Interaction with LOI/POI-3533

Preface: LOI/POI-3533's condition was not fully known at the time of first contact. Field agents Markus Pierce and Elizabeth Carden were given a Class-W Mnestic regimen for three days leading up to investigation of the property.

<BEGIN LOG>

Command: Alright, you two. Move out.

Pierce: Okay, earpiece is functioning. Carden and I are approaching the factory limits now. Doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary just yet. Carden, you want to confirm that for me?

Carden: Yeah, looks just fine out here. Windows are clouded up with what looks like dust, not going to be easy to see inside. I just say we look for an entrance and go on in. If we see anyone, we question them. If they're hostile, we book it.

Pierce: Sounds like a plan. Even though this place looks pretty old, almost decrepit, I think I see some steam venting from out over the west perimeter. And there's a hum, I can definitely hear it out here.

Carden: So, it's still in business. Wonder what kind of company we'll find inside.

Pierce: My guess is that it is automated. No one comes in or out. Quiet now. [hushed] Command, we have visual on the front entrance. Ingress should be trivial, but we brought a crowbar just in case.

Command: Roger that. Be careful.

The two are silent for ten seconds, the sounds of quick footsteps on asphalt can be heard in the background. After a moment, they stop.

Pierce: Oh, door's unlocked. Here we go.

The door creaks loudly as the sounds of machinery and commotion fill the space.

Carden: What exactly am I looking at here?

Pierce: Control, we have a bit of a situation.

LOI/POI-3533: Hello there.

Carden: Who said that?

LOI/POI-3533: It's been years since someone came in here. Are you with corporate?

Command: Describe the entity.

Pierce: I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at. It definitely is the inside of the factory, but, uh, it's also a bunch of other things.

LOI/POI-3533: I'm right here, you know.

Carden: So you're… the factory?

LOI/POI-3533: I'm Frank Miller, supervisor of this ████████ manufacturing plant. I also can't leave. What? Yes- and, yes, there are a few others in here as well. There's Trudy, Jacobs, Karen, Michael, Richard-

Pierce: I'm sorry, but where are these people?

LOI/POI-3533: I am these people. We are. We had a bit of fiasco with one of our competitors two decades back that caused a bit of an uproar. Things got out of hand, and, well, a whole tank of cleaner just sort of flooded the whole complex. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, but alas, hubris. The destroyer of men. Not that any of us are actually dead. I think Jacobs has food poisoning. Does that mean I have food poisoning too? Mercy. Sorry, this whole thing has been a mess. And S. C. Johnson has not responded to any of our tickets, we think they may have forgotten about us.

Carden: You've been in contact with the outside world recently?

LOI/POI-3533: Well, no, it's been a while since any of us could use a computer.

Pierce: Wait, if you are somehow the inside of the factory as well as yourselves, how are you still alive? Don't you need to eat?

LOI/POI-3533: I'm not entirely sure. We think because we're bound to something that does not require sustenance, we too do not need food. We live on, as the soul of this company.

Carden: Does that mean the factory is alive in some sense?

LOI/POI-3533: I think you're asking the wrong questions. How about the grand tour? Please take off your shoes, Michael has a thing about germs.

Pierce: Al-Alright.

Some shuffling is heard as the agents presumably remove their footwear. The hums and hisses of machinery grow louder as they step inside.

LOI/POI-3533: O-hoo, that tickles. Sorry, this is a first for us too.

Pierce: Oh- oh god. This is wrong.

Command: Everything okay?

Pierce: It's this carpet in the entrance. I thought it was a wet shag rug, but its like they're tendrils. Or little fingers.

Carden: I can feel them wriggle between my toes.

LOI/POI-3533: Sorry, I'm nervous. We haven't gotten outsiders in a decade. Doesn't stop us from making more cleaners. We have all the precursors here, and some of our corporate owned suppliers still deliver crates out back.

Carden: Is there any way we can convince you to stop production?

LOI/POI-3533: Lady, you'll have to take that up with corporate. This is our livelihood. Certainly you understand that?

Carden: You're still getting paid?

LOI/POI-3533: Direct deposit. If S. C. Johnson really wanted to halt production of 'Metaphysiclean!', surely they would have taken us off the payroll?

Carden: I see.

LOI/POI-3533: Look, I know this is weird, but this place is all we have. The fact that you're here and asking these questions- I don't know who you work for, but I get the feeling it has to do with the state of things in here.

Carden: That is correct. If there is any information at all you can give to us regarding what happened here, perhaps we can help you in some way.

LOI/POI-3533: Uh, now that I think about it, you might be able to get something useful from our server room, it has a hermetically sealed halogen fire suppression system that was triggered during the spill- it is the only area in this place that remains conceptually sound and the only place we can't access.

Pierce: That's a good idea. Lead the way, if you would.

LOI/POI-3533: Of course. It's right through the door on your left, there's a passage that takes you through the production floor and into the administrative offices. The server room is on the far end.

Carden: Thank you very much, Mr. Miller.

Soft footsteps are heard as they proceed to the doors that lead deeper inside. There is a pause before sounds of struggle are heard from Agent Pierce.

LOI/POI-3533: What seems to be the issue?

Pierce: The door seems blocked on the other side. It is unlocked, but something won't let me through.

LOI/POI-3533: Oh my. This is embarrassing. We haven't really needed to use doors since we meshed with the rest of this place.

Pierce: Mind if I use the crowbar?

LOI/POI-3533: Erm, sure. Go ahead.

Agent Pierce is heard using the crowbar to bend the door outward. The sounds of creaking and splintering wood fill the background, as well as a wet, indeterminate sloshing noise.

Pierce: The hell is this?

LOI/POI-3533: What? What is it?

Carden: You don't see it?

Command: Report your status.

Pierce: It's like a, god, like a giant pile of flesh and different concepts. I think it's human. Or multiple humans at one point. I can't tell, it all looks the same to me. It blends into the walls… Into everything.

Carden: Conceptually indeterminate corpses. Are you sure you can't see this, Frank?

LOI/POI-3533: This place is pretty much uniform abstraction for us. Wait, corpses?

Pierce: Not quite. It doesn't smell rotten, and it's been twenty years. I think- I think this might have been- or might still be some of you guys. From when you were trying to escape the spill. Wait- can you feel this?

LOI/POI-3533: Ow! Yes, Karen says you just pinched somewhere around her leg.

Pierce: This is some weird stuff. Uh, okay, it looks like we can fit through the doors still, but we may have to climb over some of you. We apologize in advance.

Sounds of movement and various grunts are heard as the agents climb through the doorway and into the passage beyond.

Carden: [coughs] Okay, we are through. You guys alright?

LOI/POI-3533: I am fine, thanks.

Carden: Can I ask you something, Frank?

LOI/POI-3533: Of course.

Carden: 'Metaphysiclean!'. Why? What does S. C. Johnson need a product like this for?

LOI/POI-3533: Well- I can answer that- Yes, thank you. Karen will have a better answer than myself. She worked extensively on the formula when it was in its early stages- Yes, I did. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started here. I never thought entry level materials work would give way to fairy tale science and protein weaving.

Carden: What is-

LOI/POI-3533: Custom biomolecular constructs. I'm talking about manipulating the building blocks of life, uh-

Carden: Carden. Elizabeth.

Pierce: Mark.

LOI/POI-3533: Right. I'm talking about creating compounds with pre-written instructions on how to operate. Proteins take on certain three dimensional shapes inherently, the instructions are already in place for all naturally occurring biomatter. It's a real wonder, if I do say so myself.

Pierce: So S. C. Johnson decided to start tampering with the code, so to speak?

LOI/POI-3533: You could say that. But since when did playing God become something that was too much for the elite? You of all people should know the extent of human curiosity.

Pierce: What exactly do you mean by that?

LOI/POI-3533: Don't play dumb now. I bet whoever you work for has a large stake in pushing the limits of man's grasp on the universe.

Pierce: Point taken.

LOI/POI-3533: S. C. Johnson was doing a lot more than playing with amino acids. They had private contractors all over the world looking into some of the farthest reaches of science. Some of the things I could hardly consider science at all.

Carden: What would you consider it?

LOI/POI-3533: You'd laugh if I said 'magic', so let's say they were messing with some pretty arcane stuff. I mean, look around. What do you see?

Carden: I see a well managed factory, I think.

LOI/POI-3533: Well thanks- I mean, what do you really see? Do you see a skilled workforce of hardworking Americans? Or do you see the souls of the damned, a group of forgotten not-quite-people whose lives have been twisted by the foils of a faceless corporation? Sorry, that's the ennui talking. Company morale wasn't great when the spill happened, and that sort of just stuck around ever since.

Carden: I can understand. You've all been through so much.

At this point, LOI/POI-3533's voice, which had been of indeterminate quality but singular in nature previously, shifted to the sounds of multiple voices at once.

LOI/POI-3533: You understand? I don't think you understand, and, honestly, I don't think you have the best interests of the company at the heart of your agenda. We have been here for twenty years! All we do is exist and produce. And for what?

Carden: Mr. Miller- er- Karen, please. We honestly just want to help you.

LOI/POI-3533: I don't think you can help us. And you- you want to shut us down.

Factory noises swell in volume. Miscellaneous scraping and metal bangs can be heard as LOI/POI-3533's voice takes on a harsher tone.

Pierce: Frank, what are you doing?

Command: Report your status.

Carden: The walls feel like they are closing in, and we are dead center in this complex. I think we should go, now.

LOI/POI-3533: Leave? No, no, no, you'll just come back, won't you? With more? And you'll try to shut us down and destroy everything we've worked for.

Pierce: We aren't going to shut you down, we swear.

Carden: We just want to help you get better.

LOI/POI-3533: Don't you understand? This is what we are now. No. You can't leave. Not now.

A large bang is heard in the background.

Pierce: Well, there goes our exit. [quietly] Carden, I've got an idea.

Carden: What?

Pierce: Remember what he said earlier? The only place they can't touch?

Carden: The server room.

LOI/POI-3533: Oh, no, you're not allowed access to our records unless you go through corporate! You lost that chance when you threatened to destroy this company- Hey! Wait, stop!

Sounds of hurried movement are picked up, although LOI/POI-3533's voice does not change in terms of distance from the two. After fifteen seconds, sounds of splashing can be heard, followed by grunts emanating from Carden's microphone.

Carden: Agh, crap.

Pierce: Liz, what is it, we have to go- Oh, fuck.

Command: What is happening?

Carden: It looks like there is a leak in this vat here, I stepped in a puddle. I thought it was water, but that's obviously not the case. It's soaked through my sock. I took a few steps but now I can't move. Markus. What do I do?

Pierce: I don't know. This stuff lasts a while. Command, I think you may need to send in some backup. Carden isn't going anywhere any time soon.

LOI/POI-3533: Sorry, guys. It says on the bottle to avoid getting it on the skin. Some folks just won't listen to the warnings! Looks like you're stuck with us for the long haul, miss.

Pierce: Frank, I really think you're going to have to let us go, buddy. Think about what something like this would mean for your company-

LOI/POI-3533: Frank isn't here. Well, he is, but stop talking about us like we aren't all here, too. And don't play with us. No one has come in two decades. I don't think anyone will be coming for you either. Get enough of this stuff on you and you won't even be a memory anymore.

Metal creaking noises are heard, followed by a loud crash.

Carden: Shit, Markus, run!

Pierce is heard breathing heavily, Carden is heard screaming but the noises are drowned out by the sounds of liquid flooding the area. Carden's microphone ceases function several seconds later.

Pierce: Server room… server room… c'mon.

Several seconds of rustling and miscellaneous background noise is picked up.

Pierce: Ah, here.

LOI/POI-3533: No, don't go in there! I will call the police!

The sounds of the door opening and closing is heard. LOI/POI-3533's voice is heard to become muffled.

LOI/POI-3533: You can't stay in here forever. And there's plenty more of 'Metaphysiclean!' where that came from!

Pierce: Okay, command, I've located their data storage, and I can say for certain that servers are the only thing in this room. Thank Christ. My head hurts. Don't ever assign me more of this conceptual bullshit, I hate it. I hate all of this.

Command: Duly noted.

Pierce: There's a terminal over here. Let me see what I can find.

Pierce is heard operating the computer for several minutes, while miscellaneous bangs and thuds are heard outside.

LOI/POI-3533: Oh, wait, I've got an idea. [laughs]

Pierce: That doesn't sound good. Alright, I found some ledgers, precursor lists, what is this? They're talking about some sort of alchemical plants. Essence of Raskovnik? There's also a large archive of emails here, I'll send all the information to you guys in a moment-

A loud sealing noise is heard in the room.

Pierce: What was that? Nearly gave me a heart attack.

LOI/POI-3533: Markus, I'm real sorry we had to do this. You won't understand, but we need this place.

At this point, a female voice is heard over the loudspeaker of the factory.

Intercom: Attention all factory workers, please evacuate immediately.

Pierce: What did you do?

LOI/POI-3533: No, you did this. You forced us to do this.

Intercom: Halogen suppression system activated.

Pierce: Oh, no.

A mechanical whirring is picked up, followed by the sounds of ventilation.

Pierce: Command, you need to send someone immediately!

Command: They are en route to your location, but-

Pierce: But what?

Command: Did you secure the files and send them to uplink?

Pierce: Yes. What should I do?

Command checks and confirms the receipt of the information, select excerpts can be found in Addendum 3533.3.

Pierce: Command? I'm feeling a bit light-headed here.

Command: The room is filling with inert gas, Pierce, you are going to lose consciousness very shortly.

Pierce: But-

Pierce is heard slurring and becoming incomprehensible. Shortly after, contact with Agent Pierce is lost. Reinforcements arrive onsite and LOI/POI-3533 is contained. The body of Elizabeth Carden was not identified, but further interactions suggest she may still be alive. LOI/POI-3533 has generally been hostile to all forms of life that enter the facility since.