"Moriarty's corpse is to be hung from the rafters."
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Info
THE COGWORK CULT
CONTENT WARNING: Contains sexism, racism, and slight body horror.
Author:cptsquid
Recommended (but not required) reading:
ROUNDERHOUSE's Gold Proposal byRounderhouse
The following articles were retrieved by Foundation operatives following the acquisition of Her Majesty's Royal Foundation for the Study of Curiosities and Phantasmagoria. These articles have been digitized and preserved for the sake of understanding the events surrounding SCP-8712-B and Incident 8712-1.
The Broken God.
The Broken God.
Volume 01.76.12-18
a. See Volume 02.07.25.
b. See Volume 2 for the rise and collapse of Amoni.
c. Prior to the reconstruction of the stomach, a complete departure from The FLESH was a gift MEKHANE gifted upon the holy few.
d. Inscriptions found within the walls of Amoni detail that the more the sinful clung to their FLESH- the more impactful their sacrifice.
e. This construct is believed to be an integral CORE for MEKHANE's construction.
f. Discovering the location of the alimentary canal and its requisition to Mexico for reconstruction has been deemed a top-level priority for all church members.
Volume 01.76.12-18
12. The alimentary canal, reconstructed a of melted steel and parts from the city of Amoni, b was a gift indicative of MEKHANE's divine grace.
13. The stomach, homogeneous to the multifarious components of MEKHANE assembled in Amoni, brought grace upon the sinful, allowing them to abscond from The FLESH. c
14. When the sinful enter the canal, they are stripped of their abominate form and granted the divine form of machine. d
15. The FLESH is extirpated; amputated from the hivemind through the use of a deific apparatus located in the center of the canal. e
16. The Patriarch elected that the alimentary canal be utilized to convert sinful creatures- namely sheep and cattle- into components utilized in the reconstruction of MEKHANE.
17. Before the collapse of Amoni, a schism within the Patriarchy would cause the stomach to be ruined and forgotten.
18. Knowledge of the stomach would be reawakened upon the rediscovery of Amoni. f
116
116
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.25-38
a. The illegitimate son of Emperor Tamin, it was considered that Kadmiel did not inherit Bumaro's blood, and so it was determined that he, and all of his sons after him, were to never ascend to the Patriarchy.
b. Producers and overseers over the actions of the Inventors-Faithful.
c. Records indicate some form of construct was present within the emperor's temple, capable of relaying the history of the city into the mind of the current emperor.
d. A construct destroyed during her fall from the heavens, for more, see 01.76.12-97.
Volume 02.07.25-29
25. Two sons of Kadmiel a would be born, Orville and Jacob.
26. They would become Fabricators-Faithful b much like their father before them.
27. Orville, younger and infinitely wise, would ascend to the ranks of a Schematist through his contributions to the church.
28. Jacob, older and resolute in his faith, would resign himself to the rank of a Legate-Faithful, eternally unwavering in his loyalty to the emperor.
29. Through the transcriptions of the emperor's memoriescOrville would learn of MEKHANE's alimentary canal. d With permission from the Patriarchy, Orville would set out to reconstruct the canal, enlisting the assistance of his brother.
784
784
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.30-36
a. Records indicate Orville took part in this task for twelve years.
b. See Volume 2.15.63-98.
c. A sinful covenant of powerful mages that participated in the conquest against the city of Amoni.
Volume 02.07.30-36
30. To fabricate the gut was a daunting task.
31. Orville would spend hundreds of moons studying MEKHANE's form.a
32. Jacob would provide the metals necessary to construct the stomach while, much to Jacob's dismay, Orville would isolate himself from the rest of Amoni for several seasons at a time to complete his project.
33. With the encroaching war and rising tensions throughout the patriarchy,b
Jacob feared his brother would be unable to complete the stomach. As such, he pressed Orville into the completion of the canal.
34. Within a fortnight, the brothers were certain the construct was complete. Orville, confident in his technology, would sacrifice his rightmost toe to the stomach; to his dismay, the construct would activate, but no FLESH would be converted or destroyed.
35. Jacob, now called to fight the Covenant, c urged his brother to seek ancient texts and inscriptions for the location of the missing component.
36. And so a new journey would begin for the sons of Kadmiel.
785
785
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.227-235
a. At this point in the war, ranking members injured in battle returned to Amoni as the development of all prosthetics had shifted to the city.
b. Amoni was built atop a labyrinth structure of steel. Only the highest-ranking members of the church were allowed to descend into the labyrinth due to its precarious nature. See Volume 12.88.444 for more.
c. Due to the current condition of Amoni, excavation of the subterranean portion of the city is currently impossible, further details of Orville and Jacob's descent into the city have been considered lost.
Volume 02.07.227-235
227. And so Jacob and Orville, the sons of Kadmiel, would be reunited once again. Jacob returned to Amoni following his battlefield injuries. a While Orville had rejoined the city following his investigation of the ancient libraries.
228. Upon reconnecting with his brother, Orville would unveil the ancient text he had discovered.
229. "It spoke to me!" Orville would exclaim. "It lured me to its location, screaming for me to rip it off the shelf."
230. "I seized the text from its hiding spot and opened its contents. Instead of being met with text and numbers, I peered into the eyes of MEKHANE and saw all that exists."
231. "She instructed me to descend to the deeper layers of Amoni, b there I would find the component which I seek."
232. "I implore you, Jacob, to accompany me to the labyrinth, and together we shall finally complete this quest!"
233. Jacob would ponder this call before finally accepting the offer. Together, the two brothers would descend into the labyrinth.
234. Various trials c would lead the brothers to a previously undiscovered chamber.
235. The room would host a component; constructed of the purest fuladh, composed of a form so divine the languages of the FLESH fail to describe its brilliance.
1047
1047
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.236-257
a. It is currently a subject of debate among the Schematists' Council as to whether MEKHANE'S CORES function for a specific person or the deepest desire of the user.
b. Following the 1887 release of the Schema, this section was quickly excised for its heretical teachings.
c. No old records indicate the fate of this book, leading to the common belief it was destroyed before the collapse of Amoni.1
Volume 02.07.236-257
236. Together, the brothers hoisted the component from its chamber and returned it to Orville's workshop.
237. The component, now returned to the stomach, granted Orville his desire. a
238. When FLESH and bone are sacrificed to the canal, they are granted the grace of MEKHANE and repurposed as divine machinery.
239. The brothers, elated in their discovery, celebrated throughout the night.
240. MEKHANE had granted the city her most divine gift, an infallible method to destroy the sins of The FLESH while creating machinery in the process.
241. Jacob would [EXCISED BY ORDER OF THE PATRIARCHS AND THE SCHEMATISTS' COUNCIL] b bringing himself to the [EXCISED].
242. Orville would reciprocate the action by [EXCISED].
243. Orville would [EXCISED] the text, [EXCISED].
244-253. [EXCISED BY ORDER OF THE PATRIARCHS AND THE SCHEMATISTS' COUNCIL]
254. Kadmiel would [EXCISED] his eyes as Orville [EXCISED] teeth.
255. The text would speak of [EXCISED] using the tongue to [EXCISED].
256. Orville, shocked by his revelations, darted to his chambers, armed with flame and sword.
257. To his despair, the book was gone, leaving behind nothing but ash. c
1048
1048
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.288-297
a. The Emperor requested the acquisition of the alimentary canal in the name of MEKHANE.
b. Since this event, no other living human has been completely converted by the stomach, so whether or not humans emerge as different materials is currently unknown.
Volume 02.07.288-297
288. Orville would permit the release of the stomach into the hands of the Emperor, a trusting in the Patriarchy's decision.
289. Two nights before the Legates would come to obtain the stomach, Jacob would approach his brother, furious.
290. "Brother, why would you sacrifice your work to the Emperor? He is blasphemous in his ways, and his Patriarchy does not understand the capabilities of the stomach."
291. "I am sound in my decision, Jacob. This technology will allow us to weaponize our armies, repair our implants, and heal our sick in exchange for releasing our sinful forms."
292. "You are wrong. This could be used for so much more; we can instantly exchange our forms of FLESH and become fully mechanical. You seek no credit; you let this object be misused, and the history books will forget you."
293. "The personal knowledge that I greatly contributed to our empire is credit enough for me."
294. Jacob was infuriated with this response. "You humble yourself too much, brother. If you must be pushed to believe in what you have created, then so be it."
295. In a moment of perfect lucidity, Jacob would level himself into MEKHANE's alimentary canal.
296. A sentient automaton would emerge, created entirely of fuladh. b Possessing Jacob's thoughts and memories, he would plead for his brother to take arms against the Emperor.
297. Orville would not respond.
1061
1061
The Collapse of Amoni.
Amoni.
Volume 2.07.337-346
a. "Holy is the one who travels under the light of the quarter moon…" -Diaphragm
b. Pending evaluation from the Schematists' Council.
Volume 02.07.337-346
337. On the third moon of that month a the alimentary canal would disappear from Amoni.
338. Jacob would take it upon himself to seek out the location of his brother and the canal. For a fortnight, Jacob would travel before finding Orville in the ruins of a Covenant city.
339. "Brother, look upon me, see the divine grace I have been granted!" Jacob cried.
340. "You are not divine, you are execrable and unholy." Orville would retort. "There are no shortcuts to apotheosis.b You have tried to create a cheap alternative for divinity."
341. "Then what is the purpose of the stomach, a component of MEKHANE, if not to benefit her people?"
342. "It means to provide us with sustainable means to acquire the components necessary for us to construct apotheosis ourselves. Apotheosis must be constructed through our own means, this was spoken by the first Bumaro and has been purported as recently as Saint Chock."
343. The brothers would stand in a mutual silence, both realizing the unholy fate that has befallen Jacob.
344. Orville, now equipped with four legs and infinite wisdom, and Jacob, now entirely mechanical. In their final meeting, the brothers were much different than the men they once knew.
345. "I am sorry," Orville would exclaim. "You are not Jacob; you are a sad, unholy copy, and the church must never learn how you came to be, or they may follow in Jacob's path."
346. In a brilliant shower of smoke, Orville, son of Kadmiel and brother of Jacob, and his creation, the stomach of MEKHANE, would never be seen again.
1061
1061
Manifest 226: Clara Greene's Account. Dated June 14th, 1899.
A report delivered to Her Majesty's Foundation on the actions of Dr. John H. Watson and Sherlock Holmes regarding AO-8712.
07:48 HOURS:
Dr. Watson leaves his residence on Baker Street clutching the golden letter the church delivered yesterday. I feared I would have to step in like I did at the scrapyard, but thankfully he appeared armed.
09:22 HOURS:
I took a back route to the hotel and arrived shortly before the doctor. Rather than darting directly for the stairs as I expected, he spent a moment in the lobby to listen for Tickers, a pleasant surprise. I trailed him as he made his way to room 346, a journey made difficult by his insistence to inspect every door frame he passed.
Eventually, he arrived at the room, and to my dismay, he entered with little hesitation. I brought my eye to the peephole and watched as the warped shape of the doctor entered the room. Somehow, the church had managed to choose the one hotel with walls thicker than an inch. As such, it was difficult for me to make out anything they were saying.
The form of the Schematist was difficult to discern. He had positioned himself in such a way that the sunlight obscured his appearance. I held out hope that Watson would realize the room was a trap, that he would hear the ticking, or realize the Schematist had no flesh, or that he would trust his gut instinct, yet they just kept talking.
Watson sluggishly shuffled before the Schematist, careful to keep his grip on his revolver. The Schematist's hands shifted about, a movement that alarmed Watson as he unloaded a bullet into the Schematist's temple.
In a blink, Watson found himself pinned to the wall, the Schematist's metal fingers quickly enclosing his throat.
I pulled, twisted, and jerked the doorknob to no result before resorting to throwing my shoulder in the door in a futile attempt to get it to budge. My attempts were all for nothing as I found myself on the floor as Watson's body crashed through the doorway. He groaned, certainly having shattered a few bones. I scrambled to my feet, watching as the Schematist retrieved a canister I had become disgustingly familiar with.
I pulled Watson to his feet. "By Jove, you're the dame from the scrapyard!" he bellowed.
I nodded, explaining the urgency with which we needed to evacuate the hotel. Together, we limped down the stairs. Before arriving in the lobby, we were met with the sound of ticking clockwork.
"They're waiting for us…" Watson gasped as I swore under my breath.
Watson pulled his firearm from his jacket.
"I'm taking you hostage." Watson illustrated.
"Excuse me?"
He knocked on his shoulder; the metal rang out. "They'll think I'm one of them."
I understood our mission. Watson held his revolver to my temple, and together we walked through the lobby, then stopped.
"Sorry sir, the hotel's under quarantine. I'm going to have to ask you to head back to your room." A man approached us, the sounds of clockwork beneath his skin louder than that of a grandfather clock. A peer into the gaping hole where his left eye once was revealed hundreds of tiny gears.
"I'm taking this woman back to the warehouse, Schematist's orders." Watson knocked on his shoulder again. The dumb prats bought his story, and we made our way out of the hotel.
10:33 HOURS:
We attempted to travel back to Baker Street to regroup with Holmes. Much to our dismay every corner we turned held another occultist. We resorted to alleyways for our progression, yet even then we had to adjust our path several times. I was thankful that Watson was so familiar with the layout of the city as I surely would have led us to our demise.
"It's as though they've abducted half of the city." Watson gasped for air as we took a short break in an alleyway garden.
"They're being chalked up to disappearances, I'm sure you know that…" I explained, "But I'm not sure how long we can keep this charade up."
"Not to worry." He exclaimed, "This will all be over soon and we shall be allowed to return to our normal lives."
He helped me to my feet and we continued to make passage for Baker Street.
11:25 HOURS:
Eventually, we took refuge in Grosvenor Square, despite the time, it was just as empty as the rest of London.
"So you're the madam who's been stalking my home?" Watson inquired.
When I asked how he knew that, he explained the cigarettes that were found in the gutter outside his home each morning, a sizable oversight on my part.
We exchanged our notes, Watson had amassed a sizable documentation of the church's activity, hundreds of cold hard facts we had overseen in our speculation regarding the anomalous object. Together, our documentation provided more than enough information for me to present to my superiors to justify mobilization against the church.
Watson asked me how soon we could raid the warehouse, claiming his fear for his life and his wife's. I saw right through him; he was seeking revenge for what happened to Holmes and for his injuries.
I explained it would take a couple of days to reach approval for this sort of action, but I would let him know when it happens. Soon, we parted ways, and I made my return to Charles Street.
Watson is clearly disturbed by the church's ideals of eternal life, and the condition of his friend has shaken him to his core. He is an incredibly brave man, but it's clear he is terrified, as expected from someone's first interaction with the unconventional. I believe with time, he could be a valuable asset to our organization.
Take this as my request that, once the situation dies down, Dr. Watson sees counseling rather than amnestic treatment.
- Clara Greene
