Document-2178-06
Foreword: Use of memory-enhancing paramedication allowed Agent Barnes to recall the anomalous event memory with increased precision. Agent Barnes reported that the event took place in a location resembling known descriptions of the Wanderer’s Library, known to be a base of operations for the Serpent’s Hand, a Group of Interest. The event largely consists of a conversation between a man, described as tall and pale-skinned, with Caucasian features, and a woman, whose face cannot be seen. Her voice is described as young, with a slight Mandarin accent.
A transcript of Agent Barnes’ recollection of the conversation is provided below.
<Begin Log>
Woman: So you went ahead and did it.
Man: Y—yeah. I did.
Woman: And?
Man: There are some things that we just have to do, aren’t there? Look, I don’t like this, I don’t like this at all, if it were up to me we’d never have to do this, and look, okay, I’m still not sure that it’s the right thing to do—
Woman: Oh, come on. You weren’t sure? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Man: I—please, I'm confiding this in you.
Woman: What do I care what you think? You’ve already cast the die. What can you do to reverse your decision? Will you go to the Book-Burners and say, “Haha, just kidding, we’re not interested in getting with your program after all?”
Man: I don’t know.
Woman: And there’s nothing you can do to change what you’ve done to the Hand.
Man I don’t know, all right! Even given what they've done to us, the Book-Burners are bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we don’t interfere with the status quo, they will protect us as human beings. This was the right decision. I made the right choice. We can’t survive—can’t live on like this. You don’t know. You don’t understand.
Woman: I don’t understand? I feel like I understand things pretty well. You did this out of cowardice.
Man: You don’t understand what it’s like to have to fear stepping outside the library, because if you do then men in masks are going to shoot you, or worse, you’ll see someone in here and next time you step outside you’ll hear that they’re dead…you don’t understand what it’s like because you’ll challenge whoever you want. You don’t. You don’t know—or worse, worse, you step outside and you’ll see your family again, except they’re behind bars, in a cage forever, while their mind slowly breaks, and even if you find them again you’ll look them in the face and they won’t know who you are. That’s worse, isn’t it? Even the Book-Burners have their mercies if you compare them to the Jailers.
Woman: You’re fear-mongering. We don’t compromise.
Man: If we make concessions to them, they will protect us.
Woman: Concessions? What will you do for those who won’t concede? The ones who will still fight? Or the ones who couldn't integrate even if they wanted to?
Man: I…I don’t know.
Woman: We stand for something. Everywhere else, people want to protect their precious consensus reality. Consensus reality. God, what a joke. So long as reality is decided by a majority, there will always be a minority that has no place in that reality. We are the refuge and the salvation from organizations like the Global Occult Coalition—it's another hilarious hypocrisy, a supposed coalition of the occult that uses the magic it likes to stamp out the magic it doesn't. Don't you remember? When they came for the outcast, we interceded. Or, rather, we did.
Man: I—
Woman: And what’s even worse is that you think they’ll keep their word! How laughable. D.C. Al Fine regularly threatens major members of the 108 if they do not toe Her Mightiness’ line. What happens to the Hand under the global reign of the Book-Burners? Even you, for all your lack of spine, have some interests. Your life and safety seem to take precedence. And one day, those things will be in the way of what they want.
Man: So what’s your alternative, then? How will you keep us alive?
Woman: Stay alive? Staying alive means fighting. It always has. I have no concrete answers, but let me tell you, I’m more than arrogant enough to say that I’ll accept no world where the alien is marginalized and hunted as a matter of routine under a banner of peace and justice. If heaven will not have you and if you have any pride as a human being, then the only option is to challenge heaven itself. To bring it crashing down.
Man: We can’t do that!
Woman: It's been done. I could do it again.
Man: No. No, earlier, you were right. It doesn’t matter what you say. I made this decision, and I can’t undo it. We need protection. The jailers are never going to give that to us. But…but the book-burners…what the hell are you going to do about this? What are you going to do to me?
Woman: What am I going to do?
Man: We’re…we’re friends, right? You can’t just…
Woman: Ah…your mistress. Bianca, right? She hated you.
Man: What?
Woman: She hated you for letting her brother die. I found her crying over one of his pictures one night, and she said that she would never forgive you for that.
Man: How could you? How dare you? I—I’ll—
At this point in time, Agent Barnes reports that several anomalous individuals gather behind the man. These individuals appear to lack mouths. All individuals appear to be holding lanterns in their left hands.
Man: You’re lying to me. Provoking me to attack you, so that the Library makes me pay.
Woman: Am I?
Man: You’re not a God, or a hero, or a…a Great Sage Equal to Heaven, that stupid title…Don't you understand? It doesn't matter what your ancestor did. They write books and worship him, not you. You’re like me. You’re scared and weak, and you’re terrified that I’ll find out exactly how weak you are. What have you done? You almost brought down heaven? You never did that. He did.
Woman: You're calling me weak? That's hilarious.
Man: You know, if you want to disagree with me, maybe, maybe you should live through what I’m trying to prevent. Maybe if you want to act like you’re as big as your forefather, maybe you should live through what he went through. See…see? You really are his descendant. For his hubris, he was trapped under a mountain of the five elements. And I guess I'm the Buddha.
The man whistles. A doorway appears in a bookshelf next to the man.
Woman: A Way? How did you—
Man: I'm doing you a service, all right? You'll find peace. I’m sorry.
<End Log>
Afterword" id="">Addendum-2178A: On ██/██/20██, Provisional Site-██ personnel apprehended an individual attempting to breach SCP-2178’s perimeter. The individual was identified as Weidong Chen, a Taiwanese citizen. Chen is currently held at [REDACTED] as a Person of Interest. Further details regarding Chen are classified to Level 4/2178 personnel on a need-to-know basis.
Immediately after participating in Chen’s arrest, Agent Barnes reported significant mental disorientation and dysphoria. Two days afterwards, Agent Barnes claimed to have new memories of an event in his past that he had not taken part in. Details of this event are classified Level 4/2178; there is convincing evidence that the event is strongly related to SCP-2178.
Agent Barnes claims that his symptoms began immediately after directly handling a photograph on Chen’s person. The photograph was of Chen, a woman who appeared to be SCP-2178-1, and a third individual with a digitally obscured face.
On the back of the picture, a note is written in Chinese. Translated into English, it reads:
Once upon a time, an arrogant, crude, trickster decided that he could challenge Heaven. I wonder if you ever thought that things would come to this? Tomorrow, a foolish girl is going to try the same thing as the trickster. Don't worry. All this time, I've known that I am not strong or cunning. So this is insurance. R.W. can't kill me, but even if he is a coward, he has stomach enough to wipe me. Whatever happens tomorrow, this photograph will remember it all, and if need be, it will help me remember. If you ever need to use this, the Hand is finished. If you need to use this and you fail, this is also a good-bye.
One day we’ll look back on this and think that somebody was just playing a trick on us all.
The photograph has not displayed any anomalous properties since.
Document-2178-06
Foreword: Use of memory-enhancing paramedication allowed Agent Barnes to recall the anomalous event memory with increased precision. Agent Barnes reported that the event took place in a location resembling known descriptions of the Wanderer’s Library, known to be a base of operations for the Serpent’s Hand, a Group of Interest. The event largely consists of a conversation between a man, described as tall and pale-skinned, with Caucasian features, and a woman, whose face cannot be seen. Her voice is described as young, with a slight Mandarin accent.
A transcript of Agent Barnes’ recollection of the conversation is provided below.
<Begin Log>
Woman: So you went ahead and did it.
Man: Y—yeah. I did.
Woman: And?
Man: There are some things that we just have to do, aren’t there? Look, I don’t like this, I don’t like this at all, if it were up to me we’d never have to do this, and look, okay, I’m still not sure that it’s the right thing to do—
Woman: Oh, come on. You weren’t sure? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Man: I—please, I'm confiding this in you.
Woman: What do I care what you think? You’ve already cast the die. What can you do to reverse your decision? Will you go to the Book-Burners and say, “Haha, just kidding, we’re not interested in getting with your program after all?”
Man: I don’t know.
Woman: And there’s nothing you can do to change what you’ve done to the Hand.
Man I don’t know, all right! Even given what they've done to us, the Book-Burners are bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If we don’t interfere with the status quo, they will protect us as human beings. This was the right decision. I made the right choice. We can’t survive—can’t live on like this. You don’t know. You don’t understand.
Woman: I don’t understand? I feel like I understand things pretty well. You did this out of cowardice.
Man: You don’t understand what it’s like to have to fear stepping outside the library, because if you do then men in masks are going to shoot you, or worse, you’ll see someone in here and next time you step outside you’ll hear that they’re dead…you don’t understand what it’s like because you’ll challenge whoever you want. You don’t. You don’t know—or worse, worse, you step outside and you’ll see your family again, except they’re behind bars, in a cage forever, while their mind slowly breaks, and even if you find them again you’ll look them in the face and they won’t know who you are. That’s worse, isn’t it? Even the Book-Burners have their mercies if you compare them to the Jailers.
Woman: You’re fear-mongering. We don’t compromise.
Man: If we make concessions to them, they will protect us.
Woman: Concessions? What will you do for those who won’t concede? The ones who will still fight? Or the ones who couldn't integrate even if they wanted to?
Man: I…I don’t know.
Woman: We stand for something. Everywhere else, people want to protect their precious consensus reality. Consensus reality. God, what a joke. So long as reality is decided by a majority, there will always be a minority that has no place in that reality. We are the refuge and the salvation from organizations like the Global Occult Coalition—it's another hilarious hypocrisy, a supposed coalition of the occult that uses the magic it likes to stamp out the magic it doesn't. Don't you remember? When they came for the outcast, we interceded. Or, rather, we did.
Man: I—
Woman: And what’s even worse is that you think they’ll keep their word! How laughable. D.C. Al Fine regularly threatens major members of the 108 if they do not toe Her Mightiness’ line. What happens to the Hand under the global reign of the Book-Burners? Even you, for all your lack of spine, have some interests. Your life and safety seem to take precedence. And one day, those things will be in the way of what they want.
Man: So what’s your alternative, then? How will you keep us alive?
Woman: Stay alive? Staying alive means fighting. It always has. I have no concrete answers, but let me tell you, I’m more than arrogant enough to say that I’ll accept no world where the alien is marginalized and hunted as a matter of routine under a banner of peace and justice. If heaven will not have you and if you have any pride as a human being, then the only option is to challenge heaven itself. To bring it crashing down.
Man: We can’t do that!
Woman: It's been done. I could do it again.
Man: No. No, earlier, you were right. It doesn’t matter what you say. I made this decision, and I can’t undo it. We need protection. The jailers are never going to give that to us. But…but the book-burners…what the hell are you going to do about this? What are you going to do to me?
Woman: What am I going to do?
Man: We’re…we’re friends, right? You can’t just…
Woman: Ah…your mistress. Bianca, right? She hated you.
Man: What?
Woman: She hated you for letting her brother die. I found her crying over one of his pictures one night, and she said that she would never forgive you for that.
Man: How could you? How dare you? I—I’ll—
At this point in time, Agent Barnes reports that several anomalous individuals gather behind the man. These individuals appear to lack mouths. All individuals appear to be holding lanterns in their left hands.
Man: You’re lying to me. Provoking me to attack you, so that the Library makes me pay.
Woman: Am I?
Man: You’re not a God, or a hero, or a…a Great Sage Equal to Heaven, that stupid title…Don't you understand? It doesn't matter what your ancestor did. They write books and worship him, not you. You’re like me. You’re scared and weak, and you’re terrified that I’ll find out exactly how weak you are. What have you done? You almost brought down heaven? You never did that. He did.
Woman: You're calling me weak? That's hilarious.
Man: You know, if you want to disagree with me, maybe, maybe you should live through what I’m trying to prevent. Maybe if you want to act like you’re as big as your forefather, maybe you should live through what he went through. See…see? You really are his descendant. For his hubris, he was trapped under a mountain of the five elements. And I guess I'm the Buddha.
The man whistles. A doorway appears in a bookshelf next to the man.
Woman: A Way? How did you—
Man: I'm doing you a service, all right? You'll find peace. I’m sorry.
<End Log>
Afterword Agent Barnes is strongly convinced that the transcribed events are not his memories, and are instead the memories of the woman. Agent Barnes reports that, at various points in the memory, the woman's limbs can be seen as if from a first-person point of view.
Before using paramedication, Agent Barnes had symptoms consistent with phantom limb syndrome in his lower back. After transcribing the interview, Agent Barnes claimed to have remembered having a monkey’s tail throughout the event. Later, his phantom limb symptoms disappeared.
