[…] determined geopositioning sigils within concentric manifolds, circling an area large enough to cover the Motherland. It must be stressed once more that any individuals outside […]
[WATER DAMAGE]
[…] kilometers of the activation site will not be transported during the process. It is expected that the displacement will be self-correcting, most likely resulting in the integration of the landmass into the underwater continental shelf, widening the Yellow Sea.
The Ritual Committee predicts minimal backlash, and we can expect temporal alterations in basal reality on the order of a few weeks per ton per displacement event. Local SRAs (Scranton Reality Anchors) are currently in use to prevent the Project from erasing itself whenever displacement events occur, currently limited to a 1 kilometer radius. No backlash is expected to occur in this region, and is standard Project Regno protocol. Such contingencies […]
[WATER DAMAGE]
[…] not repeat the same mistake the Saudis did. Maintenance of SRA synchronicity is of utmost importance, secondary only to development of the displacement processes.
Due to factors beyond our control, the bulk of the backlash will be directed eastwards, in the general direction of the Daehan Empire. We'll leave it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to figure that one out until we manage to completely displace the nation, after which their problems will be their own. Furthermore […]
HAE: You would not believe how many times it comes up. It's ridiculous, almost every drone we send over returns corrupted data.
KANG: Oh, I would know. We have to document and organize all that noise. If only I were in the Testing Committee, I would've—
HAE: Here we go again.
KANG: Hey, I have the right to complain about my disposition, alright? Just when I thought I'd finally get assigned to a Committee that actually works on something, I get hit with yet another Records assignment. My PhD in thaumaturgy might as well be wastepaper at this point.
RYEO: I don't know, Narae. I'd count myself lucky to even be on the project.
KANG: [Scoffs.] Says Mr. Poster-Boy-of-the-Ritual-Committee.
[Hae is heard chuckling.]
RYEO: Oh, shut up. For all you know, you're on some assignment blacklist after that sea serpent incident.
KANG: It's just — If this project turns out to be the gateway to enlightenment like they keep telling us, then we have to make sure it's done right. I know I could contribute to that if only I was put in charge of something tangible.
HAE: Documents and tapes are tangible, no?
KANG: One of these days I'm going to receive a disciplinary for throwing a colleague out of a window.
HAE: In all seriousness though, I've been told the issue is under the jurisdiction of the Ritual Committee, not Testing. Got anything, Ji-Hyun?
RYEO: It's nothing serious. Geopositioning the ritual can be a hit or miss.
KANG: So you're saying they keep missing, and that's why we haven't landed in a proper Otherworld yet?
RYEO: Well uh, we haven't gotten the right sigils down but that's by no fault of our own. We're in the process of amending some parameters though, so we might be seeing something soon.
PROJECT REGNO
TRANSMISSION PRINTOUT ID 003528 (14/03/1985-21/03/1985)
Fellow members, it is with great joy that I bring this news to the table. We have successfully sent an unmanned drone into an Otherworld, and had it return with photographs and video footage. You should find them attached to this transmission after the bleep.
There is no greater beauty in this world than the one we share with our ancestors. God(s) speed us all.
Video Log
Drone ID ABX-002 — Timestamp 19:32:27 08/12/85
[00:00:00]: Drone completes systems check, audio and video feed come online.
[00:00:01]: Only the soft whirring of the drone's wheels are heard. Camera currently oriented towards the sky, returning footage of black clouds superimposed over a deep red sky. The area is well-lit despite the absence of a visible sun.
[00:00:05]: Drone reorients itself, returning footage of a long marble brick bridge suspended over an abyss. The bottom, if there is any, is obscured by thick fog. Attempts at navigation sideways along the bridge are followed by the entire structure shifting along with the drone.
[00:00:13]: Drone is moved forwards. Bridge is noted to be empty.
[00:00:58]: Signs of damage are noted on the bridge, ranging from scratch marks to large crevices. Burn marks are also recorded. Several structures are visible in the distance. Drone proceeds forwards.
[00:02:24]: Structures are revealed to be 3 tall columns of indeterminate composition protruding out of the fog below. Drone does not possess adequate equipment nor reach to identify the column materials, but it is inferred from visual analysis that they are made of salt.
[00:03:46]: Drone stops. It is unable to proceed further due to a large section of the bridge ahead being missing. In the absence of the drone's whirring, a very soft low humming sound can be heard.
[00:03:49]: Drone reactivates to begin return process. Humming sound increases in volume. Audio and video quality begin to noticeably decline.
[00:03:52]: Humming sound is now louder than the drone. Audio feed is interspersed by static, however it can be distinguished that the source of the humming is approaching from behind the drone.
[00:03:54]: Audio and video feeds degrade beyond the point of practicality.
[00:03:55]: Connection lost.
Post-Exploration Review: Drone ABX-002 successfully returned, albeit heavily damaged. Recovered footage presents only successful instance of Otherworld exploration. Nature of damage to be ascertained, hostile Otherworld actors suspected. Research Committee currently working on improved drone design and peripherals.
Ritual Committee presently posits explored Otherworld to be the Cinvatô Peretûm, accessed by unintentional tunneling.
HAE: I'd say it was a pyrrhic success. Shame about the drone, though.
KANG: Imagine being sentimental for a drone with a camera that could only face forward.
HAE: [Scoffs.] You know full well I advocated for the completion of the 360-degree camera before we proceeded with that test. Wonder what we could've saw coming up behind the drone.
RYEO: Yeah, about that, the guys at Rituals aren't too sure about what that was exactly. Right now the consensus is that we sent the drone to Chinvat or an analogue, only problem is that neither should be having red skies nor damaged bridges. In fact, there should've been plenty of souls and at least 2 guardians there on the bridge, so whatever that was was probably not native to—
KANG: Be that as it may, this is a crucial moment for the Motherland, and Chinvat isn't even our objective so there's no use ruminating on it. Blacklist those sigils and move on already.
RYEO: Still, I think it's in our best interests to understand what exactly went on in there. Anyway, Lee managed to plot out some sigils to an otherworld within local cosmology. They'll be formally submitted soon.
KANG: Things are finally in motion again! Say, Ji-Hyun, you think I can get a look at those sigils later?
HAE: I will never understand you thaumaturge nerds.
KANG: And yet you still have lunch with us.
HAE: Touché.
From the Vatican, 4 September 1985
Dear King Steffen IV of Anglesey-Vestland,
His Holiness Ioannes Paulus I has re-evaluated the involvement of the Holy See in Project Regno. He appreciates the compassion had between faiths to bring about the existence of an endeavor such as Project Regno, but it is the current decision of His Holiness, and by extension the Holy See, to respectfully decline this invitation. His Holiness is of the understanding that such measures of entering Heaven pre-mortem are in opposition to the will of God, as is the Holy See of His papacy. Nonetheless, He is thankful that the Vatican was given such an opportunity.
Assuring that the supplied equipment and machinery are safely returned, and of a remembrance in His Holiness's prayers, I am
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Monsignor G. Giovanna
KANG: This is Dr. Kang, Records Committee, taking a statement from pilot subject Dr. Shin. Please state what you saw upon displacement.
SHIN: As you know, during the displacement event there was a bright flash of light from the activation site. Once I had recovered from the flash and subsequent disorientation, I found myself floating— no, more like standing on air, if that makes sense, over a lake valley populated by lotus flowers. It was oppressively calm. I could not find any strength in my legs to move about. I could only sit down and observe. I saw clouds nestled between green valleys and mountains, some of which were not connected to the ground at all. Twin suns straddled the horizon on the eastern and western horizons.
KANG: One of the Pure Lands?
SHIN: It must be. After some time, the suns fell below the horizon. I saw lights in the distance. Cities, perhaps. There were twin moons as well, rising from the north and south.
KANG: You've reported discrepancies between the interval of displacement and your perception of the flow of time in the otherworld. Please reiterate your statements for the record.
SHIN: I understand the displacement interval was set by the Testing Committee to be 10 minutes. In the otherworld, I counted approximately 200 days to pass before I returned.
KANG: Did you experience any sensations of hunger or thirst, or any overarching emotions during your time in the otherworld?
SHIN: No. In hindsight, I'd describe the entire trip as 'boring', if not peaceful.
KANG: I've one more question before I can let you go. Did you encounter any inhabitants?
SHIN: No.
KANG: Thank you for your time and co-operation.
* NOTICE TO PROJECT REGNO GROUPS
We will be moving the deadline forward to 1st October 1987 in light of recent breakthroughs and developments. Please make any necessary preparations in advance. No exceptions will be made for personnel who do not finish unsettled business within the allocated timeframe.
REMINDER: Remember to register your participation with your respective committees before 1st January 1987.
KANG: It fits the general description, no hunger, no thirst, no aging, but we still have one problem: he didn't see anyone. This shouldn't be the case. How many times has that happened throughout the project?
RYEO: 3 times, all occurring under West Korean supervision. We've never seen anyone in the otherworlds. This might just be something unique to Pure Lands and Asia in general. I'm sure if we get the Etrurians to do it here, they'd get the same results.
KANG: It doesn't match up to the scriptures. I'm not expecting direct displacement into the courts of Shambhala, but still. Where are all the bodhisattvas? They couldn't have just upped and left, could they? And what about those lights they keep seeing? How the hell do we explain that? [Sighs.] We're going to be laughing stocks at the next conference.
RYEO: Ah cheer up. Not every otherworld's got time dilation.
KANG: Sure, and then what of mobility? Are we going to keep finding otherworlds where we can't even move? The Remenkhemi have already made contact with the inhabitants of their Aatu and mapped out the most of their otherworld as compared to the rest of us. Why must this be so hard?
RYEO: Objectively, we've already achieved something great by sending Shin to a Pure Land and not one of the potential Hells. I'd suggest taking a day off from work, all this stress can't be good for you.
KANG: I appreciate your concern, but we have a duty to the Motherland, and I will not achieve that by lying around in complacency. I'll see you in the next general committee meeting.
KANG: — we have proper protocols in place for this! Thaumaturgy is nothing more than arcane physics and mathematics, if we want to add all this equipment and machinery we must be informed of the specifics to account for them! You can't just waltz in here with god-knows-what under a tarp and expect us t-
AU: I don't think you understand the situation here. We have followed proper protocol and the machinery have already been accounted for in the displacement process. We're simply accelerating the process. I'd advise you stop making such a ruckus about it front of the entire work floor.
KANG: Accelerating the— How is this acceleration? I checked the damn manifolds myself, I know for a fact you're swapping out equipment necessary for smoother displacement! I have the equipment manifest right here, it says you've replaced the Diderot HPS with… this is a drill rig, why do you need a-
AU: Give me that!
[Audible sounds of struggling.]
KANG: Is that what this is? A mining operation piggybacking off the greatest endeavor in the nation's history?
[Brief silence.]
AU: What are you all looking at? Get back to work! As for you, Dr. Kang, you'll be lucky if you get to do the same.
[Audio of conversation gradually becomes louder. The operation of a coffee machine can be heard in the background.]
HAE: The whole thing's got at least 3 entire Committees in a frenzy, did you know that?
RYEO: Gag order will probably come in soon. Would not be the first time this has happened, but all great projects have their obstacles, I guess.
HAE: It is quite strange, if you think about it. How Shin went in sane and came out… like that. These things don't just happen to seasoned explorers just from adjusting the ritual by a few degrees.
RYEO: These are uncharted waters, after all. His premature retirement will be a great loss to the project and the Motherland.
HAE: I was there during his mental break, you know. The man was delirious. You couldn't ignore his ramblings even if you tried.
RYEO: Oh really? What did he say?
[Audible slurping of liquid, presumably coffee.]
HAE: That the lights we keep seeing aren't cities. They're fires.