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RPC-601
Registered Phenomena Code: 601
Object Class: Beta-Yellow (Utility)
Hazard Types: Extradimensional Hazard, Ideological Hazard, Immeasurable Hazard, Sensory Hazard
Containment Protocols: RPC-601 is contained in a standard temperature and humidity-controlled secure locker on Site-███. To minimize the risk of RPC-601-1 manifestations in situations which might prove harmful to the Authority, only personnel of level 3 and above with proven loyalty records are permitted involvement in RPC-601 testing. All personnel known to have been exposed to RPC-601, and thus subject to RPC-601-1, are to wear personal audio/visual recording devices at all times while on-duty in order to maximize observational data of RPC-601-1 manifestations. Use of such recording devices while off-duty for the purpose of cataloguing manifestations is encouraged but not mandatory.
All instances of RPC-601-1 are to be classified as potential emergency security assets by the ASF, and should be aware of the duties and responsibilities such positions entail before committing to becoming RPC-601-1.
Due to the deleterious emotional effects of physical experimentation on RPC-601, Research Department counsellors are to be made available during any testing and the administration of low-level amnestics in small quantities is permissible in extreme cases.
Description: RPC-601 is a seaman's chest of unknown make and origin, measuring 1m x 0.75m x 0.75m, and built entirely of pine wood and iron nails. Chemical analysis of the varnish coating RPC-601's interior and exterior has proved inconclusive. The object is devoid of markings save for a short inscription engraved by hand on the interior of the lid (See Addendum 601-2).
When opened, RPC-601 will always be filled with aged, non-anomalous clothing familiar to the person (hereafter referred to as the "subject") who opened it. This clothing incorporates items from the subject's childhood, generally pieces they wore before adolescence or clothing belonging to close friends and family they recall wearing or desiring. If opened by multiple subjects simultaneously, RPC-601 manifests clothing specific to the subject who has interacted with it the least in the past, generally those who have never been exposed.
The act of opening RPC-601 induces extreme feelings of nostalgia in the subject, as well as the sensation of an odour strongly associated with positive childhood memories. This odour is chemically undetectable and varies from subject to subject, including such scents as sandalwood, mothballs, baking, or wood smoke. When RPC-601 is closed both the clothing and the odour instantly cease to exist until the object is next opened. The odour and combination of clothing is always consistent between each subject; clothing that is destroyed or altered before RPC-601 is closed will reappear in its original state when the subject next opens it.
A secondary emotional effect of RPC-601 occurs whenever the item is deliberately damaged or altered. When RPC-601 is damaged through direct human intervention, any and all personnel responsible for the damage will experience intense, overriding feelings of regret and guilt, as well as sudden vivid recall of incidents in their childhood where they accidentally or deliberately caused emotional harm to those close to them. The effect manifests itself in anyone who has directly harmed RPC-601, or anyone who has given orders or commands resulting in damage to RPC-601. The intensity of the altered emotional state decreases when those affected are removed from the presence of RPC-601, and takes up to a week to subside fully. Exactly what constitutes damaging RPC-601 is not entirely understood, and due to the negative emotional impact on RPC-601 Research and Containment staff, destructive testing is not to be undertaken.
RPC-601-1 refers to the temporary manifestation of anomalous powers and clothing in those subjects who have both opened RPC-601 and interacted with the clothing it has generated specific to them. RPC-601-1 events only occur during moments of extreme physical or emotional distress, often brought about by situations wherein the subject's life or livelihood is in immediate danger, and last until the subject perceives said danger to be past.1
During RPC-601-1 events, clothing consistent with that manifested by the opening of RPC-601-1 will appear on the subject's person, altered in size and fit to be at the same proportions to their body size at it was as a child.2 This clothing remains on the subject's person until the end of the manifestation, whereupon it will vanish.
RPC-601-1 manifestation during Containment Division field training in southern Chile, 1943.
While undergoing RPC-601-1 manifestations, subjects will exhibit anomalous abilities consistent with those abilities or qualities they consistently imagined themselves to have as children. These qualities can include superior sensory or physical strength, anomalous abilities and control over objects or manifested entities. Subjects demonstrate an immediate recollection of the nature and means of control over their imagined abilities, and retain this recollection even after the end of the RPC-601-1 event. The effects of RPC-601-1 events are consistent between each manifestation, though many instance of RPC-601-1 develop new ways to apply their abilities with practice and experience.
Addendum RPC-601-1: Sample RPC-601-1 Manifestations:
| Event # | Subject | Circumstances of Manifestation | Clothing Manifested | Outcome |
| 601-1-2703 | Researcher A█████ K█████ | Cave-in during exploration of tunnels below RPC-███ | Oversized pink rubber boots with yellow trim and white polka-dot pattern, belonging to subject's elder sister. Heavily damaged straw hat belonging to subject. | Immediate manifestation of a 3-meter-tall animate green plush stuffed toy in the form of a rabbit, which appeared slightly translucent to all onlookers. Entity obeyed all commands given to it by subject and demonstrated extreme physical strength and resilience, clearing debris and freeing 6 trapped personnel. Entity embraced Researcher K█████ and vanished. |
| 601-1-6724 | Junior Researcher H██████ v██ G██████ | Chlorine trifluoride spill and subsequent internal ventilation system fire on Site-██ caused incapacitation of 96% of base personnel. Subject was working in environmentally-sealed acoustics laboratory at the time. | Pair of oversized black plastic spectacles, no lenses, frame repaired with electrical tape. | Subject was able to modify extant audio equipment to emit an intense low-frequency sound which temporarily neutralized the oxidizing and corrosive effects of the chemical. Later analysis revealed the device to be non-functional and non-anomalous in nature. Subject had no recollection of how they created the anomalous device, stating that they "Just knew that [they were] a super-scientist." |
| 601-1-10579 | Agent Q███-██████ L█ | Encounter with Children of Nihil zealots during Operation [REDACTED] MST-[DATA EXPUNGED] heavy casualties | Pair of clear plastic swimming goggles, heavily moth-eaten red and yellow towel tied around subject's neck, horned helmet constructed of cardboard and tinfoil. | Subject's voice became highly amplified. Subject demonstrated the ability to deflect incoming projectiles with fists. Anomalous effect forced retreat of CoN unit.3 |
| 601-1-10673 | Agent B██████ E███ | Outbreak of RPC-███ and subsequent containment breach of ███-1 through -78 results in heavy casualties on Site-███. Subject trapped in breached guard post with 3 other members of Site-███ Security team. | Football jersey consistent with that of the Brazilian 1970 national team. Hand-sewed name on back reads "E███". | Football consistent with those used during the 1970 world cup manifests at subject's feet. Subject is able to exhibit perfect control over football and kick it at apparently supersonic speeds, resulting in no damage to the ball. Subject is able to use football to delay RPC-███ until reinforcements arrive. |
Addendum 2: RPC-601 Interior Inscription:
The following is inscribed on the interior of RPC-601's lid. Wear marks indicate inscription was performed by hand, but the age of the inscriptions and the results of handwriting analysis have been inconclusive.
My dear child. I will not lie to you and say that the world out there is safe or good, but I know that you have it within you to make it so. Your childhood is your own; go and live it full of wonder, and hold on to it in your heart.
When you need it again, it will be there for you. I promise.
With love, Grandfather.
Addendum 3: Proposal to implement mass production of RPC-601-1, 15 July 1940
The following is an excerpt from a document sent by the head of Research Division's Antarctica Branch Col. Dr. Friedrich Grohl to the heads of that continent's Containment and Protection divisions. At this point in the Austral War, the Authority had deployed its first crude nuclear devices with limited success against the Howlers.
Gentlemen,
Let me begin by congratulating you on the detonations of AW14, AW2 and AW3. Despite the positive implementation of these weapons, however limited, I cannot help but wonder if something new is needed.
It goes without saying that we have not balked at the use of anomalous technologies directed against the Howlers- one need merely point out [DATA EXPUNGED BY ORDER OF THE AUTHORITY PROTECTION DIVISION PROVISIONAL WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL] and other anomalous items which can, and I believe should, be safely weaponized.
Which brings me to RPC-601- I have attached its current Containment file for your perusal. Though it might at first appear childish, I think it carries with it great possibilities for exploitation. Imagine every Containment and Protection division staff member regardless of rank able to deploy a host of powerful and eminently controllable anomalous abilities whenever danger reared its ugly head? The anomaly is difficult to manifest under controlled conditions, but I believe Dr. Jackson's Combat Psychologies team may have a solution to that minor issue.
We will speak more of this at the Division regional conference on Thursday, I am sure. In the mean time, think it over- I believe the benefits vastly outweigh the negligible risks.Regards,
Grohl
Addendum 4: Excerpts from In Memory Clad: Anomalous Soldiery in the Austral War, K. Tetsudori5
By the end of 1941, nearly 2000 Protection, Containment and even Research Division personnel had been converted to RPC-601-1, and battle reports became so full of cases of Howlers being killed with cowboy six-guns or routed by 'imaginary friends' that most units simply stopped reporting them. By the time the New Swabia Rift was sealed in 1946, more than 8000 recorded instances of RPC-601-1 had been produced.
Conflict between RPC-601-1 units and regular soldiers was frequent, with the "Kiddies" being denigrated for the often ridiculous appearance of their combat manifestations. Underpinning the tension was the unspoken acknowledgement that when RPC-601-1 and non-anomalous units deployed alongside each other, it was nearly always the RPC-601-1 units who made it back alive.
Addendum 5: Discovery of RPC-601-2
Instance of RPC-601-1 with Security personnel in German uniform during a manifestation training exercise in southern Chile, 1943.
During large-scale psychological testing and reintegration efforts following the end of the Austral War in 1946, Research Division teams assigned to "Kiddie" units of RPC-601-1 discovered a secondary anomalous effect resulting from prolonged RPC-601-1 exposure, which was designated RPC-601-2. Though time to onset varied from case to case, it became apparent that significant use of RPC-601-1 over prolonged periods of time caused a psychological condition involving intense apathy, disassociation and the inability to distinguish between imagined and real concepts. Severity of RPC-601-2 symptoms increase exponentially with time, leading eventually to a total vegetative state followed by the anomalous disappearance of the subject while asleep. In the later stages of RPC-601-2, during lucid moments, subjects demonstrated obsessive fixation on a place or concept referred to as "Dreamland", though they did not prove able to adequately describe this concept.
Note from General Szer Milosevič, Authority Protection Division Provisional War Crimes Tribunal, ██/██/1955:
In the nine years since the end of the War, we have had to confront the costs of our actions. Not only loss in manpower, but the loss of minds- perfectly healthy men and women reduced to babbling children, only to vanish in their beds. There is nothing quantifiable about RPC-601-2, nothing we can accurately chart or measure. It does not even appear to have a psychiatric source. The fact is, we, in search of victory, have perverted something beautiful, and now we pay the price.