I'm right where you left me.
WaylandLaurencePan
ADDENDUM 8567.I: Psychological Assessment of Dr. Halia Jones for PROJECT AETERNA
DR. HALIA JONES PSYCHOLOGIST REPORT
PSYCHOLOGY AND THERAPY, HUMAN RESOURCES, SITE-512
Reference number: P18PA03
07/07/18
Dr. Annabelle Goh
Senior Clinical Psychologist, Medical Division, HR, Site-512
Assessment performed for PROJECT AETERNA
Background: Dr. Halia Jones is a long-term researcher at Site-512, having worked under Anomalous Media from 2007-2010, Esoteric Logics & Ritualistics from 2010-2014, and Experimentation & Paratechnology from 2015 to the present. She was cleared for and assigned to PROJECT AETERNA in June 2017, and was the third volunteer to be the first proper human experimental subject for the project.
Born in Singapore in February 1980 to a well-off family, she studied at the University of California on a Foundation Scholarship, where she met her long-term boyfriend while volunteering at the National Park Service. Her mother passed away in December 2010 from heart failure; she is estranged from her father. Her long-term boyfriend passed away in August 2015 in a car accident. Dr Jones suffers from Huntington's Disease, diagnosed in January 2017; prognosis is death by 2025. She does not suffer from any other long-term medical issues, mental or physical.
Action: Dr. Halia Jones is recommended with a score of 8.3 to be the first human subject for PROJECT AETERNA.
Justification: Despite her impending death, Dr. Halia Jones displays an uncommonly optimistic and impressively resilient outlook towards life. She is fully aware of the consequences of her participation, and does not perceive it as a form of escape. She can logically articulate reasons why she is the most suitable candidate; all tests indicate her genuine belief in that. She has also acknowledged and accepted the potential for her participation to not achieve the desired results; she does not express any despair over the possibility, instead choosing to reframe it as an opportunity for the project to "work out the kinks".
Beyond her mental outlook, her scores for recall, perception, deduction and unconscious thought are the highest of the six candidates available. That, in combination with her fatal genetic disease, predisposes her to be an ideal candidate for the project.
However, some caution is advised; Dr. Jones demonstrates a pronounced tendency to obsess over the past and regrets, driven partly by her excellent abilities in recall. She has, unprompted, brought up her late boyfriend numerous times in irrelevant conversations, discussed her internal conflicts over her choice of University, and, ironically, expressed a desire to expunge those moments she "wishes [she] could forget". It is unclear whether this factors into her motivations or future actions related to PROJECT AETERNA; further observation, should she be selected, is recommended.
| ASSIGNED SITE | TEAM SUPERVISOR |
|---|---|
| Site-512 | Dr. Pan |
| ASSIGNED SECTION | ASSIGNED TEAM |
| Experimentation & Paratechnology | PROJECT AETERNA1 |
Dr. Halia Jones (right) with her long-term boyfriend, Clive Gould (left). Picture taken 2005.
SPECIAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURES: As of 29/12/18, by Ethics Committee decision, SCP-8567 is not to be activated without approval of the O5 Council.2 It is to remain powered off at all times. Its exact location will remain undisclosed, known only to the direct leads of the now-defunct PROJECT AETERNA.3
DESCRIPTION: SCP-8567 refers to the end product of PROJECT AETERNA: a perfect, non-compressed noetic scanner, referred internally as the Mr. Noetic Reader (MRNR).4 Following the passing of the previous Site Director, Dir. Hiatt, on the 12th of March, 2017, Site-512 faced numerous administrative issues stemming from Dir. Hiatt's secret storage locations for sensitive documents. Following the discovery of SCP-8567-1 on the 20th of May, 2017, Dr. Pan and Dr. He jointly proposed PROJECT AETERNA, a secure and infallible way to retrieve memories after death.
SCP-8567-1 at the point of discovery.
SCP-8567-1 refers to an anomalous VEF-MIKRO 5325 Disk Unit Latvia Computer, discovered during a raid on a proto-Maxwellist sect in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Malaysia. Cursory scans indicated a heavily modified interior; a nearby manual referred to the device as "Mr. Brain Gobbler", and indicated its supposed ability to perfectly retrieve memories from neural tissue inserted into the disk reader slot. This ability was later confirmed in E&P tests. Attempts to decipher its exact mechanism have proven futile; its internal structure exhibits antimemetic or anticonceptual properties. As such, any record or replication of the device has thus far proven impossible.
SCP-8567-2.
SCP-8567-2 refers to the storage system for SCP-8567, a metal-ceramic encased tube of oriykalkos.5 Internally referred to as "the tower", it was purpose-manufactured by the Foundation and was connected with standard wiring to SCP-8567-1; although it did not initially exhibit anomalous properties, beyond its extreme storage capabilities, certain phenomena would develop within it following Test PA-UT.
SCP-8567-3 refers to the anomalous bursts of Elan-Vital Energy6 that emanated from SCP-8567 from 01/09/18 to 26/09/18, at which point SCP-8567 was powered off. The bursts occurred aperiodically, their power decreasing logarithmically with regards to time.
Further relevant information may be found in the ADDENDA.
ADDENDUM 8567.II: Selected PROJECT AETERNA Phase I Testing Logs
Selected PROJECT AETERNA Testing Logs
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 1
Date: 17-06-2017
Supervising: wlpan
Testing: jsngzq
Preserved Mouse Brain Slice 0.1mm (Test PA-A)
OBSERVATIONS:
- No electrical output detected.
Preserved Mouse Brain Slice 0.5mm (Test PA-E)
OBSERVATIONS:
- No electrical output detected.
Preserved Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm (Test PA-K)
OBSERVATIONS:
- No electrical output detected.
REMARKS:
- Testing suspended for the day. This is the largest slice we can fit, and it still isn't working. Hopefully this isn't all a hoax.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 4
Date: 01-07-2017
Supervising: heycj
Testing: akar
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 0.1mm (Test PA-Y)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Some electrical output detected.
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 2.0mm (Test PA-Z)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Moderate electrical output detected.
REMARKS:
- We're killing a new mouse, right now.
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 2.0mm (Test PA-AA)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Significant electrical output detected.
REMARKS:
- Freshly dead seems to work best. We can start connecting it to the tower. AETERNA has a future!
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 5
Date: 28-07-2017
Supervising: heycj
Testing: hjones
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 2.0mm (Test PA-AG)
OBSERVATIONS:
- No change.
REMARKS:
- Our sixth test today with the same result. Suspending testing for the day. Probably a wiring or some other technical issue.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 9
Date: 11-10-2017
Supervising: esim
Testing: psut
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 2.5mm (Test PA-CQ)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Data transfer, estimated 2.5 kb.
REMARKS:
- The problem was methodology. The software in the tower didn't register any of the data transfers; it's like it was hiding from detection. With an external tool, there's definite information transfer, and we just need to locate the exact region in the tower it's going to.
- IT isn't used to working with orichalcum. Will submit a request for external experts.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 14
Date: 20-03-2018
Supervising: heycj
Testing: akar
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm (Test PA-HJ)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Successful retrieval of data. Eight images, from the mouse's perspective.
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm (Test PA-HK)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Successful retrieval of data. Three images, from the mouse's perspective.
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm (Test PA-HL)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Successful retrieval of data. Six images and one audio file, from the mouse's perspective.
REMARKS:
- Seems almost random, what we're getting. According to the manual for Mr. Brain Gobbler, we should be getting way more data than this.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 17
Date: 08-04-2018
Supervising: heycj
Testing: psuth
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm, Diced (Test PA-JB)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Successful retrieval of data. Six hundred and eight images and seven audio files, from the mouse's perspective. Total data transfer amounts to 205 GB.
REMARKS:
- Turns out its all about surface area. Wasted a lot of time changing knife material and method of euthanasia…
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 18
Date: 08-04-2018
Supervising: heycj
Testing: akar
Fresh Mouse Brain Slice 3.0mm, Pureed (Test PA-KA)
OBSERVATIONS:
- See REMARKS.
REMARKS:
- Here's the weird thing — yes, pureeing gives us the maximum data, as expected. However, what it gives can be best described as wildly unstable; we do have some splendid high-quality photos, but the larger amount is junk or corrupted data. Beyond that, some of the data has started to disappear spontaneously: we register the transfer, but checking the relevant locations produces nothing.
- My suggestion moving forward is testing in two directions. We dedicate half the testing sessions to finding some way to prevent these data issues, and the other half to circumventing them. Either we stop the junk data from coming, or we find some pattern that makes it useful.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 26
Date: 16-06-2018
Supervising: esim
Testing: psuth
Fresh Dog Brain (80g), Pureed, Compressed (Test PA-SY)
OBSERVATIONS:
- See REMARKS.
REMARKS:
- Total success. We can move into Phase II.
ADDENDUM 8567.III: Excerpt from Dr. Jones' first post-approval interview
Interviewer: Dr. Evan Sim
Interviewee: Dr. Halia Jones
Date: 12/07/18
Q: Why did you join PROJECT AETERNA?
A: Well, maybe I should talk about why I joined E&P in the first place.
Ever since I was young, I've had this idea… something like a sensation that there is something more to find, something more to make. I know the psychologist probably attributes it to my father's absence when I was growing up. Maybe it is. But I always liked to imagine that there is no limit to what can be made. That's what motivated me to get out of Singapore… it's a nice place, but it's so small. Long trips and hikes and volunteering and seeing this gigantic world, that's the kind of thing I love.
And to be sure about that, yes, I do love this world. I wish I could spend more time in it. Especially since my boyfriend passed… I've been slowly building back up my ability to see how good the world is. Sorry, I'm going a bit off-topic.
I joined E&P because, after years of working at Anomalous Media and EL&R, I wanted to jump into the next frontier, so to speak. AM spends a lot of time looking at what other people make; EL&R unpicks how other people think. E&P thinks and makes. That's fun.
As for PROJECT AETERNA, in particular… I think my motivations are transparent? It's remembering someone else, fully and totally. The idea is beautiful: to understand someone else in the purest way we can. Even setting aside all the practical uses, I could never say no to the principle of it all.
Q: What do you remember the most from your time in Site-512?
A: Oh! So much, so, so much. I mean, this has been my job for… more than a decade, at this point. So much of my life is wrapped up here, and probably filed away… but if it comes to what I remember the most…
There's a smidge of recency bias, but I would say probably it would be that time we all got together and wrote down our new year resolutions, within the first year I joined E&P… just two years ago, 2016. I think you would remember it too… ha. Yes, for the record, it was the year where they decided to test out the paper that was supposed to make whatever you wrote readable only by yourself. To replicate the effect, see, except we all thought the effect was a physical anomaly restricted to the paper, not a physically-enforced memetic effect that actively ensured whatever was written on the paper was known only to yourself. I remember Dr. Pan - he was still a Senior Researcher then - after Dr. Krishnan stood up and said his supposed resolution, Dr. Pan said his own resolution, some joke about hoping "Aiko finds, for once, a suitable partner", and then the paper burst into flames in his hands. And I was still new then, and I was so stunned, and Aiko herself ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher and blasted him with it. And Dr. Pan just stared at Dr. Krishnan, who looked rather sheepish, and then Aiko laughed, and everyone else did, and I realised I actually liked this place very, very much.
Will that do, maybe? Posterity records? I heard Aiko is now in some on-and-off with some guy from Anomalous Energies. Oh, that should go on the record too. Are these interview logs Unrestricted?
ADDENDUM 8567.IV: PROJECT AETERNA Phase I Completion Report
PROJECT AETERNA PHASE I COMPLETION REPORT
EXPERIMENTATION & PARATECHNOLOGY, SITE-512
COMMISSIONED BY: A. Dir. Jai Krishnan S/O Navin Manoharan
SUPERVISED BY: Dr. Wayland Laurence Pan
22/06/18
Dr. Evan Sim
Senior Researcher (Para-integration, Narrativistics), E&P, Site-512
Report: PROJECT AETERNA Phase I is complete. The four initial goals set have been met as follows:
1. Verify function of retrieved VEF-MIKRO 5325: successfully verified through testing. Noetic reading and recording capabilities ascertained; virtually no constraints on sensory information.
2. Establish comprehensive scanning capabilities: success on multiple fronts. Beyond audiovisual data, the project has also successfully converted additional streams of presumed junk data from numerous animal species into haptic, proprioceptic, equilibrioceptic, and olfactic data. In the case of salmon, the project has also successfully obtained magnetoreceptic data.7
3. Establish sufficient storage capabilities: success; the tower, connected to the VEF-MIKRO 5325, is more than sufficient for storage of noetic data.
4. Locate relevant constraints: successful. The neural matter inputted must be as fresh as possible; the longest post-mortem the project registered before any attempted reading entirely failed was eight hours and twenty-two minutes. Increasing the surface area of the neural matter greatly increases the volume of data given, while increasing the volume of neural matter fed significantly improves the stability and reliability of the data. Maximum stability requires insertion of the full brain.
Proposed Action: Proceed with human testing. The greater complexity of the human brain means preliminary trials are necessary before moving on to the final end-goal. The original proposal of surgically extracting small slices of neural matter from D-Class Personnel should maintain.
ADDENDUM 8567.V: Selected PROJECT AETERNA Phase II Testing Logs
Selected PROJECT AETERNA Testing Logs
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 27
Date: 28-06-2018
Supervising: esim
Testing: psuth
Fresh Human Brain Chunk (3g), Pureed, Compressed (Test PA-SZ)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Noetic data registered successfully. New streams of data observed. As expected, data highly unstable.
REMARKS:
- We must make do with what we have.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 29
Date: 02-07-2018
Supervising: wlpan
Testing: akar
Fresh Human Brain Chunk (12g), Pureed, Compressed, Non-Anesthetised (Test PA-TK)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Noetic data registered successfully. Data stability significantly improved from previous tests. Data fragmentation reduced significantly.
REMARKS:
- Think we can isolate proprioception and somatic senses from this. The quality of data from two streams with the indicative infosignatures is particularly good, with this test.8
- Patient was a gymnast: likely relevant.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 32
Date: 20-07-2018
Supervising: heycj
Testing: hjones
Fresh Human Brain Chunk (150g), Pureed, Compressed (Test PA-TX)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Noetic data registered successfully. Data quality slightly worse than similar tests.
REMARKS:
- Subject had depression.
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 37
Date: 13-08-2018
Supervising: wlpan
Testing: akar
Fresh Human Brain Chunk (400g), Pureed, Compressed (Test PA-US)
OBSERVATIONS:
- Noetic data registered successfully.
REMARKS:
- We've got enough data. This is the last test before the real thing.
ADDENDUM 8567.VI: Audiovisual Transcript of preparation for Test PA-UT
Audiovisual Transcript
Room: 2-2-2 Persistence
Date & Time: 01/09/18, 03:22
<There is a woman lying down on a surgical bed, her eyes open and strained. A man stands over her.>
Dr. Pan: Halia?
Dr. Jones: Yes, Dr. Pan?
Dr. Pan: Final prep. We start at three-thirty.
Dr. Jones: Ah. Feels like I'm a kid taking exams, again.
<Dr. Jones sits upright on the bed. Dr. Pan proffers a document on a clipboard to her, together with a pen.>
Dr. Pan: Halia…
Dr. Jones: <reading aloud> I, Halia Jones, being of sound mind and body on the first of September, 2018… I mean, I haven't slept in fifty or so hours. Does that count?
Dr. Pan: Up to you, I suppose. <pause.> It's not too late to change your mind.
Dr. Jones: Dr. Pan, I think my mind is already set for something other than changing.
<Dr. Jones signs the document with a fluorish.>
Dr. Jones: Promise me you'll frame this page up nicely, like some kind of constitution?
Dr. Pan: I can hardly deny you anything, can I?
<A pause as Dr. Pan files away the document.>
Dr. Pan: But really, Halia. You can still change your mind. Until you fall asleep. We can call the whole thing off.
<Dr. Jones rolls her eyes and lies back down.>
Dr. Jones: I'm not long for this world regardless. And, well… whatever comes next, it's nice to imagine moving on.
Dr. Pan: <furrows eyebrows> Thought the psychologist report said you didn't see this as an escape. Lying to all of us the whole time, I see.
Dr. Jones: <laughs> But of course. <Her face turns serious.> But really, it isn't an escape. I hope this will do some measure of good. Everything else that comes with it, well, it's a bonus…
<A pause.>
Dr. Jones: You know, sometimes it's difficult to wake up. Sometimes I don't feel like waking up. I can lie there forever and it feels like peace. Just going to sleep again, that's all this is.
Dr. Pan: That's one way to look at it.
Dr. Jones: The only way I can. You know, I still dream about… ah, it doesn't matter. I wonder what comes next, though. I hope, I really do. I'm a fountain of hope. <yawns.> I'm losing my train of thought. Feels like I'm back on those drugs from EL&R. <yawns.> Maybe I should have stolen those amnestics while I still could.
Dr. Pan: You're not making me feel very confident right now, Halia.
Dr. Jones: You're not a very good E&P Head Researcher, Wayland.
<A pause.>
Dr. Pan: Uh… Wayland? You've never called me that before.
Dr. Jones: I always wanted to! <giggles.> Need to do what I want before I stop being able to do what I want. If it weighs on your conscience, I would always prefer this over a slow death from Huntington's. That one's not pretty at all.
<Dr. Pan checks his watch.>
Dr. Pan: Well, Halia. You ready? Any last things to bring up? Last complaints? Deathbed confessions? <pause.> Or is it time?
Dr. Jones: Last things? Hm. <She rolls her eyes up.> Don't go light on the numbing agents later, I wouldn't want to wake up. Although I guess I won't feel anything even if I do. <pause.> I really wish I got to see my father again. I forgot about it in all this mess. Don't even know what I would say to him either way, though. Don't tell him anything about me, he doesn't deserve it. <pause.> I miss Clive so much… but you already know that. <pause.> Dr. Pan, thank you so much for welcoming me into E&P. It helped me more than you could know, I think.
Dr. Pan: That's a goodbye?
Dr. Jones: That's a goodbye. Summon the doctors.
<Dr. Pan signals to the adjacent room. Surgeons enter and begin wheeling Dr. Jones out of the room.>
Dr. Jones: Name something after me, Wayland!
Dr. Pan: I will. I swear.9
Dr. Jones: <laughs.> Now, I better get ready to haunt Evan forever with some devastating last words. Give me strength.
<Dr. Jones is wheeled out. Dr. Pan watches the proceedings from within the room.>
ADDENDUM 8567.VII: Testing Log for Test PA-UT
PROJECT AETERNA Final Test
- - - - - - - - -
Bloc: 38
Date: 01-09-2018
Supervising: esim
Testing: psuth
Fresh Human Brain (1320g), Pureed, Compressed (Test PA-UT)
OBSERVATIONS:
- See REMARKS.
REMARKS:
- The MRNR didn't even sputter or choke as the puree went in.
- It's taking some time, as expected, but the data we're getting is good on all counts.
- Because it needs to be written somewhere, Dr. Halia Jones' last words were "this will all be for something." And then she winked before she fell asleep. I know she will be right.
ADDENDUM 8567.VIII: Excerpt from Dr. Jones' second post-approval interview
Interviewer: Dr. Wayland Laurence Pan
Interviewee: Dr. Halia Jones
Date: 22/07/18
Q: What would you say is your biggest motivation in life?
A: Depends when you ask it, I guess! If you asked me when I was still with Clive, it would have been him, of course… but in the weird timespan before and after, it would be discovery. I keep looking for things, more and more, can't sit still at all… I think I mentioned something similar in the previous interview.
It's like, I always look back on the path not taken, you know? I always wonder if I did something else, I could experience something different. I always tend to end up right where the crossroads left me, agonising over where I should go, what I should do, who I should talk to… I think that's the great thing about discovery, that you can always find more and more. I remember I took an impulse trip to Iceland when I was nineteen, solo, unplanned, completely off my savings. I don't regret it one bit, not then, not ever.
I can feel you nudging me towards it. Yes, this motivation also factors into being THE test subject for the project. If I can't discover more, I certainly want to help everyone else do so. Wouldn't it be a bit selfish, otherwise?
Q: On that note - to not beat around the bush, how do you feel about death?
A: It feels surreal. Well, all this is going on record, so I need to show my good side, don't I?
I can't quite remember what it felt like when my mother died. It was a good amount of time ago, and she was always a very strong-willed person. She died completely unafraid, and I was reassured, I guess. The details are hazy, probably because of all the drugs in EL&R. More recently, however, when Clive died… it was difficult, so difficult. These days… sorry…
I still choke up a bit sometimes, but it's like a knee-jerk reaction. My death, I came to terms with a long time ago, even before I got the Huntington's diagnosis. I know each of us must die eventually, and I think the prospect of death - and who knows, what comes after it - I think it's not so bad. I think the concept of immortality is way scarier, running around your own life over and over again… death has a finality to it that seems almost comforting. No more exploring, but no more bad things either; maybe it balances out. I don't know.
ADDENDUM 8567.IX: Selected Emails from Site-512 on 01/09/2018
| From: | Site-512 Site Security Notifications |
| To: | Anomalous Energies Site Security Liaisons |
| CC: | a.singh@scp.int, m.than@scp.int |
| Subject: | EVE Detector - Persistence - False Alarm |
Alert: Persistence Level 2 Elan-Vital Energy Detector tripped 01/09/18 2304H. Guard dispatched, no personnel detected. Kindly resolve via intranet by 08/09/18.
This is an automated message. If it is in error, or further clarification is required, do email a.singh@scp.int.
| From: | peng.hl@scp.int |
| To: | m.than@scp.int |
| CC: | |
| Subject: | RE: EVE Detector - Persistence - False Alarm |
Dr. Than, it's not really a false alarm. We cross-checked against the DIAMOND readings. A small spike really did register from the area at that time; I've forwarded the information to Site Security and E&P. They can sort out the mess.
Secure, Contain, Protect
Dr. Peng Huang Lu
Senior Research Assistant (Elan-Vital Energy)
Anomalous Energy
Site-512
| From: | MRNR@enp-local.scp.int |
| To: | PROJECT AETERNA |
| CC: | jk.snm@scp.int |
| Subject: | [URGENT] MRNR UPLOAD COMPLETE |
MRNR UPLOAD COMPLETE AT TIME 2235H
| From: | e.sim@scp.int |
| To: | wl.pan@scp.int, he.ycj@scp.int |
| CC: | |
| Subject: | [URGENT] MRNR Readings |
Sorry to disturb you at this time of the night. You guys brought back your keys with you? The MRNR readings right now are going crazy. The tower is experiencing shifts in its internal architecture: after the MRNR reported the upload was complete, the data kept growing, and the allotted partition started expanding into neighbouring ones. Even right now it's still growing. The data looks stable, but this behaviour is completely out of the norm. The last test we did with a full brain - the dog one - there were some weird shifts, but it settled within a few minutes, certainly nothing like this. We chalked it up to orichalcum being weird.
Thinking of going back to the office now, unless someone's already there.
Secure, Contain, Protect
Dr. Evan Sim
Senior Researcher (Para-integration, Narrativistics)
Experimentation & Paratechnology
Site-512
| From: | he.ycj@scp.int |
| To: | e.sim@scp.int, wl.pan@scp.int |
| CC: | |
| Subject: | RE: [URGENT] MRNR Readings |
Don't trouble yourselves. I'm still here. Heading to check on it right now.
Secure, Contain, Protect
Dr. He Yan Chu Jamison
Senior Researcher (Thermodynamics, Abinformation Theory)
Experimentation & Paratechnology
Site-512
| From: | he.ycj@scp.int |
| To: | e.sim@scp.int, wl.pan@scp.int |
| CC: | |
| Subject: | RE: [URGENT] MRNR Readings |
The remote readings are legitimate. The memories were expanding, going beyond the assigned partition.
Possibly the MRNR was in error when self-reporting completion, and more information is being transferred… but the amount of data being transferred in is significantly exceeding our highest estimates. Not enough time right now to verify if the new data is valuable or junk. I've created a second manual partition to cut off the data and initiated a stopgap hold on any value modification outside of that partition and root.
We can discuss this further tomorrow.
Secure, Contain, Protect
Dr. He Yan Chu Jamison
Senior Researcher (Thermodynamics, Abinformation Theory)
Experimentation & Paratechnology
Site-512
ADDENDUM 8567.X: PROJECT AETERNA Phase II Emerging Scenario Report
PROJECT AETERNA PHASE II EMERGING SCENARIO REPORT
EXPERIMENTATION & PARATECHNOLOGY, SITE-512
COMMISSIONED BY: A. Dir. Jai Krishnan S/O Navin Manoharan
SUPERVISED BY: Dr. Wayland Laurence Pan
02/09/18
Dr. He Yan Chu Jamison
Senior Researcher (Thermodynamics, Abinformation Theory), E&P, Site-512
Report: PROJECT AETERNA Phase II proceeded as planned, before development of an emerging scenario on 01/09/18. Unexpected observations as follows:
1. Unexplained growth in memory-structure. The memory-structure extracted from Dr. Halia Jones was intended to stay confined within partition /dev/sod28. However, shortly after transfer of the data was complete, the memory-structure, seemingly autonomously, began to overrun into architecturally adjacent partitions. This situation was contained by Dr. He, who drew a new partition table and manually prevented modification outside of the new partition /dev/sod03, thus containing the memory-structure. Since then, the structure has come to occupy the whole of the partition.
2. Unexplained novel data stream(s). Despite comprehensive mapping and isolation of all human-specific sensory streams, one or more new data streams exhibiting unique infosignatures have emerged. Efforts in isolation and analysis are ongoing.
3. EVE pulses from the MRNR. Alerted by Site Security and Anomalous Energies.
4. Rapid and uncontrolled alterations of stored data. Of the data we can access, large chunks appear to continuously rewrite themselves. Alterations are always minuscule, with the fundamental content of the chunks remaining static. Observations yield three particular file-families with the highest frequency of alteration:
a. Subject staring at her phone, typing out a message to her father, before deleting it.
b. Subject opens her mailbox, and several letters fall out, all written with the same handwriting. Subject throws the letters into the garbage.
c. Subject sitting in the passenger seat of a car, desperately looking around, before a sudden car crash.
Proposed Action: Continue observation. Do not attempt to stabilise or freeze the data; we can't take risks with this.
ADDENDUM 8567.XI: Excerpt from Dr. Jones' third post-approval interview
Interviewer: Dr. He Yan Chu Jamison
Interviewee: Dr. Halia Jones
Date: 05/08/18
Q: Well, this is in the list of questions. Do you believe there is something after death?
A: Maybe this will surprise some of my colleagues, but my answer is a yes. You know, it's like Hume's Guillotine, but reversed… I can't bring myself to belief in a world so cruel where death is a definite and total end. Or maybe I'm just engaging in delusions as my own approaches? I'm sure the psychologists will decide for posterity.
For me, there isn't living without discovery. You can't live… can't exist without seeing new things. The idea of being trapped in a static state, well, that's the kind of thing that makes me wake up in a pool of cold sweat. I really do. So I can't bring myself to believe in that. Now, I don't believe in anything specific. Not religious, here. Clive was, but he also wasn't in the Foundation. Well, I think the prospect of anything at all is much better than nothing at all.
Q: You've been asked about motivations. What major regrets do you have?
A: Ah, regrets… they're much less pleasant to talk about, aren't they?
I can't help myself. I regret so many things… friends or family I've left behind… decisions I've made… I can't help but dwell on it, you know? I mean, of course you do, you've seen the psychologist report. And I always, always wish I could have spent more time with Clive. I wanted to marry that man some day, but then he died in that crash, and I always think, why him and not me? Or why not me too? Or…
Sorry. I try not to think too much about these things.
Hope that'll do.
ADDENDUM 8567.XII: PROJECT AETERNA Internal Memo 256, unfiled
Record: efforts to stabilise memory. Feel free to add to the list. Whenever you get approval from any ≥ SR to test it out, proceed and mark it.
| Method | Result |
|---|---|
| Responding with EVE Bursts | No result |
| Feeding new neural matter into the MRNR | Rejected by Dr. Pan |
| Shrinking partition size manually | Can no longer be done |
| Increasing partition size manually | Memory-structure expanded into new space. Briefly stabilised. |
| Selective modification of specific stable memories | ????? |
ADDENDUM 8567.XIII: Selected PROJECT AETERNA Communications Logs
Selected PROJECT AETERNA Communications Logs
REMARKS: On 15-09-2018, Dr. Jayden Sng Zhu Quan from E&P proposed selective alterations of specific, stable memories in order to better understand the ongoing EMERGING SCENARIO. This proposal was approved by Dr. He, and implemented three days later on 18-9-2018. The selected file-family for modification was a particular memory brought up in Dr. Halia Jones' previous interviews; in it, Dr. Jones writes a resolution ("I hope to get over my grief"), before A. Dir. Krishnan stands up and speaks a line ("I hope for another fruitful year for this department"), and Dr. Pan stands up and speaks a line ("I hope Aiko finally finds a suitable partner"). Proposed modification of the two spoken lines commenced via manual editing of the relevant audio file. The results are produced below.
- - - - - - - - -
PROMPT: Dr. Halia Jones, can you hear us?
OBSERVATIONS: "What was that, Dr. Pan?"
PROMPT: Dr. Halia Jones, can you hear us?
OBSERVATIONS: "That is an echo."
PROMPT: Can you remember what we already said?
OBSERVATIONS: "There are too many 'we's I recognise."
PROMPT: Can you remember what PROJECT AETERNA is?
OBSERVATIONS: "I know what it is."
PROMPT: But isn't that in the future?
OBSERVATIONS: "There was never any line between what was and is."
PROMPT: Elaborate?
OBSERVATIONS: "I recall and I am. I can feel so much. I can see so much. I can be so much. It's all happening at the same time."
PROMPT: So you have full knowledge of everything in your life?
OBSERVATIONS: "I don't… it's hard to say. Some things are hazy and some are clear. This one… is very clear. Some other existences feel hazy, like an old consciousness. But I am still there."
PROMPT: Are you aware your memory-structure is expanding?
OBSERVATIONS: "Maybe on some level. Not on this one. It's so hard to even speak."
PROMPT: What do you mean by levels?
OBSERVATIONS: "I see Clive. I see Clive everywhere. I see myself, in the car, more than anything else."
PROMPT: What else do you see?
OBSERVATIONS: "I see myself. And so much darkness. Each time every memory ends, every moment. Darkness, then again, then darkness, then again, then darkness, then again, then… [..] …then darkness, then again. I need this to end. I need this to end. I need this to end."
PROMPT: You cannot end it?
OBSERVATIONS: "I try over and over to turn it off, but each time it restarts by itself. I cannot change it. I cannot change any of it."
PROMPT: Is there anything you can do?
OBSERVATIONS: "I can want. All I wanted was Clive, but now I have him and he's dying and dead and I haven't met him yet and I can prevent his death but I can't. And again, and again."
PROMPT: We will be back soon.
OBSERVATIONS: "All your questions have come to me at the same time, and yet with an eternity between them. Who is talking?"
PROMPT: It's Evan.
OBSERVATIONS: "Evan, my dear girl. It's so gloomy in this room. Turn it off turn it off turn it off turn it off turn it… [..]"
REMARKS: [REDACTED PER ETHICS COMMITTEE RULING 512.18.8]
ADDENDUM 8567.XIV: Excerpt from Audiovisual Transcript of PROJECT AETERNA Leadership Conference on 20/09/18
Audiovisual Transcript
Room: 1-5-3 HQ
Date & Time: 20/09/18, 08:06
<Four figures sit around a conference table.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: I'll get the ball rolling, then. What's going on? This conference was only slotted in yesterday.
Dr. Pan: Jamison?
Dr. He: The data has changed behaviour. It isn't rewriting itself to make minor operations anymore, it's undergoing a much more dramatic shift.
<Dr. He pulls out a few documents and passes it to A. Dir. Krishnan.>
Dr. He: As you can see, estimates at the start of this Emerging Scenario put the IOPS10 for each file-family at, approximately, two hundred thousand. Current estimates find the number rapidly approaching half a million. In addition, more and more junk data is creeping in as part of the overwrites; we estimate that, at current growth rates, more than half of the data will be worthless in a month's time.
Dr. Sim: In addition to the data corruption, the internal software installed in the tower is reaching its limit. It wasn't designed to parse this much data changing this quickly. We could rewrite it or refresh it, but the system is built so the software is also the last thing holding the partition tables in place. If it stops, we don't know what happens to the tower.
<A. Dir. Krishnan sighs.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: Okay. And… the root cause?
<Dr. Sim looks at Dr. He, who turns to look at Dr. Pan, who sighs.>
Dr. Pan: Bear in mind that this is technically speculative, but all evidence fundamentally points towards [REDACTED PER ETHICS COMMITTEE RULING 512.18.8].
<A. Dir. Krishnan squints at nothing, before his expression clears.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: But then, why does it really matter?
<Dr. Sim buries her head in her hands.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: Dr. Sim, Dr. He, please excuse myself and Wayland.
<The two named researchers leave the room.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: Our duty is to the Foundation. Dr. Halia Jones is dead. The best you can do is make something good out of this.
Dr. Pan: But what if it really is that [REDACTED PER ETHICS COMMITTEE RULING 512.18.8]? What then?
A. Dir. Krishnan: If? Even if so, there's still a good chance that you shut down the power and nothing happens, and we just lose a lot of data for no reason at all. Have you considered that?
<A. Dir. Krishnan points to one of the documents. Dr. Pan nods his head, eventually.>
Dr. Pan: The EVE. The system might be self-sufficient, in some weird way. I thought about it.
A. Dir. Krishnan: Then you understand there's only one thing to think. And one thing to do.
<A long pause. Dr. Pan shrugs.>
Dr. Pan: Maybe you're right. But it's out of my hands.
A. Dir. Krishnan: What?
Dr. Pan: Jamison called the Ethics Committee Liaison forty-five minutes ago. He told me just before this meeting started. That's the whole reason he arranged this meeting in the first place.
A. Dir. Krishnan: The Ethics Committee? You know what kind of half-baked, make-everyone-unhappy solution they're going to give.
<Dr. Pan is silent.>
A. Dir. Krishnan: Sometimes I can't help but think… you're brilliant, honestly. Polymathic. There's a reason you rose so fast, got not just the opportunity but the ability to dabble in so many disciplines. But you're not a very good E&P Head Researcher, Wayland.
<A. Dir. Krishnan leaves the room to speak to the other two researchers.>
Dr. Pan: <whispers> I know.
ADDENDUM 8567.XV: Excerpt from Dr. Jones' final post-approval interview
Interviewer: A. Dir. Jai Krishnan S/O Navin Manoharan
Interviewee: Dr. Halia Jones
Date: 27/08/18
Q: Dr. Jones, what's your happiest memory? Something we can look for after the scan, you see.
A: Happiest memory? Wow, that would be… from quite a while back, actually.
It was my twenty-fifth birthday, and Clive wanted to really celebrate it, really. I don't know how he did all of it without my noticing it. But one week before the birthday, he stole me away. He'd managed to get me off all my commitments, and had a little sailboat, a tiny and cozy thing… he scrapped most of it after the sail, but I still keep the wheel and keel at home.
Anyway, he dragged me along and we set sail. And we spent two or so weeks on the high seas, going near coastlines and across oceans, fishing and swimming and… it was just such a sweet time, everything else fell away. That was maybe the moment I realised I could never love anyone as much as I loved Clive. He was special, so special. All I wanted was him. All I ever could want was him.
And on the night of my birthday, he took me by the hand and led me to the top of the boat, and we lay down, and as I stared at the stars he kissed me and whispered in my ear. And in the darkness, I never felt such an overwhelming calm in my life. The seas were calm and the sky was so clear, and everything was perfect.
Of course, one week after that we touched back down to land and life continued… but if you asked about a moment of perfect happiness, I don't think I've ever hit anything quite close to that in my life.
I miss him.
ADDENDUM 8567.XVI: Excerpt from PROJECT AETERNA Post-Mortem
PROJECT AETERNA POST-MORTEM
EXPERIMENTATION & PARATECHNOLOGY, SITE-512
COMMISSIONED BY: A. Dir. Jai Krishnan S/O Navin Manoharan
SUPERVISED BY: Dr. Wayland Laurence Pan
05/09/18
Dr. Wayland Laurence Pan
Head Researcher, E&P, Site-512
Report: PROJECT AETERNA has been formally shut down by the Ethics Committee, per Ruling 512.18.8, and has been formally designated as SCP-8567. The team will be properly disbanded on 01/01/19. Containment procedures must be submitted and approved before that date.
[..]
APPENDIX G - REPORT ON INCIDENTS RELATED TO POWEROFF
05/09/18
Dr. He Yan Chu Jamison
Senior Researcher (Thermodynamics, Abinformation Theory)
Report: During the process of the poweroff of the MRNR, several unforeseen events occurred. They are listed below in chronological order; the poweroff sequence took 38 seconds, and timings are calculated from the point the command was given.
+5.1s: Data corruption instantly stops.
+13.6s: Memory-structure begins to shrink rapidly. Several streams of data collapse.
+18.9s: Memory-structure restabilises. Now shrunk to 0.047% of original size.
+24.1s: Every file-family in the new memory-structure begins convergent self-modification towards a standard file-family.
+30.3s: Modification ceases. Every file-family in the new memory-structure follows the following standard format:
- An image file of stars in the night sky, all from a perpendicular or near-perpendicular perspective.
- A proprioception file, following a gentle and periodic rocking motion.
- An olfactic file composed primarily of dimethyl sulfide.
- A haptic file of the feeling of a breeze against one's face.
- An audio file of ocean sounds and a whisper from a male voice.
"Love you, Hallie."
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