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A reproduction of RPC-XXX-IN based off of Tilly's illustrations, created by artist Rod Dickinson.
Registered Phenomena Code: RPC-XXX
Object Class: Gamma-Purple
| Hazard Types:Additional Properties: |  Psychotronic |
 Emotional |
 Ideological |
 Mind-Regression |
| Hazard Types:Additional Properties: |  Mechanical |
Containment Protocols: A referendum held among the western Regional Directors concluded with a 9-2 vote, determining that containment of RPC-XXX in its modern form is logistically impossible. Containment is limited to the deployment of web crawlers which delay the digital spread of knowledge regarding RPC-XXX's lasting impact. This has proven, thus far, to be successful in maintaining the psychological status quo of the global populace. Attempts at counter-memetics have proven unsuccessful, and only exacerbated the issue.
The Authority's continued inability to retrieve
Description: RPC-XXX refers to the diaspora of anomalous phenomena attributable to the historical use of, and para-scientific knowledge gained from the study of RPC-XXX-IN. These phenomena can currently be observed in virtually every human population on the Earth. These phenomena include, but are not limited to:
-Exaggerated nationalist ideology, correlating with a strong tendency for those affected to glorify their nation's historical or current wrongdoings
-Severe paranoia, manifesting as a marked distrust and hostility towards foreign cultures
-Consistently aggressive and confrontational behavior
-Marked jingoism and eagerness to obey one's local system of governance
RPC-XXX-IN was a mechanical apparatus created by a currently unknown artisan around 1790, possibly of Bavarian origin according to sparse British historical record. Little is known about the internal material construction of the device, though CIA documents have indicated parts of the internal mechanism were built of vulcanized rubber despite this material not having been invented until 1839. Illustrations by James Tilly Matthews show the external appearance of RPC-XXX-IN, which seemed to occupy an approximately 4.2m x 2.5m x 3.1m space. The main frame was constructed of dense oak with iron rivets. Brass plates on the exterior were engraved with mechanical glyphs resembling both textile weaver notation and neurological pathway diagrams.
A series of six (6) brass-bound rotating barrels were affixed horizontally to the main frame. Each barrel contained dozens of internal bobbins wrapped with conductive filament, suspended in a glycerin-based gel medium. The barrels were capable of independent rotation or coordinated rhythm which generated a strong electromagnetic field. These rotations correlated directly with observed neuropsychological symptoms. The effective range this electromagnetic field could achieve is unknown. Four (4) large cylindrical vats were also affixed to RPC-XXX-IN, individually labeled: "Spleen," "Craving," "Terror," and "Deflation." Tubing connected these reservoirs to a central "weaving gland" which threaded fine platinum-wire "emission strands" through magnetized pulleys. When active, these strands would vibrate at frequencies which induced negative symptoms in those targeted.
A multi-pronged nozzle-like structure resembling a gramophone horn protruded from the top of RPC-XXX-IN. This structure would be oriented at the target, emitting inaudible low frequencies and intermittent bursts of ether vapor. The device had no discernible power source.
RPC-XXX-IN is known as the "air loom" to the public. It is publicly known through the historical record of James Tilly Matthews, a British merchant who disrupted sessions of the House of Commons of Great Britain with claims that a gang of criminals and spies versed in pneumatic chemistry were tormenting him with the device. He reported sensations that his head was being crushed by an outside force, that his mind was being read, and that these criminals were introducing magnetic fluids into his skull. He alleged that other targets included leading government figures of the time, and asserted that there was more than one criminal gang operating looms throughout the United Kingdom. Tilly was declared insane and committed to the Bethlem Royal Hospital in 1797. He continued to report incidents of psychic torment until his death in 1815. Tilly is remembered in the public as the first documented case of paranoid schizophrenia, and the "air loom" is thought to be a delusion of his.
Unknown to the British public, the prime minister William Pitt the Younger took Tilly's allegations seriously and launched an investigation spanning across London. By 1804, he believed Tilly's claims to be truthful, despite not having found the criminals, due to the sudden mental declines of varying politicians, nobles, and King George III, from whom the investigations were initially kept secret. In 1809, RPC-XXX-IN was discovered in a noticeably degraded but still functional state. Historical record indicates that it was found on its own nearby the London Wall in Moorfields, and investigations ceased in 1811 when no more could be located. Despite Matthews’ insistence that multiple devices were in operation across Britain, only RPC-XXX-IN has ever been recovered. Whether his reports referred to hallucinated projections or sister machines remains unknown. With the Napoleonic Wars in full swing, Pitt decided to personally present the device to King George III.
RPC-XXX-IN disappears from the historical record around this time. It is thought to have played an important role in most European conflicts of the 19th century, which were marked by paranoid and aggressive foreign policy across the continent. The United Kingdom itself experienced a transformative period which would place it at the top of the global power structure. RPC-XXX-IN was likely used on civilian populations in British slave colonies. Eyewitness accounts tell of the rounding up of civilians and their subsequent release in India coinciding with a royal visit, followed by their mental decline and collective unwillingness to rebel.
By 1913, it is known that British government officials were finding the use of RPC-XXX-IN to be unsatisfactory for their needs. It's around this time that it was secured in a vault underneath the former site of the Bethlem Royal Hospital. As Europe entered World War 1, the British expanded their military capabilities rapidly to make up for a period defined by naval and psychological dominance which no longer sufficed. After the war had concluded, King George V proposed selling RPC-XXX-IN to the White House in 1929. It was at this time that the United States government became aware of the machine's existence. Knowledge quickly spread among wealthy industrialists, who, fearing this technology being in the Crown's hands, sought to stifle the nation and its constituents with trade restrictions. President Herbert Hoover was pressured into accepting the newly drafted Smoot-Hawley act, which applied a blanket tariff to all foreign imports, causing the Great Depression.
Henry Ford, in his personal communications with Adolf Hitler, informed him of RPC-XXX-IN's existence. This greatly contributed to Hitler's obsession with the esoteric, and it became an unspoken goal of his to acquire the device, writing that such a power "could only naturally belong in the hands of the superior Aryan race." He established communication and envoys with the British crown, attempting to convince them that the technology would be better off in Germany's possession, though this was unsuccessful. Germany's subsequent invasion of Poland was, in part, driven by his growing frustration over being denied access to the device he believed could grant ideological supremacy. The United States government waited cautiously until the Blitz occurred, at which point a team of spies and soldiers was sent to London in a covert operation to retrieve RPC-XXX-IN. Despite heavy casualties, the mission was successful, and the device was brought back to the White House.
Fearing the hasty use of RPC-XXX-IN due to the British' reports of its inefficiency in modern circumstances, the US government resolved to defeat the Nazi threat and stabilize Europe, fearing another attack on their soil. As World War 2 concluded, the British Empire rapidly collapsed, with the United States taking the spot as the world's foremost superpower. Countless records indicate that use of RPC-XXX-IN was at its most frequent during this period, as the government sought to test its capabilities and limits. In 1947, the CIA was founded, unquestionably linked to the discovery of RPC-XXX-IN's limiting factor.
With Europe under its command, the United States found themselves rivaled with the USSR. CIA research deduced that RPC-XXX-IN was a mystical "subversion device" created in the late 18th century, and its failings were attributable to it being "attuned" for the geopolitical circumstances of that time. It also deduced that those most vulnerable to its influence were those who held an individualist worldview, seemingly because they could not or would not believe that their own thoughts could be suspect. Those of the USSR, which followed a socialist collectivism ideology, were resistant to RPC-XXX-IN's influence. This proved to be a foundational issue for the CIA, which would spend the remaining half of the 20th century attempting to reverse engineer the internal mechanisms of RPC-XXX-IN. These attempts proved mostly unsuccessful, although it is known that the precursor to the public internet was based off the findings made, as well as the technology for color television. Project MKULTRA was done in an attempt to discover more conventional means of psychological manipulation which didn't require the physical presence of RPC-XXX-IN. By the late 80s, the US government had mostly given up on attempts to utilize RPC-XXX-IN itself, and the USSR was dissolving regardless of their interference. RPC-XXX-IN was transferred to the possession of the United Nations Anomalous Activities Committee on July 12th, 1992. A confidential executive order was passed by President George W. Bush on May 29th, 2003, instructing that RPC-XXX-IN be decommissioned. It is generally assumed that this order wasn't followed by the UNAAC.