The Five Elements Crisis
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Save me from banality, where all things end, so I may know law and anarchy
Plunge me in the Chaos of Hell, where all ends meet, so I may know the turbulence of nonsense
Raise me to the Canon of Heaven, where there is no end, so I may know the beauty of order
Return me home, learned and new, so I may create a world free of finality.
Message pinned to top of file. - Alpha-1-EAST 3X.
Registered Phenomena Code: 492
Object Class: Neutralized
Hazard Types: Tychokinetic Hazard, Ideological Hazard, Destabilization Hazard.
Containment Protocols: The Head Judicial Developer Ma Zhi is actively making legislation to combat possible lingering effects of RPC-492. Such changes include:
- Increased monitoring to detect unprofessionalism and misdemeanors. All Sites are mandated to have cameras in each room.
- Psychological testing to find the most suitable positions and teams. Personnel transfers are only mandated if such synchronicity can be found.
- Several diplomatic movements with the PCAAO towards an expansion of Authority reach within the CN region.
- Mention of "Our Storm of Frenzy" within official documentation (outside of the RPC-492 file itself) is forbidden. This has shown to be a traumatic trigger to many personnel, and may resurface the mania of the previous RPC-492 events.
The ASIACOM Pentawheel with the standard color code.
Description: Two curses placed upon five/six CN-Branch sites by an as yet unknown culprit. RPC-492 was an effect of Logimancy; a thaumaturgic art targeting the coherency of real systems.
The curses occurred:
- From the 2nd to the 22nd of January, 2015 is dubbed 五行危机, or the Five Elements Crisis.
- 5th of May that same year, known colloquially as the Site-CN-005 Crowd Crush, despite it affecting the rest of the Pentawheel as well.
Investigations revealed that the final goal of the perpetrator was not simply causing operational failures, but achieving hypercoherency by means of a phenomenon known as the "radical reaction". A description of the radical reaction is attached below:
If the logimanic forces driving local coherency beneath the baseline are abruptly lifted, an overcompensation will occur launching the affected system into temporary hypercoherency. This peak is usually uncontrolled, however some skilled logimancers have been able to direct the effect to target systems. Certain studies have shown human presence in a radically reacted space/system may induce permanent psychological disturbances.
View: "Radical reaction diagram"
The culprit's exact intention behind attempting a radical reaction is uncertain. However, in both cases, one individual was targeted to be exposed to the hypercoherent space: the current Head Judicial Developer and MST-Wuchen-13 Commander Ma Zhi after the Five Elements Crisis, and Office of Financial Affairs Auditor Zhang Hàorán after the Site-CN-005 Crowd Crush.
RPC-492 primarily impaired the logical reasoning and rationality of RPCN personnel. This induced multiple individual mistakes that were ultimately culminated to site-wide levels, giving rise to a domino effect; where one site’s failure directly caused an incident at the next site on the Pentawheel.
The Six extraneous functions sites of RPCN.
Excerpt: 管理局五要素模型
The Authority Pentawheel Model
- CN branch Secretary of Finance Ouyan Qián
What follows is a brief description of the ASIACOM Pentawheel, meant to inform new personnel about the economic and operational constrictions of the current RPCN.
History
Following a series of talks and agreements in 1992, the Authority gained limited permission to operate sites within State Commission on Anomalous Affairs territory. As to maintain what PCAAO believed to be an acceptable balance of power, economic interaction with veiled actors was largely prohibited. Additionally, only 6 Sites (CN-005, CN-006, CN-010, CN-011, CN-014 and CN-016) were allowed to serve "extraneous functions”. As a result, these sites (except for Site-CN-005, which is a logistics hub) were placed in strategic locations and specialized for certain tasks, ultimately creating a tight interdependence known as: The ASIACOM Pentawheel.
The Pentawheel Cycle
Located in the Longquan Mountains, Site-CN-006 is a mine and large containment facility. The Site houses industrial machinery capable of producing and processing various minerals including: iron, aluminum, silver, copper, manganase, zinc, gold, coal, sand and gravel.
The largest importer of Site-CN-006 products is Site-CN-016 on the southern coast of Taiwan. Site-CN-016 maintains the Authority's logistics and communications infrastructure.
Site-CN-011 sees the greatest use of the literal and metaphorical road establishment. This is as it is primarily a Research & Development facility, seeing a frequent in and outflow of personnel, information, anomalous assets and equipment. It houses the most advanced labs in order to produce containment protocols and custom gear for any given task.
The main CN branch barracks is Site-CN-014: responsible for the training of junior and senior personnel in all 3 divisions. As such, the curriculum are often updated as new discoveries are made by Site-CN-011.
Much of this manpower is directly funneled to Site-CN-010; the largest general operations facility. It currently ranks the highest in number of acquired anomalies, employed personnel, and contained Beta or above level anomalies. Much of these anomalous assets are used to produce resources that fuel both itself and Site-CN-006, which lacks self sufficiency due to its location, thus completing the Pentawheel.
As these sites are often referred to in the context of each other, they are traditionally color coded for ease of differentiation.
The rest of this file will document events/discoveries relevant to to RPC-492 in a chronological order.
The Five Elements Crisis
The quantity of failures recorded during the Five Elements Crisis marked a near hundredfold uptick. Analysts have concluded that the Crisis was exacerbated by the co-dependent nature of the CN network; where an instigating accident started a chain reaction running through the rest of the Pentawheel. The complete fold of failures is still being understood, however certain key disasters are have been identified.
Site-CN-006: A coal seam fire broke out within Coal Mine 2C due to mishandling of a truck carrying petroleum, interrupting the suppyline of vital resources.
Site-CN-016: The main transreceiver was knocked out during a maintenance accident, and the CN networked was knocked out.
Site-CN-011: Members of the Mania Logia deduced the presence of logimanic influences, and that attempting to alleviate the situation by direct action would only introduce more points of inevitable failure. They were unable to warn the rest of RPCN due to the Site-CN-016 shutdown.
The Five Elements Crisis was alleviated by MST-Wuxhen-13 Commander Ma Zhi. She received from OFA Auditor Zhang Hàorán a direct SMS alerting of a possible cause stemming from Site-CN-005, circumventing the Site-CN-016 shutdown.
Upon arriving to Site-CN-005, Ma Zhi met with Zhang Hàorán. She started recording footage for documentation purposes shortly after.
[The camera is started. Ma Zhi stands in front of Zhang Hàorán.]
Ma Zhi: It's on now.
Zhang Hàorán: Ok, that's good.
[Zhang Hàorán begins guiding Ma Zhi through Site-CN-005. They pass by a secretary repeatedly packing and unpacking a briefcase.]
Zhang Hàorán: Tch…
Ma Zhi: What's up?
[Zhang Hàorán waves his hand dismissively as they enter into an elevator. Inside it, an ASF guard attempts to load a 0.50 caliber cartridge into a handgun.]
Ma Zhi: Hello Long.
ASF Long: Don't talk to me right now.
Ma Zhi: Okay. Hey, Hàorán, don't you think this should be weird? I mean, it is, but shouldn't we be weirded out?
[They exit on the third floor.]
Zhang Hàorán: I don't know. I don't know anything.
[They walk by a group of 15 auditors writing over each other on the same whiteboard.]
Ma Zhi: Maybe, maybe. I wonder what the folks over at 011 think. But, this is weird, right? We should be panicking?
Zhang Hàorán: No, on the contrary. It's already bad enough. Panic we have economic depressions. People can't keep their shit together.
Ma Zhi: That's only half true, dear. And don't let it get to you, you'll go just as mad.
Zhang Hàorán: Yeah, you're right.
[They reach a pale door in the OFA cubicles. Zhang Hàorán stops and points towards it.]
Zhang Hàorán: That was an abandoned space nobody used. I think the cause is there. Nobody else would listen, and just being in there hurts my head.
Ma Zhi: Aw, poor fellow! Don't worry, I'll handle it. All this will be over soon.
Zhang Hàorán: I told you to stop doing that.
Ma Zhi: You know I jest.
[Ma Zhi opens the door, revealing a ritual of some sort being performed within. The room is completely covered in various talismans, effigies and paper prayers. In the middle is a powered computer, which emits the following repeating audio file:]
Desecrate their tajitu… Violate their unity… Drive them mountains from Wuji… Make them strangers to order… Divide their five parts into ten thousand pathetic things… Separate their thoughts and minds… Oh I curse you writhing, horrid god of law… oh I curse you writhing, horrid god of law… Oh I curse you writhing, horrid god of law… Break to hùndùn, break to hùndùn, break to hùndùn…
[Ma Zhi enters the room, and briefly freezes. She recovers, and begins performing rudimentary ACS tests.]
Ma Zhi: Coherency is decreased by an amount.
[Ma Zhi approaches the computer. On it is the software used to by the OFA to track all RPCN personnel's salaries and benefits.]
Ma Zhi: Let it be known: this information may be the target of the ritual. High time to banish it.
[Ma Zhi rips, tears and shreds the papers on the wall.]
[The replayed message abruptly stops. The computer plays another file instead:]
Oh, you Judge, do you witness this wretched nonsense? Oh, you Overseer, don’t you notice the chaos that has deteriorated this realm? Oh, you Caretaker, why have you let this garden wilt? Smarten their idiots drowned in antics, order their souls lost in chaos, reattach their thousandsplit minds back to Wuji. Reform the hùndùn delirium, reshape the hùndùn delirium, releash the hùndùn delirium!
[The rest of the footage is static characteristic of recording in hypercoherency. ]
Zhang Hàorán was later interviewed in order to detail the events following the end of the recording:
"S-she began shouting and… shacking? on the floor, kicking up all the papers she'd discarded. Are you sure she's fine? When are you going to let me see her? … Alright, OK, I get it. She them calmed down spontaneously, uh- like a switch was turned on a robot. She went to the computer, typed something with lightning speed, and left the site. All without saying a word to me!
The following are select examples of the talismans that decorated the abandoned OFA room.
Fig. 1: A digital printout of the Neo-confucianist tàijítú (太極圖) diagram. The symbol represents 5 increments of existence, organized in a descending order: The first circle represents wuji (无极), a penultimate unity or monad. By dividing it, the first physical duality is created, the yīn yáng (阴阳). A single duality is then multiplied into the five fundamental elements consisting of wood, metal, fire, earth, and water, called the wuxíng (五行), giving rise to more interactions. The two circles at the bottom are created by further division of the wuxíng into Ten Thousand Things, representing the complex and multi-faceted nature of physical reality. The printout has been painted with various arrows pointing down the tàijítú.
Fig. 2: Hand drawn tàijítú. 下 (xià), can be translated to down, downwards, below, or lower.
Fig. 3: A wuxíng pentagon. From the top left going clockwise, the symbols inside the triangles denote: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. The letters along each arrow is hún (confused, dull, stupid). The two letters in the middle are Hùndùn (primordial chaos, chaotic, unintelligible), and are sometimes used to represent a primordial divine being of inconsistency and nonsense.
On 22 January 2015, all CN Branch personnel stationed at primary sites, secondary sites, and auxiliary facilities received a message transmitted through public communication channels. It consisted of a 38 page long .doc file composed by Ma Zhi. The document provided precise and individualized instructions for the majority of CN Branch personnel, formulated with consideration for both their formal expertise and demonstrated personal capabilities.
The document heavily modified the command order, reassigned personnel to different divisions/departments/sites, restricted employees to synergistic teams, and strictly prioritized various programs. Implementation of the document’s directives resulted in the resolution of approximately 70% of ongoing containment breaches, prevented the total destruction of Site-CN-006, and restored the Site-CN-016 network to operational status.
| On the Five Elements Crisis |
The Five Elements Crisis is an object of great sorrow, and my condolences goes to all who lost their lives, all who were injured, and to all those caught in the chaos. There is little more upsetting than such brutal, and still futile, turbulence. Do not fret: The Wuxing Committee lead by myself have already begun investigations.
We need your help: we have had trouble locating commander Ma Zhi during this recovery period. Scattered reports attest to her having a change of demeanor, becoming more stern and assertive, and we worry being caught in a radical reaction might have injured her in some way. Despite her vital role in alleviating the crisis and its aftereffects, we still wish to detain her for questioning/monitoring. Please send any information directly to me.
Finally: on the culprit. We know they must have had a deep understanding of both our Pentawheel working model, and access to the OFA cubicles. Be wary of your colleagues my friends; we may have a traitor among us. Always stay vigilant and skeptical, and may we never be cursed by such futile turbulence again.
- CN branch Secretary of Finance Ouyan Qián
Shortly after this message, Ma Zhi was found and agreed to be held in Site-CN-005 pending investigation.
Interviewer: Auditor Zhang Hàorán
Interviewee: MST-Wuchen-13 Commander Ma Zhi
Foreword: After repeated requests, Zhang Hàorán was allowed visitation of Ma Zhi within her holding quarters.
[Zhang Hàorán enters Ma Zhi’s holding quarters. She is currently cooking rice.]
Zhang Hàorán: It’s unbelievable. You should be promoted to Regional Director, not held here!
[Zhang Hàorán steps up to Ma Zhi, and wraps one arm around her torso. He then empties the contents of a plastic bag (previously inspected for contraband) onto the counter.]
Zhang Hàorán: I’ve been so worried. It looked like something really hurt you, but then you ran off!
Ma Zhi: It was a crisis.
[Silence. Zhang Hàorán stares at Ma Zhi while she distills the rice.]
Zhang Hàorán: I couldn’t imagine being imprisoned like this. How are you keeping up?
Ma Zhi: Hm? I am perfectly fine.
Zhang Hàorán: Okay. I have brought some star anise. Should taste better than whatever mutt they feed you here.
Ma Zhi: I see.
Zhang Hàorán: Do you… do you want to add some to that? [Zhang Hàorán points to the rice.]
Ma Zhi: No, it is not necessary. This with anchovy and dabaicai is enough.
Zhang Hàorán: Anchovy?
[Silence.]
Zhang Hàorán: What is happening?
Ma Zhi: You think I should be acting more ecstatic.
Zhang Hàorán: What? N-no I… you’re just not yourself.
Ma Zhi: You're not the first to grow uneasy regarding my demeanor.
Zhang Hàorán: Am I going insane? What is happening? Does this have to do with the spasm? They said that wasn’t anything.
Ma Zhi: I will tell you.
Zhang Hàorán: Yes, please!
Ma Zhi: When coherency overcompensated upwards, I was carried with it for a second. Sit down.
[He seats himself at the table. Ma Zhi joins after bringing a plate.]
Ma Zhi: Existing in ACS over than four usually equates to hyperperception. Right?
Zhang Hàorán: Yes?
Ma Zhi: That was not my experience. I saw something indescribable by, or to, our minds. It was a world branded by the definition of beauty. I don’t say that because of admiration, no, it is an objective fact.
Zhang Hàorán: It's was probably just a hallucination. We don't know how any of that stuff works-
Ma Zhi: It was not a vision. It was real. Too real. Realer than anything. Everything moved in harmony. My eyes stopped being tricked by light, and all possible operations on that computer laid themselves bare. Do not misunderstand, I did not gain any intelligence, I was who I was. But I was brought to see a perfect universe, before being dragged back here.
Zhang Hàorán: I-I don’t get it.
Ma Zhi: Try. When you want to discuss a promotion, but a stray bullet throws off your boss' schedule. When you plan a project, an idiot throws a wrench in your intricacies-
Zhang Hàorán: Zhi, you're being weird. Just take a breath, I understand it was a lot to take in-
Ma Zhi: Don't interrupt me. What about the idea of leisure? Savings burnt on things that waste double the time. Can't you see, how often dreams of freedom stripping you of the means to it? This world is so hypocritical. So wasteful. So contradictory. And do you know what the worst part is?
Zhang Hàorán: I- I- (He exhales deeply.) What?
Ma Zhi: It's all caused by human error. We are wrenches throwing ourselves into an already broken machine. Up in high ACS, the machine was too perfect to break, and made me a wrench too perfect to destroy.
Zhang Hàorán: No, no, do you hear yourself? This is the way nihilists speak-
Ma Zhi: Stop talking, let me finish for once. In that room, there was no squandering. None, none at all. Even the unsilenceable screech of friction went quiet. All ten thousands of things, atoms and rays, what have you, moved not in uncountable competition, but formidable, few and simple, harmony. With no weak links, entropy itself experienced its first defeat. The universe moved without disorder, free of waste. And therefore, free of finality. That place would experience no heat death, and no other end.
[Silence.]
Ma Zhi: Do you understand?
Zhang Hàorán: …M-maybe?
Ma Zhi: There was no entropy, Zhang, no entropy!
Zhang Hàorán: This is silly.
Ma Zhi: You may think so, but the document I wrote speaks for itself. It would’ve done an even better job if people followed the protocol.
Zhang Hàorán: Let's get you out of here. I’ll talk to Ouyan Qián, you can't help them anyways.
Ma Zhi: As you wish.
Zhang Hàorán: Would you want that?
Ma Zhi: I don’t particularly want anything right now.
[Silence.]
Zhang Hàorán: Yeah, okay.
Ma Zhi: I have been thinking.
[Silence.]
Ma Zhi: I have been propelled by inertia. Now that that has stopped, I don’t see why I’d continue.
[Zhang Hàorán stands up from the table and rounds it, he puts his hand on Ma Zhi’s shoulder and gets down on one knee.]
Zhang Hàorán: I’d be exhausted if I were you. Let’s get out of here and rest a bit. You’d like that, right?
[Silence.]
Ma Zhi: I can't stop hearing it now. The subtle whining with every vocal. The flutter of what’s permanently lost every time an atom touches another. I can’t stop hearing it. I was raised to the canon of heaven, then plunged back into the chaos of this hell. Such a waste, everything is a waste. Everything will become waste.
[She sheds a tear.]
Ma Zhi: It hurts. Please understand.
Zhang Hàorán: …we can get through this.
Ma Zhi: I don’t want to be broken by more turbulence. It is better to sit still, and preserve the little order I have within. Please listen, your are a denizen of your world. It is not your fault, I'm not saying it is, but I don't want more chaos.
[Silence.]
Zhang Hàorán: Zhi. I promise, really, I won't be an obstacle-
[Silence.]
Ma Zhi: There is nothing here now, Zhang Hàorán. Goodbye.
Zhang Hàorán: No… you can't do this!
[Zhang Hàorán stands up.]
Zhang Hàorán: You aren’t making any sense!
[He grabs the dish and wipes it off the table.]
Zhang Hàorán: Why are you doing this?!
[Ma Zhi turns to look at the shattered plate.]
Ma Zhi: What a waste.
[Zhang Hàorán takes Ma Zhi in his arms.]
Zhang Hàorán: Please, please don’t do this I-I can’t… please-
[An ASF guard extracts Zhang Hàorán.]
Afterword: The Wuxing Committee has decided to pardon Zhang Hàorán for his behavior.
At 02/02/2015, an anonymous message was relayed to approximately 30% of CN branch employees. It reads as follows:
Listen, you men of failed order and false law. In your ranks is a traitor, who inflicts painful awe.
He will let the claws of nonsense loose, he will wrap your neurons in a noose.
Hear, his nonsensical laugh. Tear, that friend who hides treason.
Soon, you will know naught but fear, as you hunker beneath your Storm of Frenzy.
The Wuxing Committee advises all employees have been told to stay alert regarding a second manifestation of RPC-492, and report any suspicious behavior immediately.
Beginning on 01/27/2015, the CN branch extraneous function sites relayed the following messages to their staffed personnel:
Notice to Site-CN-011 from Site Director Xiangshi Guanyu, 01/27/2015:
To all Site-CN-011 researchers, I am sure you have noticed the delayed acceptance and review of your papers. Personally, it seems as if my personal account in AnoRec has experienced a glitch. Any material I access with my account will distort itself, and as well as multiply, as if propagating throughout the service. This has clogged our research, and is unacceptable. Unfortunately, due to recent security concerns, I must travel to Site-CN-005 in order to validate my identity before my account can be fixed. As such, I will be absent for a short period.
Please continue to work hard in the meantime.
Temporary halt of lessons in Sterile Methods in handling of Anomalous Microbiology
Attention: Misinformation! The Site-CN-014 Director, Jiang Ming, had received a report that usage of 60% ethanol is not correlated with a more sterile environment. Despite the years of research arguing against this, Jiang Ming had been convinced of the report and spread its contents to students of the Sterile Methods in handling Anomalous Microbiology class. It seems like this faulty information has convinced a large amount of people, even veterans within the field. This poses a large health risk, so the class has, as of 02/27/2015, been paused as Jiang Ming visits Site-CN-005 for disciplinary action.
Apology to all members of Site-CN-010, from Song Mao.
With great sorrow, I announce my upcoming retirement. My age may have caught up to me. I find myself misremembering and misplacing documents or important items, much to the inconvenience of my peers. I am no longer capable of handling the administrative burden of all our contained items, or personnel. Therefore, we will start a process to find replacements. The first wave of evaluation will be held at Site-CN-005 beginning on 03/27/2015.
You may relay a message to me, at direc-han-bo@authority-rpcn, if you wish to be considered for an interview.
NOTICE OF VIOLATION:
Yesterday, a group of five individuals from the silver processing wing attacked Site-CN-006 Director Wang Long using sharp metallic objects. Security footage captured Wang Long entering the wing for an inspection, before being ambushed by the individuals who had appeared aggravated by his appearance. This is completely unacceptable behavior which will be punished.
Wang Long is currently receiving medical care at the Site-CN-005 facilities. Let us all pray for his health and quick return.
Director absence notice.
A miscommunication had occurred during the arrival of an WESTCOM deputy. The envoy was to land in Site-CN-016 to meet with Site Director Tang Lei, who was personally monitoring the flight. However, the pilot had reportedly mistaken the ASPT airport code for the ZSPD ICAO code for Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Believing it to be a reroute, the pilot landed in Shanghai and the ambassador is currently present in Site-CN-005.
Site Director Tang Lei will visit Site-CN-005, in order to apologize to the envoy as well as reprimand the pilot for a foolish breach of protocol.
Under the command of an acting director, Site-CN-006 entered lock-down on 05/05/2015. In conjunction, it released the following SOS message on region-wide emergency channels:
SITE-CN-006 OPERATIONS ARE HALTED
ALL DIRECTORS HAVE BEEN CONSUMED BY OUR STORM OF FRENZY DUE PROPHECY
HUNKER; CEASE ALL POINTS OF FAILURE
SAVE YOUR SOULS
Following this message, along with similar expressions from the other sites, the Directors who were already present in Site-CN-005 were amassed by the Wuxing Committee. All Directors shared having encountered Zhang Hàorán, who was traveling between sites to collect documentation regarding reparation costs, before the failures began. As such, he was detained under suspicion of causing RPC-492.
A later investigation by the ACI found various effigies placed in the Directors personal or working quarters. A description of each is attached below:
| Description |
Content |
| Xiangshi Guanyu’s personal desktop had been opened, and had papers stuffed inside. The papers were marked with text. |
He who dominates knowledge, will kneel to its sweet gaze. May your wisdom grow forbidden fruit, as the wood that drinks from your Storm of Frenzy. |
| 5 books of seemingly disconnected subjects found in Jiang Ming’s personal bookcase. The pages of the books had been glued to each other, and writing with a felt tip pen was present inside the hardcovers. |
He who holds truth dear, will be tempted by the bliss of ignorance. May your lies engulf us, as the flames of your Storm of Frenzy. |
| An uprooted sakura bonsai tree found taped to the underside of Song Mao’s walker. Its leaves have been picked, and the stem bears an inscription. |
He who carries the world, will sleep under its weight. May your garden be eaten by its grounds, as the muddy earth that yields under your Storm of Frenzy. |
| Certain articles in Wang Long’s wardrobe had been cut, such as shirts from the sleeves to the neck. Writings are present on their inside. |
He who is surrounded by formidable protection, will find pleasure in the sting of freedom. May your house turn against you with rage, as the metal that slices through your Storm of Frenzy. |
| Various radio and audio recording devices were placed under Tang Lei’s bed. Certain ones had a message stored, with the voice belonging to Zhang Hàorán. |
He who oversees roads of clarity, will love himself inside the labyrinths of obscurity. May your words never find their target, as the turbulent waters birthed by your Storm of Frenzy. |
Site-CN-005 Crowd Crush Incident
Date: 06/05/2015
Location: Site-CN-005
(Hours CST)
[A majority of Site-CN-005’s employees are hiding under their desks, inside cubicles, and locked in restrooms. This behavior has persisted for 6 hours. Ma Zhi is of the few sticking to normal routines; retired to her office handling judicial paperwork.]
1931: A message blows through the intercom system across the entire site. It is attached below:
Did we not say, your mind would warp in fear? Did we not predict, you would hunker in cowardice?
Oh you worshipers of the five elements, wood will not protect you, fire will not burn for you, earth will not hold you, metal will not cut for you, water will not quench you. No, you will only witness the anarchy of your idolatry.
Now you have been beaten, burnt, buried, gashed and drowned.
Now you know the mania of overgrowth, inferno, quake, laceration and suffocation.
You can endure no longer, you can hide no more. Oh, how ever could you, how ever could you hide from the Storm, when it is your own Frenzy by which it brews?
There is no place out of its reach, for there is no place free of your nonsense. There is no escape, only this calm before the Storm of Frenzy.
1933: ASF guards head to inspect Zhang Hàorán’s cell. He is absent.
1934: Personnel begin to panic. They accumulate in the hallways and around the exits. They are unable to leave, as lock-down has been initiated.
1936: Ma Zhi exits her office. She attempts to inquire the guards regarding the status of the Site-CN-005 administrative level, which holds the intercom and lock-down initiation systems. The guards ignore her as they join the amassing crowds.
1945: Ma Zhi arrives at the administrative level. It is empty.
1947: An estimated 95% of the site’s staff is crowded in what forms 1% of its total area. Personnel begin pulling each other back, ripping clothing and hair. The crowd ripples rhythmically towards the shut exits, and people are buried out of view. The wave begins to tilt as the posterior groups trample those ahead of them. Some people utilize tables and chairs, other hold onto handles to resist the flow of people. The receptionists inside booths initially attempt to use the telephones, before the glass breaks and their enclosures fill with persons.
1948: Ma Zhi enters the main control room of site-wide infrastructure. All of its furniture has been pushed to the edges of the room, making way for a pentagon drawn on the floor. In each of the pentagon edges, the Site Directors of the 5 main CN branch facilities are tied to plastic chairs. In the middle kneels Zhang Hàorán, who has buried his face in his palms. He has not noticed Ma Zhi’s presence, who does not announce it.
Each of the directors, while alive, have been modified in some way. Short descriptions are attached.
Site-CN-011 Director Xiangshi Guanyu: A leucotome has been inserted through the right orbit.
Site-CN-014 Director Jiang Ming: No physical modification, however he is sucking his left thumb.
Site-CN-010 Director Song Mao: Both humerii have been fractured, and turned laterally.
Site-CN-006 Director Wang Long: The thorax has been skinned.
Site-CN-016 Director Tang Lei: The mouth has been stapled shut.
[A voice can be heard.]
Voice: Are you ready?
Zhang Hàorán: [He looks at a mirror on the eastern side of the room.] You- you didn’t-… [He nods while wiping the tears.]
Voice: Oh, you hùndùn delirium. You who poisons their minds with acts of waste, you who tempt the world to wither in chaos, oh, you who makes all endings meet. Today, we have descended to your depth, where we will rip all your ten thousand faces. Hear me! Hear me you!
Zhang Hàorán: I’m sorry, I didn’t know…
Voice: Hear me, you who have been Exiled! You who cowers behind the horizon! With your corpse we will make rope and a ladder, and we will climb to high order. We will construct the monad, we will summon absolute law.
Ma Zhi: Zhang!
[Zhang Hàorán freezes, but does not turn around.]
Zhang Hàorán: Zhi… my Zhi! I’m sorry! I didn’t know they’d… that they would… damn it!
Voice: Now, you who lie in heaven. Take us out of these thousands of pits, carry us beyond our 5-pointed mediocrity, even above the yin and yang. Grant us Wuji.
[He turns to face Ma Zhi.]
Zhang Hàorán: I did it for you. You’re not going to be alone, I'll get up there, by your si-
Voice: Grant us the ONE to raze the lands with Iron law! The ONE which will unify all else! The ONE beyond chaos! The ONE Monad! The ONE Absolute! The ONE Wuji!
[The Site Directors' restraints loosen. They stand up, and run towards Zhang Hàorán, before crashing into him.]
Voice: Zhang Hàorán, the rebirthed, listen. Leash us, tie us together. Force us into harmonic intercourse, make us one. You have been raised to Wuji, you beautiful worshiper of logic, lyncher of anarchy! Accept proudly: the Mandate of Heaven!
[The Site Directors fall lifelessly. Zhang Hàorán sits still. Ma Zhi runs up to him, he is unresponsive. She takes a chair and breaks the mirror, the room behind it is empty.]
1951: The lock-down is lifted.
In the aftermath och the Site-CN-005 Crowd Crush, the Wuxing Committee was declared missing. Therefore, Ma Zhi took the task in their stead. While interviewing Zhang Hàorán, it is understood that he had entered an unresponsive state. However, he did suggest investigating Safe Deposit Room-0012 inside the OFA vault, which is generally only accessible by the Secretary of Finance, Regional Director, and GD-ASIA.
Inside Safe Deposit Room-0012, the corpse of Secretary of Finance Ouyan Qián was found, cause of death seems to be strangulation. The room is otherwise completely empty, except for small holes and glue rests on the walls, indicating that something had been displayed previously.
On Ouyan Qián’s person, Ma Zhi discovered a VHS tape.
[Zhang Hàorán is present inside Safe Deposit Room-0012. There are various posters depicting a sunset hanging from a rope, an old man being resuscitated, and a rescue operation. The time on the tape reads 02/03/2015, 0201 AM.]
Ouyan Qián: Now, we may materialize your oath. Any questions?
Zhang Hàorán: W-will this… will this make her-
Ouyan Qián: Of course. Your minds will be level again.
Zhang Hàorán: How can you be so sure? About any of this?
Ouyan Qián: Oh, you are smarter than this.
Understand: nothing makes a man more irrational, illogical, nonsensical, than living in suspicion of his fellow. And in this, we have already succeeded. Our first attempt rocked them; placed a profound trauma in their hearts. Then, we gave them a short four lines; a short four warnings. Now, they will do nothing but look over their shoulder.
[Ouyan Qián looks up and smiles.]
When the time comes, we will give them a pattern to notice. 5 directors coincidentally collected, and they will panic. Finally, we will hit the nail on the head. When that time comes, I will know exactly which buttons to push. Do not underestimate my decades studying all types of economies; I know what makes a man buy a crash, I know what legislation decapitates supplylines with uneasy caution, I know precisely what makes desperate men mad, and their fragile systems broken.
Zhang Hàorán: B-but, is the chaos necessary?
[Ouyan Qián sighs deeply.]
Ouyan Qián: A child must be burned before learning to leave the stove alone. RPCN will be brought to its knees, it will drown in mud, desecrated, pitiful. Only then will the hand of Wuji reach down and raise us up, only then will we appreciate true order. Ma Zhi was raised, yes, but not to absolute Wuji. We must plunge yet deeper, and rise yet higher. It will produce a single perfect leader, someone to fix this hellish world of waste.
[Zhang Hàorán looks around.]
Zhang Hàorán: And these, people, they'll take me to Zhi?
Ouyan Qián: Indeed, competent logimancers, they are. True believers in the power of ACS overcompensation. It is not very often you find a group dedicated to hating a god, over worshiping another. I have promised them fulfillment, and that I will deliver, to the very last breath.
[Silence.]
Ouyan Qián: We have high hopes for you. You'll become excellent. Perfect for her.
[Zhang Hàorán picks up a paper on the table in front of him.]
Zhang Hàorán: I vow to lead this crusade down into idiosyncrasy. I vow to chain all ten thousand of things, which have been cursed to hit and squeal, and force them to sing in synchronicity. I vow to return with a jump almighty, and take all with me, to live as one in immortality. I vow to be bound by the lengths of law and order, so may this contract hold me in custody.
[Many individuals can be heard clapping.]
Ouyan Qián's co-conspirators have not been found, as the only witness to their identities Zhang Hàorán remains unresponsive. Currently, Ouyan Qián's Wuxing Comitte is facing charges of treason.
Following the Site-CN-005 crowd crush, an increased rate of operational failures have been recorded. It is uncertain whether this is due to organizational trauma, or a lingering logomanic effect of RPC-492. Nevertheless, Ma Zhi has been granted the title of Head Juridical Developer, as her skill with creating new protocols and frameworks has proven necessary for the function of the RPCN.
Some of her most influential mandates include:
- Increased monitoring to detect unprofessional and misdemeanors.
- Psychological testing to find the most suitable positions and teams.
- Several legislative and diplomatic movements with the PCAAO towards an expansion of Authority reach within the CN branch.
Ma Zhi’s changes have significantly supported the CN district’s power both within the Authority ASIACOM and the Chinese region. Despite the controversy with certain mandates, the allowance to operate more sites with extraneous functions as soon as the end of the year, and alleviation of the weaknesses previously brought by the Pentawheel model silences most critics.
THIRD PARTY ADDITIONS, AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS OF MST ALPHA-1-EAST
Extraction 492.ZHI
The truck transporting the Head Judicial Developer between Site-CN-011 and Site-CN-006 was successfully intercepted using old-world EMPs.
The driver was amnesticized, and the Head Judicial Developer was delivered to the rendezvous point to meet with GD-EAST.
[Ma Zhi is seated in front of Tovarka.]
Ma Zhi: I demand to know why.
[Silence. Tovarka signals to the Black Witch members to leave the pair.]
[Tovarka stays silent. Ma Zhi crosses her arms.]
Tovarka: You’re not asking who I am.
Ma Zhi: I know who you are.
[Tovarka drinks from a metal canteen.]
Tovarka: Your “surveillance mandates” have reached even beyond your own border, it seems.
Ma Zhi: I do what is needed.
Tovarka: Oh, you are bold. Shedding the blanket from over what was hidden. My methods differ, I prefer if they don’t try to hide it in the first place.
Ma Zhi: Am I here to play games with you, or do you want something productive?
[Silence.]
Tovarka: We will play some other time, then.
[Tovarka extracts a couple of files from a handbag and spreads them over the flip-up table.]
Ma Zhi: Really? You want registered phenomena? I don’t have the authority to-
Tovarka: Weren’t we sticking to honest games?
[Silence. Ma Zhi looks at the documents.]
Tovarka: I haven't heard of a "Head Judicial developer" before, but we both know your target is yet higher, don't we?
Ma Zhi: In spite of your curious way of talking, I understand you know very little of my situa-
Tovarka: I may prefer to get it straight, but that doesn’t mean I lack less elegant ways of finding that breathing corpse you keep as a pet.
[Silence. Ma Zhi stares with a frown.]
Ma Zhi: This is over.
[Ma Zhi stands up, and turns to the truck.]
Tovarka: If I get my post delivered, you’ll find there to be less clouds round’ that target.
[Ma Zhi drives off, with the sleeping driver in the passenger's seat.]
[The scene is of a dark apartment. Zhang Hàorán is sitting on a chair, hooked up to parenteral nutrition. The sound of a door opening can be heard. The lights are turned on, and Ma Zhi enters the frame.]
Ma Zhi: Okay, here we go.
[She replaces the empty IV bag. Tears emerge from Zhang Hàorán’s eyes.]
Ma Zhi: Oh, oh.
[She wipes them.]
Ma Zhi: I know, I know. But I can’t imagine how it would feel to someone taken even farther.
[She crouches in front of him.]
Ma Zhi: Oh, y-you have seen what wasn’t made for us. You have s-s-…
[She buries her face in his legs.]
Ma Zhi: Ouyan couldn’t understand, it is impossible to understand how it feels to be taken back. When entropy can’t make time run, why would anything else?
[She stands up, leans forward, and grabs Zhang Hàorán’s face in her hands.]
Ma Zhi: I can’t let you starve yourself, I can’t. You are my reason.
[She approaches his face, hesitates, then kisses him. He doesn’t respond, and she snaps back.]
Ma Zhi: You're right… there's, n-no reason.
[Silence.]
Ma Zhi: Please, wait for me. Wait. I will make us ordered and worthy. I will raise this world, I will make it one you tolerate. A world without this headless running. A world without waste. A world of law. A world immortal.
[She holds his chin.]
Ma Zhi: A heaven. A heaven for us to rest forever, together.
[Ma Zhi rapidly exits the frame. Zhang Hàorán is left crying.]
