reality tend to try to avoid alternate versions of ourselves, the Barkeeper is apparently quite different. She and her counterparts have organized to create a group not too dissimilar to that of the wandsmen, albeit allegedly less passive. They gather knowledge in order to monitor threats, both to their own worlds and to the worlds of their compatriots, and take action when necessary. Some seek revenge. Others seek companionship. Others still take part because they have nowhere else to turn to. I suspect my interviewee takes part because it allows her to gather even more gossip than what her bar would otherwise allow.

After she was done with that explanation, she pat me on the shoulder and stood up. She took both glasses, which were now empty, but did not ask me for payment. I suppose she thought the stories I gave her, and the publicity this article will inevitably engender, were payment enough for a meager mug of cheap beer. As she made her way over towards the counter, she turned her head back, and suggested I come again soon. As I sat there in that quiet bar, trying to process what had happened over the past few hours. I decided that I would return again, some day. I feel like I have much to learn about the secrets of the Black Queen.

Open Envelope?

Another Letter, Dated September 20th, 2011

Alison,

I am very sorry that this is the first way we've contacted you. I suggest you sit down before reading further.

Your father is alive. No, this is not a mean spirited prank, it is an unfortunate truth.

Your father, Charles Gears, is a high-ranking member of a secret organization known as the Foundation. This organization maintains a cloak around the world, a so-called veil which hides the supernatural, what they call the 'anomalous' from the world. Disappears people and objects who don't fit in to their vision of what's normal. They are our enemy, and thus, they are your enemy.

Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Alison Chao, the Black Queen. I am you, from another reality. I assume you are familiar with the concept of the multiverse. There are hundreds of us, united by a common goal: Combating the very Foundation our father, (or our Gears), is a part of. Some of us want to save him. Some of us wish to see him destroyed, along with the organization he is a part of. Others have given up on on caring about him altogether. I can say that in your case, your father is not a willing participant in this organization. We may still have a chance to help him.

I'm telling you this through an unmarked letter, rather than in person, because you have a choice. Myself and one of my associates have been trapped in your world through means I can explain later. We are unable to complete a spell which should allow us to escape, and the Foundation, your Foundation, is closing in with us. Your first option is to burn this letter, and move on with your life as though nothing happened. The Foundation will never know you were in contact us, and you and your mother will remain out of the Foundation's focus. I won't be able to fault you if that's what you chose. Your second option is to help us. We will be waiting for you at your library. You'll recognize us when you see us. I suspect you've never used any magic before, but that doesn't matter. We are fast learners. If you do this, we can ensure the safety of your mother, but you will never be able to live a normal life again.

The choice is yours, though for my sake, I hope the curiosity that lead you to open this letter leads you to the Library.

Hello, and perhaps farewell,

your friend Alison

Open Mail?

A Letter, Seized September 20th, 2011

Hey dad,

Long time no write! Been about a year since my last letter. Don't want to overwhelm you when you wake up, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Last time, I told you how I totally lost track of where I am, and that Harley went missing a few jumps back. Since then I'd been trekking all over some orange-reddish plains for a few months, looking for water. Lucky me, I found a river! And then, of course, my filter breaks. Figured I'd follow the river some ways, see what I find, beats another round of solitaire.

Next thing I know, I found a town! Rode on in, after I hid my outstanding gear in Arthur's bags, of course. At first I expected cowboys, but turns out the buildings were all clay and mud, real primitive looking. On the way in I got approached by, what I think was a warrior band. Didn't speak a lick of their language, but they were hospitable. Which is really unfortunate all things considered (don't get attached: they die).

They took me in to someone who was kind of their chief. Unknown culture, unknown language, so I didn't know what to do. But then I remembered that gift giving is a multiversal language. He seemed to like that, so the warriors led me out of town again with no fuss.

Bit of an issue, I still needed water. I mimed that at them and they seemed to get the idea, took me to their well. God only knows what must have been in the river for them to have a well, but I digress, this is when shit gets real.

You remember the Black Queen? Well this old guy pointed at me and started shouting Black Queen! Black Queen!, well technically it was "Brackee" but that's not far off. And then I swear to god he said "Alison", isn't that wild? Anyway, everyone like instantly tenses up. We all start grabbing our weapons.

So anyway, I started blasting. Wasn't hard, they weren't secretly techy or anything. I basically razed the place, civilians and all. Didn't chase anyone who fled though! I'm not a monster.

I stuck around for a bit after, dug around in the ashes, trying to find out how they knew me. And then I found something pretty surprising. I found you, I think it was you anyway. Bit darker skinned than the others, similar looking face. But he was burnt to a crisp so I could have been wrong.

Anyway, that's another unsolved mystery for the books! Who knew the Queens were all the way out here in this multiversal bumfuck nowhere. I wonder if they had anything to do with me ending up here. Maybe some trap or connection with them, or maybe that other you did something, who knows?

I'm alright now, obviously. Rode out of town on Arthur and jumped a few days after. No avenging swashbuckler came after me or anything like that. Writing you from a pretty small outpost. Hope you get this letter, and that someday you get to read it.

Wake up soon, dad. I miss you.

Your daughter,
Alison Chao (not a Black Queen, despite what the local yokels are saying!!)

Listen to Voicemail?

Voicemail Transcription, Dated September 20th, 2011

The following is a transcription of a voicemail left by an out of service number on Lieutenant Chao's personal cellular device by PTE-5220-Blue-Egowrinkle-Kewpiebreaker.

[Begin Log]

Answering machine beeps.

PTE-5220-Blue-Egowrinkle-Kewpiebreaker: Heyyyyyyy Cousin. Can I call you cousin? I mean, it would be weird if I called you 'little sister' since you're older than me, and I've never been a fan of the whole 'little sister' thing anyways, and I certainly can't call you Alison-

Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I. The others don't usually let me do introductions, so I'm not really used to talking to someone who's not in the know. Uh, let's see… Well, I'm Alison Chao, though my friends call me Lilly! Now I'm imagining you're thinking 'well that can't be right, I'm Alison Chao!' Or maybe you're not. Your organization does have a whole code-word dedicated for people that come from other realities. Oh, would that make me a 'Blue-Egowrinkle' or an 'Egowrinkle-Blue.' God, you people have such an obtuse way of naming things. Say what you want about the Foundation, but they're really good at labeling thing. Simple, clean, understandable method, you know?

PTE-5220-Blue-Egowrinkle-Kewpiebreaker: (whispering to self) Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have said that.

PTE-5220-Blue-Egowrinkle-Kewpiebreaker: Er, anyways, I'm you! From another world! Surprise! Although my world was a little less bleak when it was around…

There's actually a whole lot of us out there! Well, you know that already, you know what multiverse theory is after all, but I mean there's a ton of us out there, communicating and working together! We call ourselves the Black Queen, I'm Black Queen Lilly, for example, and we collaborate to try to keep our worlds safe from the Foundation and other multiversal threats! It's a great time, not sure why you haven't been invited yet. I assume it's probably the whole 'dog of the GOC thing.' Most Black Queens have a hard time trusting those of us who pledge their loyalty to something else. Big anti-authority streak we conveniently forget about when it comes to internal politics, you know? Yeah, you do.

Anyways, us Black Queens have a lot, and I mean a nearly infinite number, of diverging goals and interests, but I'd say a solid 90% are working against the Foundation because of our father. Some of us want to save him, some of us oppose the Foundation in large part because of the odious Dr. Gears. Looks like you're in the latter camp, that's a shame. I totally relate though! You know, when I was growing up it was 'Alison no casting spells in the house, Alison no polymorphing the neighborhood kids into squirrels.' Such a killjoy. Wait, do you even have squirrels there?

They're like fuzzy-tailed little rat things that— Not important. The thing is, I'm kinda in some hot water with the other Black Queens because of a little teeny tiny misunderstanding and I need a place to lay low at while all that blows over, and your place is absolutely perfect. And hey, you don't have to worry about being an entertaining host or anything, I get that you're busy. I'll stay out of your hair, unless you'd like some help, which I could totally give you, by the way. I mean, you guys are getting your asses kicked. Lost every major continent to the Foundation except South America and Australia. Huge bummer. But I'm like, a really powerful mage! So I could probably help turn the tide a little bit.

Anyways, I should make it to your place in about a week, maybe sooner, just so you know. No need to throw a housewarming party! See you then, Cousin! Hmm, no I think I'll call you Lieutenant instead, it's less awkward. buh bye!

[End Log]

Gaze into the mirror?

A possible future, reflected September 20th, 2011

The letter finds you in the Archives of the Wanderer's Library, tucked within The Grimoire of Charles Samuel Addams, Professional Warlock. The letter's pages are burned and ripped to slivers, yet somehow cling together. Ruined paper is a rarity in the Library, and curiosity overcomes your better judgment. A simple spell cannot hurt. A whisper, a snap, and the memory of your first grape—the sweet pop of the juice and flesh, the sweetness that followed.

The ashes surrender two words: 'Alison Chao.' Your name.

You consult Harliss Cabernatch, a tuphramancer privy to (some of) your secrets. Under her hands, the ashes murmur words once on paper. Harliss interprets the ash-language: a greeting, references to multiple letter versions, a hope that one will reach someone. The ashes mutter names: Alison. Alix. Alisander. Queen. Vizier. Knave of Clubs. L.S.. A soft, sibilant S, drawn out into silence.

Armed with rituals, you retreat to the Lavagon, an abandoned laboratory from a previous universe, another lost place in the Archives. The lab-creators' skeletons still sit in their brass chairs, faces turned away—yet they watch you still.

You light green candles under the ashes, then draw your fingers through the trail of smoke—grasp the edges and pull, opening the smoke to a soft static. Within the smoke lens, a bald man wearing a tuxedo and a woman in a long gown, both uncharacteristically smiling. Charles Gears. Leanne Zhu Chao. A warning whispers from the flicking flame: He has not lost his ability to feel. But this only makes him more dangerous. And: She is coming for you. She is coming for us all. Your mother? Someone else?

Stop.

A Docent, drawn by the scent of burning paper. It knows you are conducting a ritual, and burning no books, but there are instincts which they cannot overcome. You freeze, staring into the smoke window, as the Docent's long neck twists its gaze around you. It will not leave for some time.

Visions flow through the ashy mirror. Black towers jutting from the twisting curve of a starry abyss. An endless labyrinth of laboratories etched through pale white void. Jewel-bright castles and stone prisons stretching across an empty, devastated Earth. A glass and clockwork octahedron orbited by planets. The Black Castle at the End of Time. The House of Gears. The Empress Foundation. The Final Psalm.

Instructions bubble in thought in strange colors. Beneath the bust of Sir Bruce Robert Cotton. Take a Library card that lets you breathe liquid. Beware The Black Dog.

The smoke-images die out. But the Docent—yes, it's still there—extends long, slender fingers—down, down, down. Down over the blackened letter. It traces a finger through the air, and ink appears, floating on nothing. While it's too dark to read easily, you hold it up to the candle, and the words are cast on the nearby wall, just like a gobo.

…the Cap of Neglect. (Here and there, words are smeared away.) Sew, knit, crochet. (…) The Cap instinctively erases identity, even an identity as resilient as ours. Acknowledge its personhood, or lose yours…
(…) few of us found the Library. Vanishingly few became magicians. Fewer still (…) Now, it's different. Almost every day, (…) the multiverse, a critical mass of Alison Chaos did a critical mass of services to the Library, (…) decided to start encouraging us along. (…) maybe the Library knows something we don’t.

The Docent leans back up. It turns, quietly gliding away with a sound like wet, sticky grocery store cart wheels. The door hisses closed. And it's gone.

The rest of the letter is gone, too, leaving only the barely visible ghost of the page, visible through a borrowed agate scrying lens. You could try to have it woven into something readable, but you're out of favor with The Graeae since the incident with a package of Lee Press-On Nails. Alls the pity.

You resume reading The Grimoire. At the bottom of a page discussing the use of animated body parts (hands in particular), the instructions vanish into rough, smudged text—

░▒▓▓▓▒░ investigating a multiversal threat. A cosmic event has crushed ░▒▓▓▓▒░ If you’re reading this, you may be ░▒▓▓▓▒░ inconsistency or repetition ░▒▓▓▓▒░ powerful, well-connected, and murderous ░▒▓▓▓▒░ fractures in reality, surfacing where the universe has been stressed by supernatural or paracausal ░▒▓▓▓▒░ easiest to find by watching Librarians ░▒▓▓▓▒░ sewing air with a needle and thread, ░▒▓▓▓▒░ Witch Child, Sigurrós ░▒▓▓▓▒░ some realities, she dies in ░▒▓▓▓▒░ hope she still lives in yours, or ░▒▓▓▓▒░ Project Resurrection, a ░▒▓▓▓▒░ with worse implications ░▒▓▓▓▒░ rumors, whispers, of something knocking at the edges of reality, something nameless, something not a god. A wolf at the door.

More words play over the page—but now you feel intrusions in your mind. The phrases leak away, leaving only impressions of important instructions and urgent warnings. Then you're again reading about how to teach sign language to a miniaturized flesh golem.

As you close the book, you notice an inscription written on the inside of the front cover. The letter's signature. The same name as yours.

Your Little Sister,
Alison Chao

Gaze into the pool?

A possible future, gleamed September 20th, 2011

The letter finds you in the Archives of the Wanderer's Library, tucked within The Lost Song of Robert Dylan. The letter's pages are burned and ripped to slivers, yet somehow cling together. Ruined paper is a rarity in the Library, and curiosity overcomes your better judgment. A simple spell cannot hurt. A whisper, a snap, and the memory of your first apple—the tart bite of the juices flowing over your tongue like joyous acid.

The ashes surrender two words: 'Alison Chao.' Your name.

You consult Harliss Cabernatch, a tuphramancer privy to (some of) your secrets. Under his hands, the ashes murmur words once on paper. Harliss interprets the ash-language: a greeting, references to multiple letter versions, a hope that one will reach someone. The ashes mutter names: Alison. Alix. Alisander. Queen. Vizier. Knave of Hearts. L.S.. A soft, sibilant S, drawn out into silence.

Armed with rituals, you retreat to The Hard Luck Cat Cafe, the quiet little diner serving tuna, mice, and cream—all day, every day, from one Big Bang to the next. A few cats coil their tails around your legs in greeting. Only cats are allowed inside, but they recognize a kindred spirit.

You light blue candles under the ashes, then draw your fingers through the trail of smoke—grasp the edges and pull, opening the smoke to a soft static. Within the smoke lens, a bald man wearing a tuxedo and a woman in white, both uncharacteristically smiling. Charles Geirs. Leanne Zhu Chao. A warning appears in a halo above them: He has not lost his ability to feel. But this only makes him more dangerous. And: She is coming for you. She is coming for us all. Your mother? Someone else?

STOP.

Visions flow through the ashy portal. Black edifices of cyclopian buildings, rising around you like teeth, stars twinkling between. Twisting, bleach-white rooms full of scientific equipment. Sparkling, tiny catacombs carved from gemstone by ants in feathery dust. An impossibly huge mesh of clockwork, echoing with each tick through an endless sky—touched only by a series of tiny moons. The Black Castle at the End of Time. The House of Gears. The Empress Foundation. The Final Psalm.

Instructions bubble in thought in strange colors. Beneath the bust of Ser Bobby Cotton. Take a Library card that lets you walk on fire. Beware The Black Dog.

The smoke-images die out. But the Docent—yes, it's still there—extends long, slender fingers—down, down, down. Down over the blackened letter. It traces a finger through the air, and ink appears, floating on nothing. You lift the page, the ink moving with it, and hold the print against the fur of a painfully white cat. The words become visible.

…the Cap of Neglect. (Here and there, words are smeared away.) Communicate, like Grandma taught you. (…) The Cap instinctively erases identity, even an identity as resilient as ours. Acknowledge its personhood, or lose yours…
(…) Not so long ago, very few of us found the Library. Vanishingly few became (…) across the multiverse, a critical mass of Alison Chaos did a critical mass of services to the Library, such that the Greater Library itself—whatever that is—decided to start encouraging us along. (…) maybe the Library knows something we don’t.

The Docent leans back up. It turns, quietly gliding away with a sound like wet, sticky grocery store cart wheels. The door slowly closes. And it's gone.

The rest of the letter is gone, too, leaving only the barely visible ghost of the page, which one of the cats is swatting at. You could try to get it translated into stone, but you've been kicked out of Cobblehewer's masonry since that incident with a shipment of rotten pumice. Alls the pity.

You resume reading The Lost Song. In the middle of a verse about a woman with three legs (a euphemism?), the lyrics suddenly change—

▓░▒▓▒░▓ investigating a multiversal threat. A cosmic event has crushed together uncountable timelines, making everyone into a patchwork quilt ▓░▒▓▒░▓ If you’re reading this, you ▓░▒▓▒░▓ conflicting lives, carrying equal emotional legitimacy. Both—somehow—verifiable ▓░▒▓▒░▓ easiest to find by watching Librarians ▓░▒▓▒░▓ sewing air with a needle and thread, ▓░▒▓▒░▓ Stefánsdóttir. You likely helped her save Earth from destruction. In some realities, she ▓░▒▓▒░▓ Project Resurrection, a series of ▓░▒▓▒░▓ rumors, whispers, of something knocking at the edges of reality, something nameless, something not a god. A wolf at the door.

As you close the book, you notice a title on the Table of Contents, another song unwritten, but also not included in the book itself. The letter's signature. The same name as yours.

Your Little Sister,
Alison Chao

Gaze into the lens?

A possible future, spied September 20th, 2011

The letter finds you in the Archives of the Wanderer's Library, tucked within The Apochryphon According to Thomas. The letter's pages are burned and ripped to slivers, yet somehow cling together. Ruined paper is a rarity in the Library, and curiosity overcomes your better judgment. A simple spell cannot hurt. A whisper, a snap, and the memory of your first orange—the smell of citrus popping in the air like you'd just ripped the rind.

The ashes surrender two words: 'Alison Chao.' Your name.

You consult Harliss Cabernatch, a tuphramancer privy to (some of) your secrets. Under their hands, the ashes murmur words once on paper. Harliss interprets the ash-language: a greeting, references to multiple letter versions, a hope that one will reach someone. The ashes mutter names: Alison. Alix. Alisander. Queen. Vizier. Knave of Coins. L.S.. A soft, sibilant S, drawn out into silence.

Armed with rituals, you retreat to the Satanic Ossuary, where they store the bones of anti-popes and hell's saints from forgotten—but very much successful—apocalypses. No one else comes here, for fear a saint might rise again.

You light purple candles under the ashes, then draw your fingers through the trail of smoke—grasp the edges and pull, opening the smoke to a soft static. Within the smoke lens, a bald man wearing a white tuxedo and a woman, both uncharacteristically smiling. Charles Gears. LeAnne Zhu Chao. A warning forms from the smoke: He has not lost his ability to feel. But this only makes him more dangerous. And: She is coming for you. She is coming for us all. Your mother? Someone else?

Stop.

Visions flow through the ashy sphere. Black stone, cobbled together and worked smooth by time, arranged into curious towers, nestled in stars. Research laboratories and testing rooms, stacked atop each other from the top of the universe to the bottom. Painfully bright, carnival glass towers and prison-castles, rising from a metal-strewn desert into a yellow-gold sky. A spinning clock of a solar system, each day, week, month, and year carefully dictated. The Black Castle at the End of Time. The House of Gears. The Empress Foundation. The Final Psalm.

Instructions bubble in thought in strange colors. Beneath the bust of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. Take a Library card that lets you swim through air. Beware The Black Dog.

The smoke-images die out. But the Docent—yes, it's still there—extends long, slender fingers—down, down, down. Down over the blackened letter. It traces a finger through the air, and ink appears, floating on nothing. You pull up your sleeve and use your pale forearm as a background, even though the ink is hot and stings like alcohol on a papercut.

…the Cap of Neglect. (Here and there, words are smeared away.) If you haven’t met yet, you’ll want to reach out soon. Make friends (…) The Cap instinctively erases identity, even an identity as resilient as ours. Acknowledge its personhood, or lose yours…
(…) very few of us found the Library. (…) Now, it's different. Almost every day, another Alison steps over the threshold and (…) across the multiverse, a critical mass of Alison Chaos did a critical mass of services to the Library, such that the Greater Library itself—whatever that is—decided (…) To what end? I can't know. (…) maybe the Library knows something we don’t.

The Docent leans back up. It turns, quietly gliding away with a sound like wet, sticky grocery store cart wheels. There's an audible creak from hell scorched hinges. And it's gone.

The rest of the letter is gone, too, leaving only the ghost of the page, which fails to respond to any necromancy you can muster. You could have it resurrected, but you've been forbidden from asking Jesus for more favors since that incident at Easter Dinner last year. Alls the pity.

You resume reading The Apochryphon. In the middle of a hoary treatise on secret rites of ancient Christian blood magic (compelling, genuinely), the verses go from Latin to English, half smudged out—

▓▒░░░▒▓ investigating a multiversal threat. A cosmic event has crushed ▓▒░░░▒▓ If you’re reading this, ▓▒░░░▒▓ inconsistency or repetition ▓▒░░░▒▓ alone and vulnerable and scared, and ▓▒░░░▒▓ Visible fractures in reality, surfacing where the universe has been stressed by ▓▒░░░▒▓ easiest to find by watching Librarians ▓▒░░░▒▓ sewing air with a needle and thread, make polite conversation. Praise their stitching. Find ▓▒░░░▒▓ Witch Child, ▓▒░░░▒▓ dies in the process. I hope ▓▒░░░▒▓ Project Resurrection, ▓▒░░░▒▓ of increasingly awful ideas ▓▒░░░▒▓ rumors, whispers, of something knocking at the edges of reality, something nameless, something not a god. A wolf at the door.

More words play over the page—but now you feel intrusions in your mind. The phrases leak away, leaving only impressions of important instructions and urgent warnings. Then you're again reading about how much saint's blood is required to raise a sinner from the dead long enough to allow for confession.

As you close the book, you notice, beneath the epigram, a barely visible indentation. Paper and lead raise it for you. The letter's signature, in the same name as yours.

Your Little Sister,
Alison Chao

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Who is the Black Queen?

Years ago, when she was still very young, her father abandoned her and her mother. No note, no packed suitcase, no nothing. Just there one minute, gone the next. Her mother promptly fell apart, leaving Alison to largely fend for herself. Over the years, she became fixated on the idea of finding her father. Through whatever means necessary, she will find her father, and bring to account those who stole her family from her.

This is simply the general framework for the Black Queens. There are hundreds of Black Queens scattered across thousands of universes. Most never become aware of the existence of other Queens and simply do their own thing in their universe. Or die or remain normal or whatever. However, a precious few discover this.

Who is her father?

Doctor Charles Gears. Depending on the universe he is, a robot, an emotionally dead man, an anomalous artifact, or something else entirely. Whatever he is, Gears always plays a pivotal role in the world of the anomalous in whatever universe he's in. Black Queens will frequently go out of their way to preserve the life of a Gears, although some may seek to destroy dangerous iterations of him.

Who are the Black Queens?

A network of alternate reality travelers, one woman in particular spread across the multiverse. The Black Queen group's goal seems to be simply sharing information between Black Queens, in an effort to aid them in their own endeavors. Whether saving universes or planning a heist, a Black Queen knows she can always rely on herself, er… her selves .

Where are the Black Queen's secrets?

In the multiversal catalogs. Whenever a particular instance of an object is encountered on a different world, it is noted. Often, iterations of the Black Queen with a great deal of knowledge on or interest in the object will annotate the catalog to provide greater insight through updates, questions, comments, as well as logs of heists and visual information.

Format

Adding to the List

Variants of Note

Name	Universe	Description	Appearances
Alliott Chao	Third Law	A resident Black Queen of Three Portlands. When she's not committing grand scale paracrime, she's most often found on the roller derby rink.	Vital Signs, Rich Man's World, Portlands Derby Teams, The Dedekind Infinite Demographic, Suspect Ratio, Speed Demon, Sounds Of Silver
Alison	Splinters - The Black Queen	Coupling her father's focus with her own intellect and sociopathic drive, she begins to try and scrape and cut her way into finding out what happened to her family. Once she discovers the edge of the veil the groups and Foundation operate behind, she starts a slow, pinpoint assault. She uses and manipulates with threats, money, seduction, or terror, whatever brings about her goals best. The Black Queen is driven by a desire to get her father back…however it may be that the game itself is becoming the goal. She is implied to be working with MC&D, primarily for funding, but would not be above working with anyone, or wrecking anyone who gets in her way.	The Black Queen
Alison	Splinters - The Broken Hearted	Rising in the ranks as a brilliant, if somewhat withdrawn researcher, her hobbies are taking care of her slowly degenerating mother, and trying to unravel the mystery of what happened to her father.	The Black Queen
Alison Chao	Manhattan Crisis	A magical girl accompanied by a strange animal. Is on a journey to find her father when the attack occurs, and has now become busy trying to protect civilians.	Manhattan Crisis Hub
Alison Chao	Primary	TBA	Going Out of Book, Between Shelves, Queen's Gambit
Allison	Nightfall: Qui Lactis	Student of of the Sorrow Fall and the Bile Class at the Arcana Institute of Xerophylla. Daughter of a Professor at the Arcana Institute.	NIGHTFALL: Qui Lactis
Allison Chao	TL-001-TH	An influential member of the Serpent's Hand and owner of the Depository, a library within the Library. Working with O5-0 and Nobody to take down the Foundation.	Hecatoncheires Cycle, No Return Threshold timeline
Allison Chao	TL-001-VG	Formerly a very influential member of the Serpent's Hand and owner of the Depository, a library within the Library, currently a higher up in Vanguard.	Hecatoncheires Cycle, No Return Vanguard timeline
Allison Chao (Resh)	Blackened	Tried and failed to free her father who was contained by the Foundation as SCP-8211 and died in their breach attempt. Received an offer of power from the Black Moon with the promise of being able to save her father in other worlds.	Blackened, Me, Myself And I, The Worst Version of Myself
Black Queen Ariadne	L-99	Went to Richardson Island to try to find her dad, found a version of him from T-6722 who had become Nobody	Self. Similar., Richardson Island, The Knight of Flowers
Black Queen Eventyr	Eventyr	Foundation Researcher turned SCP turned Serpent's Hand. Lonely and aimless	Secrets and Their Keepers, Shattered Love, Snow Queen
Black Queen Lambda (Alyx Chao)	ML-L29T	Member of the Security and Containment Protectorate's Overwatch Council. Stranded in this universe after the greater Library cut its losses	Mundus, Liberari Hub
Black Queen Tivruski / L.S.	YS-A02T	The enigmatic head of the Serpents' Hand. Known to the Black Queens as Tivruski. They took a vested interest in Agent Hopper upon learning of what he could do, and personally helped to recruit them into the organization.	Yggdrasil's Surveyor Hub

Other Known Variants

Access Granted

Name	Universe	Description	Appearances
Agent Chao	Unknown (Corbenic)	Member of the Three Moons Initiative	aCOPalypse
al. cheo et al	Unknown	TBA	The Queen In Green
Alba Chao ("Purple Queen"/ Big Sister Ravenna)	Project Trickster	Big Friends with Ms. Mirabilis. Because of her universe, she is not Dr C. O. Gear's daughter. Had a good childhood and is very kind and compassionate compared to the BQ. Always refers to herself as Big Sister. For some reason people think Iris Dark looks like her, even Ms Dark herself, Alba and other queens can't quite agree.	Iris Dark Girls Night: The Beginning of a Wonderful Friendship
Alice C.	Unknown	Young, abused reality bender with a distinct background, but still family.	SCP-9292
Alice Chao	Unknown	Sent a message to another universe about something eating universes.	Foundations
Alison	Unknown	TBA	Paris Massacre
Alison	Atonement	Along with many of her sisters she worked with O5-5 "Blackbird" (aka the Black King) to direct his multiversal jumps. Is able to coordinate in sync with her sisters. This specific iteration guards SCP-001 "Atonement"	Ouroboros Chapter IX
Alison Chao	K-1891	Newer member. Revolutionary in a world controlled by the Nazi SKP	The Loathsome Regime
Allison Chao	2190-7625-9811 (“The Road Most Travelled”)	The happiest version of Allison Chao, according to Allison Chao (Resh). Has a step-father she calls dad.	Found in a dusty corner of the Library
Allison Chao	Unknown	Author of "Our Prometheus" , a book about The Serpent, and how she believes the Library being built on its back is a metaphor rather than physical reality	Found in a dusty corner of the Library
Allison Chao	Unknown	A wanderer searching for information about The Serpent. Her journal is found in a dusty corner of the Library	Found in a dusty corner of the Library
Allison Chao	Blood Red Summer	Theological murder victim. Maybe something more?	Blood Red Summer Hub
Allison Chao (Quetzal)	Unknown	Tried to convince her Resh variant to help with a scheme of hers to get a golden statue of themself built and then pretend to sell it. Has long ago given up on her father and moved on.	Me, Myself And I
Ally	B-009	TBA	Lambda-Killer
Andrea	Q-001	Majority of her world's population has been enslaved	P'rantortiz the Vile
Amity	Unknown	One of the "Big A"s, was responsible for convincing a town on a world that was ending to evacuate through their portal, which went on to found "New Alison"	Escapism III
Ashton	Unknown	Trans masc concierge of a building for BQ bunks.	Escapism II
Barkeep	A-972	Owns the "Black Queen" tavern, which sits between a few dozen universes and a half kilometer from a Library entrance. Gets information from customers, either for free or by buying them drinks	The Skylarking Gala
Beatrice (Alison Chao)	Unknown	From a world like ours. Her father came down hard with a disease. She dropped out to take care of him. Recruited The Black Queen of the Rusted City	Escapism I Escapism II
Belle (Alison Chao)	Unknown	Wears glasses and short hair. Recruited and healed by the Black Queens after she was hit by a drone.	Escapism II
Black King (Daniel Alliston-Asheworth)	TL-1911	see doctor-asheworth	The Queen In Green
Black King Alistair	Unknown	Trans-masc, on testosterone. Uses blood magic.	Sounds of Silver
BLACK METAL QUEEN	A-934	TBA	The Skylarking Gala
Black Princess Alison	B-5558	Has been attempting to find her father, Officer Charles Gears, ever since all law enforcement vanished on her Earth.	aCOPalypse
B.Q. Hera	B-881	TBA	Grabnoks, The Destroyers
Black Queen	Unknown	TBA	Paris Massacre
Black Queen (Alison)	Unknown	Her father abandoned her and her mother is dead. She's depressed but manages to see herself as worthwhile with a little help from her other selves.	Talking to Myself
Black Queen (Allison)	Unknown	Powerful and ruthless sorceress based in the Library, cryptic in demeanor and goal. Traded Cristina Cisneros to Cartel in exchange for overdue Library books, but also helped her escape.	The Second Life of Cristina Cisneros, The Men with No Name
Black Queen AC/LS "Little Sister" Sign M	Unknown	TBA	T.K.O.
Black Queen Alison Chao (No cool name yet, sorry)	Unknown	TBA	T.K.O.
Black Queen Ambrosia	Unknown	TBA	Mr. Normie
Black Queen Apostle	X-333	One of the Twelve Apostles of The Nazarene in a universe where Sophia Light was Jesus, and milk plays an important role in Christianity	The Milkssiah
Black Queen Babalon (Aleison Chaoley)	Unknown	Thelema practitioner from a 19th Century world modeled after Aleister Crowley. Often makes the other Black Queens uncomfortable by talking about her sexual spiritual practices. Best friends with some cultists	Sweeter Dreams Inc. Carnifex Carl
Black Queen Baldr	Unknown	TBA	The Hanged King's Tragedy
Black Queen caldera	Unknown	Pretty murder happy. Freed a Mr. Normie from MCD	Mr. Normie
Black Queen Caroline	Unknown	The Hanged Queen	The Hanged King's Tragedy
Black Queen Crosscut (Alison Chao)	152-JS	A newer recruit. Negotiator. Joined the other Black Queens in the Library after Black Queen Yetta got her into a firefight with the FBI and/or Foundation	First Contact
Black Queen Curie	Unknown	Paraphysicist	Grabnoks, The Destroyers
black queen dado	F-97	see dado	On the Subject of the Coarse Mannered Men
Black Queen Datura	Unknown	Similar background to Black Queen Sign (minus being a sentient sign)	The Ghost Sign
Black Queen Delta	Unknown	Magic user. Sent Black Queen Yetta to retrieve and/or recruit Black Queen Crosscut. Flat tone.	First Contact
Black Queen Elbereth	Unknown	TBA	Cassandra
Black Queen Eleanore	Unknown	TBA	The Corncrake Of Destiny
Black Queen Elle	Unknown	TBA	P'rantortiz the Vile
black queen ember	A-343	From a world where trees grow near smarter people. Has a sick sense of humor, may not be very intelligent.	ragnarok
Black Queen Empress	Unknown	TBA	T.K.O.
Black Queen Erasmus	Unknown	Obsessed with the Hanged King's Tragedy after it impacted her life. Seen as a bit of a stick in the mud	The Skylarking Gala The Hanged King's Tragedy
Black Queen Esther	Unknown	TBA	Lambda-Killer
Black Queen Firestarter	Unknown	Smuggler	Mr. Normie
black queen fnord	Unknown	TBA	Carnifex Carl
Black Queen Gaia	Unknown	Name stolen by the Knight of Flowers and left trapped in Timeline B-173	The Skylarking Gala
Black Queen Genesis	Unknown	TBA	Ragnarok
Black Queen Gnosis	Unknown	Left a Nobody to die on Richardson Island on Timeline E-140	Cassandra, Grabnoks, The Destroyers, Lambda-Killer, Richardson Island, Ragnarok, P'rantortiz the Vile
Black Queen Herodatus	Unknown	historian in chief and administrator of the "The Loathsome Regime" article	The Loathsome Regime
Black Queen Iris (Allison Chao)	Unknown	Presides over a Council of millions of Allison Chaos	The Queen In Green
black queen jazz	Unknown	TBA	The Corncrake Of Destiny
BQ Jetsetter	A-033	Upbeat and hyperactive, quick to show anger	Love is an Unwritten Thesis on How to Live Into Your Time
Black Queen Lilly	Unknown	Needs to move timelines a lot, due to their destruction. Very serious about clowns.	On the Subject of the Coarse Mannered Men P'rantortiz the Vile
black queen misa	RZ-I26W	TBA	The Razing of the Library
Black Queen, Mistress of Serpents	B-074	Supervillain leader of the Ebon Legion, enemy of this Earth's Foundation and Omega-7, more specifically "Papercut"	Cassandra
Black Queen Mongoose	Unknown	TBA	cassandra
black Queen nietzsche	Unknown	TBA	Timeline η-5
black queen noisy	Unknown	Doesn't like yelling,	The Skylarking Gala
Black Queen Ocha	Unknown	Speaks like she's in a western movie	The Razing of the Library
Black Queen Persephone (Alison Chao)	Unknown	A Black Queen aiding in the abduction of hundreds of Charles Gears. Said to be one of the kinder ones.	House of Gears, Part One House of Gears, Part Two cassandra
Black Queen Phoenix	Unknown	Envoy to the Foundation of 152-JS	First Contact
Black Queen Rabathy	Unknown	TBA	T.K.O.
Black Queen Rust	Unknown	Peacemaker between the other Black Queens, takes a slightly authoritative role.	First Contact
BQ Sera	Unknown	The polite and serious type, typically organizes BQ meeting	Love is an Unwritten Thesis on How to Live Into Your Time
Black Queen Sign	E-565	Intelligent version of SCP-329-J "adopted" by Charles Gears after an apocalypse relating to SCP-2009. Gears got extracted by Saiga to find a cure, leaving BQ Sign behind, until Black Queen Datura came along. Summoned to Timeline A-589 by that universe's SCP-329-J.	The Ghost Sign
Black Queen Smoke	M-06	Punny	Carnifex Carl
Black Queen Sommelier	Unknown	Big into the food industry. Reviewing food, buying, selling, cooking	The Milkssiah
bq syzygy	B-900	Casual, tends not to take things seriously unless really necessary	Love is an Unwritten Thesis on How to Live Into Your Time
Black Queen Treble	S-106	Global Occult Coalition agent. Took out the second coming of Ion with a drone strike.	Carnifex Carl
Black Queen Val	Unknown	TBA	The Corncrake Of Destiny
Black Queen Valkyrie	B-296	From a universe where an apocalyptic scenario is currently causing people to cease to exist	Ragnarok
oƃıʇɹǝʌ uǝǝnb ʞɔɐןq	Unknown	Retired Khôramancer. Toying with the void caused her to now permanetlytype upside-down	P'rantortiz the Vile
Black Queen Viridia	Unknown	TBA	Lambda-Killer
Black Queen Winter	Unknown	TBA	The Milkssiah
black Queen Yasna	Unknown	Capitalizes every noun she writes.	Timeline η-5
Black Queen Yetta	Unknown	Recruited Black Queen Crosscut after being sent on a mission by Black Queen Delta to retrieve her	First Contact
blackqueenwalking	A-50	Member of Gamers Against Weed, cut off from the multiverse by the Three Moons Initiative due to her universe being infected by a viral memeplex	aCOPalypse
blakunin	Unknown	Doesn't trust anyone, despises authoritarians and fascists, having helped to take down a multitude of regimes across the multiverse.	The Loathsome Regime
blk q	η-5	A Black Queen infected by an entity making her much less intelligent than previously.	Timeline η-5
bq θ prime	Unknown	Sentient mathematical construct from a world with no air. See SCP-033	Sounds of Silver
BQ Lisa	Unknown	Immature	On the Subject of the Coarse Mannered Men The Hanged King's Tragedy
CACK QUEUE WEEN GOBBLEDYGOOK	T-3095	Apex-tier Pluripotent Entity, Prince of Nibirdu SCP-2337 instance with major plans of conquest, Supports George W. Bush.	The Corncrake Of Destiny
Cobra (Alison Chao)	Unknown	Wears white, manages a portal used for recruitment missions. Is a techie who enjoys feeling powerful.	Escapism II
Cyclicomancer Ali	Unknown	Cyclicomancer who sells her cyclicomancy predictions and anomalous drinks. Very empathetic.	Sweeter Dreams Inc.
Chess-piece McDaddyissues	Unknown	Pataphysicist, has similarities to Placeholder McDoctorate	The Loathsome Regime
Director-General of the World Parahealth Organisation Dr. Allison Bailey-Chao	A-198	Formerly with the Foundation's Multi-U department in 1973. Lobotomized after being infected by a musical cognitohazard from another universe	Sounds of Silver
Ellie Chu	TL-6800	A member of the Black Priestesses of WAN who used a forbidden spell in SCP-6936. Is now being perpetually harvested for Pygnite.	Multiverse Threat Recovery Log: SCP-6936
The Empty Empress Shadowsage	Unknown	Occult practitioner that uses human sacrifices	Grabnoks, The Destroyers
Epsilon	Unknown	Infected by a cognitohazard from a Skylarking Gala which she almost spread to other Black Queens	The Skylarking Gala
Erma (Alison Chao)	Unknown	Slightly tall, a red streak in her hair. Lives for pleasure and comfort and bringing it to others.	Escapism II Escapism III
gearspawn	Unknown	Programmed the multiversersal archive	The Hanged King's Tragedy
Green Queen Josephine	TL-1911	see green-king	Codename: Green King HUB The Queen In Green
Henrietta III von Apollyon	Unknown	Judged by Allison Chao (Resh) to be somewhat of a maniac	Me, Myself And I
Infophile Vanta	Unknown	Works a lot with memetics	Sweeter Dreams Inc.
Josephine Avalon	Unknown	Captured by ORIA along with two other Black Queens	MEMORANDUM 083 REGARDING PROJECT "GUARDIANSHIP"
Kamata Tokei, the Black Queen	Unknown	A member of TeleTokyo, a friend of Black Queen Datura	The Ghost Sign
Krista (Alison Chao)	Unknown	Has a big personal project involved in a war she's drawn to.	Escapism II
Nelshirt Pineapple	Unknown	TBA	The Ghost Sign
Nightqueen Ultrablack X	Unknown	Anime villainess that fights Sailor Clef alongside Nobody	Pretty Magic Gaiden Mecha Tokyo-Mon Demon Ninja Sailor Clefn
Overseer Five	D-0089	Responsible for carpet-bombing her universe's Paris, Texas to stop the spread of a virulent memetic agent	Paris Massacre
Penelope Carter	5299-2192-8883 (“Clear Skies”)	Scared, wears an eyepatch on her left eye, ruined and dangling left ear. Owns a room scooped from the Library, where the Library's rules still apply, which she uses for a meeting space. Works with Marshall, Carter and Dark. Owns many variants of SCP-662. Made those who took her father from her pay dearly.	Me, Myself and I
Petra (Alison Chao)	Unknown	Muscled mechanic. From a world where she had to live in an underground community due to something sending her planet out of the solar system. Only survivor from her community after an issue with the exhaust. The Black Queens saved/recruited her after.	Escapism II
PoI-2149 (Al Chao)	Unknown	Non-binary. Friends with Foundation Researcher Dr. Lupe De La Cruz. Witness to the SCP-5678 event in 2038.	SCP-5678
PoI-4056 (Allison)	Unknown	Responsible for SCP-4056, storing a large amount of her father's variants in cryo chambers in a ΩK timeline. Captured and contained by a local version of the Foundation. Her variant from that universe died before the ΩK scenario	SCP-4056
The Queen	Unknown	A Black Queen on the hunt for versions of Charles Gears throughout the universe, under the belief that he is a danger to reality. She has killed sixteen versions of him.	Pawn To E4
Queen Amethyst	Unknown	Cares deeply about her family, but rarely shows it. Is in the process of ascending to godhood of the Black Queens.	Grabnoks, The Destroyers, Love is an Unwritten Thesis on How to Live Into Your Time
Queen Blackbird	Unknown	A raven that lived in the Tree of Knowledge and traded knowledge freely. She helped a Jay find her father, and the Jay became the Queen Blackbird in turn.	Black Bird
Queen Yankee-Niner	Unknown	TBA	Paris Massacre
Saint Aleston Kao	Unknown	TBA	The Queen In Green
SCP-239-D (Allison Chao)	2741-9280-2788 (“Oceanic Hate”)	Daughter of a version of a Charles Gears who became SCP-682. Presumably deceased	Castling By Hand
SCP-AATR "The Extrauniversal Woman" (Alison Chao)	Unknown	A Black Queen who lost her father, and attempted to save an alternate universe version of him.	Castling By Hand
The Sister (Alison)	Unknown	Saved from the GOC by The Queen, she's begun training with her, with the promise of seeing her father again.	Pawn To E4, The Purple Witch Is Dead
Sovereign Black Queen Adrelintha	Unknown	Killed by Lambda-Killer	Lambda-Killer
Third Omniscient of the Supreme Coalition for Phantasmagoria / PoI-8079 (Hekate)	Unknown	Three (or more) merged Black Queens ("Hekate, Queen of the Black Underworld", "Hekate, Ruler of Magic and the Occult Arts" and "Hekate, Goddess of Crossroads and Paths"), member of the Omniscient Council. Saved her world from SCP-8079.	SCP-8079
unit Bl/Qn	N-009	Modified Anderson android. World annihilated by Dream Wars started by Xiupania and Sweeter Dreams Inc. Escaped to the Library and her timeline was locked off, though is now invading the Library.	Sweeter Dreams Inc.
Ya boi, Al	Z-273	Does not take things seriously. Refuses to believe that clowns are a species rather than humans in costumes.	On the Subject of the Coarse Mannered Men, Richardson Island

Writing Guide

If you're reading this, you probably want some guidelines for writing The Black Queen, either as a character or as a GOI. Unfortunately, I don't have any for you. A phrase that gets tossed around about the SCP Wiki a lot is "There Is No Canon" and I believe The Black Queen embodies that more than most.

What I've written here is more contextual, designed to summarize previous existing versions of the character and group of interest, to serve as inspiration and to show you what you can do, rather than what you have to do.

Original

The original version of the Black Queen no longer exists on the wiki.
She did not travel the multiverse, she had no relation to Charles Gears and she was not even named Alison Chao. The Black Queen GOI? non-existent.

The first Black Queen was a character named Raina Preta, created by Fishmonger for his "Chessboard Trilogy" series. She is, initially, a young woman blackmailed into joining a time war by threats against her brother. She successfully prevents the character of Kilroy from making a small change to the timeline by seducing him, and they become romantically involved. Following this she has a technopathic messianic daughter named Alice, then leaves her family over philosophical differences. She becomes a uniquely effective mercenary despite seeming totally non-anomalous, on multiple occasions causing the Foundation a fair bit of trouble, at times robbing them using the pseudonym L.S. .

Reimagining

When Fishmonger's works were deleted, the character was nonetheless remembered and reimagined. Namely Dr Gears wrote The Black Queen wherein he reimagines her as a daughter of his author avatar, Dr. Gears, and writes two branching paths she might have taken. The second path has the most in common with her current general characterization, having her on the warpath to get her estranged father back from the Foundation, no matter what she has to do to get there. Mostly unused elements from this iteration are her ties to Marshall, Carter & Dark, and her life as a mundane researcher.

While this iteration does not feature the BQ traveling the multiverse or encountering multiversal variants of herself, it does lay the groundwork for this by having two branching paths/universes and by positing that the Black Queen could essentially work in any universe, something that would be fundamental to her next major reimagining.

Modern

This new development of the character came, as it did for many GOIs, during the 2014 GOIcon. This was developed by team "The Other Game in Town" composed of Gaffsey, Silberescher and rumetzen, it also owes a lot to thedeadlymoose and their cotemporaneous series "The Serpent Sequence" as well as their help ideating with the GOIcon team.

These four invented the Black Queen GOI, the GOI format, the BQ's Serpent's Hand membership, and her status as a universe-hopping character collaborating with other versions of herself, as well as rekindled the idea of the Black Queen and L.S. being one and the same.

If you want to know more about these elements than that summary gives, then read those series! I'd much rather you get to read those stories firsthand. If you want to hear about about more recent interpretations of the Black Queen, then read on to the next sections.

(Seriously, why aren't they called 'The Black Sisterhood' or something?)

Black Queen GOI Format

The main shtick of the BQ GOI formats is multiple BQ variants discussing an item, person or event that repeats across the multiverse and discussing how it differs in each iteration.

I think the way to succeed in that is to create an interesting anomaly and make sure the character voices differ. That may seem obvious, but genuinely that would solve my problem with a lot of the BQ GOIFs. Many of them don't give their BQs unique enough voices or experiences to tell them apart.

It doesn't have to be a lot. Tt can be "BQ but she's involved in a GOI she typically isn't" or "BQ but he's living in the Old West" or "BQ but she's a burger" or "BQ but they're a pro basketball player" just about anything. So long as you can make her experiences make her distinguishable from the others and inform her opinions. If all of them are clones of each other and they all agree on everything then there's not much of interest in the GOI format (feel free to prove me wrong of course).

The way the format is designed, the only way you're getting a plot structure is through the BQs' dialogue when reacting to information, or, rarely, being affected by the anomaly in some way as the GOI format progresses (physically attacked, memetics, whatever), so it's paramount that you use interesting characters. It is also very important that they have enough space to be interesting characters. Don't overcrowd the piece with Black Queens, use the minimum necessary for the dynamic you want to create between them. The more BQs you have in the piece, the less dialogue they'll each have to say and the harder it is to develop a personality for them all that won't get lost in the shuffle. Personally I'd advise going with three or four, five at the most.

That is, of course, only if you use the typical GOI format. The big secret here is that the original got made up and first used by the GOIcon2014 team, and you can do that too! The Queen In Green isn't a typical GOI format but it's tagged as one and I think it's pretty good. Why not try making one yourself? If a new one catches on I'd be more than happy to throw that formatting on the hub with the current one.

As for the anomaly used in the article, my main advice there is that the Black Queens should all have some experience with it. Positive, negative, intentional or accidental, that's up to you and the story you want to tell. I will also say that it's easy to fall into the trap of writing alternate universe versions of a pre-existing anomaly and characters. If you do that be careful that your work doesn't rely too heavily on an existing work to be enjoyable.

The Group

You'll notice that I haven't really mentioned how the Black Queen GOI works, how they're structured or what they do. That's because it's never really established.

The lore elements that tend to stick with the GOI is that their membership is almost exclusively Black Queens, that they use identifiers of some kind to differentiate each other, that they operate out of the Library and that they have a Multiversal Catalogue of some kind.

That's about it.

No indication of hierarchy or purpose, which leaves these gals as a big question mark in a lot of ways.

That said, like anything on the wiki, a lot of lore gets thrown into works that can be used if someone wants to use it, and you can also make assumptions based on established elements.

They're said to work out of the Library, and many of them are said to go by L.S. , which is sometimes associated with the Serpent's Hand, so there's a natural connection drawn between the Black Queen organization and the Hand, which many works do.

The BQ GOIF is said to relate to the "Multiversal Archive", logically that system, whatever it is, would be upkept in some way, hence "gearspawn" who is said to have programmed the archive.

Due to the many different alliances, allegiances and goals of its members, one can assume that the organization is more of an information sharing collective, rather than an organization with a specific mission beyond that.

And given the various BQ identifiers, you can assume those either get chosen or assigned so as to prevent BQs from having duplicate identifiers.

There are some really cool takes on the assembly of Black Queens, and the organization themselves in Escapism, if anyone is desperate for some BQ worldbuilding I suggest looking there.

SCP Foundation

Secure, Contain, Protect

Who is the Black Queen?

Who is her father?

Who are the Black Queens?

Where are the Black Queen's secrets?

Variants of Note

Series

Blackened

Blood Red Summer

Chao's Theory

Escapism

Field Notes

NIGHTFALL: Qui Lactis

Nobody No Return

Rich Man's World

Richardson Island

Speed Demon

The Black Queen

The Serpent Sequence

SCPs

Tales

GOI Formats

B.Q. Format

Other Formats

Artwork

Full Catalogue

Writing Guide

Original

Reimagining

Modern

Black Queen GOI Format

The Group