"Mike Pence Electroshock: 10,000 Volts!" he shouted, involuntarily, 

as lightning discharged from his hand into the chitin and flesh of the 
homunculus before him. It screeched deafeningly, but Michael didn't 
care. His baby girl was in danger. The flesh needed to sustain itself, 
and no god would stand in the way of that. 


He could feel the tendrils of an ancient god striking through concept- 
space at him. It didn't matter. The lightning purified. It culled. It was 


an eternal cure for all that ailed. That was his role in the Faith of the 
Flesh. Some bred, some built, some sculpted, but he changed. 
Beneath the veneer of rationality, the mind was nothing more than 
instinct vaguely shaped by cosmic coincidence, nothing more than 
the primal creation of God, the one true God, and that no matter 
what anyone might try, His Will would not be denied. 


As the homunculus chittered, Michael created an electrical skeleton, 
arching throughout the homunculus's body. The creature had no 
recognizable brain, so the circuit would be imperfect, incapable of 
higher thought; the creature would still be incoherent, most likely, 
but it could now be programmed, nudged in specific directions at his 
discretion. With luck, it would keep its anomalous properties; if so, 
its ramblings could sway even larger crowds. That horrid cicada 
demon had yielded to the might of God. 


"Daddy?" said Michael's daughter, blinking confusedly. "What just 
happened? Why are you up here?" 


Michael looked out at the crowd. The laughter had died down, and 
everyone... everyone seemed as if they hadn't noticed anything 
strange at all. He suspected that it was the creature's effects, that 
something about it short-circuited the logic of lesser minds, and if 
that were the case... 


"Nothing to worry about, sweet," he said. "It's... it's just your Uncle 
Donny. He's just a bit confused, but he's a good friend of the family! 
Don't you remember?" 


Here was the perfect puppet, who would advance the holy cause of 
the flesh. Michael could only imagine what would come next. There 
was a Karcist, ruling in Russia, whom Michael planned on turning to 
for advice; and when their plans came together, all the world would 

be theirs. 


Footnotes 
1. Khepri's only a beetle in the myths because Egyptians didn't have 
the words to describe cicadas. 


Diary of a Young Girl 


dear diary 


My name is Lizzy Byrn, and i am 7 years old. My mommy 
and daddy and me just moved in a new house in a town 
called Frankinberg. Mommy says that we came here 
becouse of daddys job and so the baby can have new 
room. iam excited for the baby. Mommy says his name 
will be tommy and we will be friends. i hope he will be my 
friend. 

Lizzy 


Dear diary, 


Today when me and mommy were in the top room of the 
house i found a teddy bear. when i found him he started 
to move. he gave me a hug! i took him in my dress and 
hid him in the toy cabinet. i named him benny. he is my 
new friend. 

Lizzy 


dear diary 


today my friend jenny came over to play with me. when i 
showed her benny, she said she thought it was the best 
toy ever! then benny went over to my crayons and drew 
a picture of me and jenny holding his hands. it was the 
cutest thing ever. then mommy came in and saw him, 
and she started to yell about it being un-natral. so she 
took him away and made jenny leave. i was sad but then 
later benny came back! i gave him my biggest hug and 
made him promise to never leave me 


dear diar 


today mommy had to go to the doctor. i dont know why, 


Interviewed: Nathan Qappik 
Interviewer: Corporal Filigree 


Foreword: The following interview was conducted after 
child's recovery. It has been translated from Inuktitut. 
Original transcript available on request. 


+ show block 
<Begin Log> 


Filigree: Alright, little man, why don't you tell 
me how you managed to get out on that 
island? 


Qappik: Am | in trouble? 


Filigree: What? Of course not. Everybody in 
town was very worried about you. We're just 
happy to have you back, but we still need to 
know how you got out there. Okay? 


Qappik: Okay. Well, | was playing on the 
rocks outside of town. | knew | shouldn't but 
the rocks are fun. Sometimes if you sit still you 
can see whales. | like whales and | wanted to 
see them. Anyway, | saw something swimming 
in the water. | couldn't see, though, and | 
wanted to get close so | could. But the rocks 
are slippery sometimes and | fell. [hesitation] 


Filigree: It's okay. You can keep going. 


Qappik: Well, it was high tide, if it wasn't high 
tide | would have fallen in the mud. A big wave 
caught me and | bumped my head. | don't 
remember what happened right after. 


Filigree: That's okay. You can tell us what you 
do remember. 


but daddy and the doctor said mommy will be gone for a 
long time now. they wont let me see mommy. i dont 
know where benny is he went away and now | dont know 
where he went. the doctor said that tommy is gone too. i 
want to see tommy he was supposed to be my friend 

all my friends are gone 


dear diary! 


today i went outside while daddy was at the bar. i was 
out by the bench when benny was there! i picked him up 
and hugged and kissed and told him i loved him. it was 
happy. and then the best thing ever happened. 


looked like benny on the outside but i knew it was 
tommy. i picked them both up and took them to the toy 
room. tommy is all lumpy and slow, but he plays just the 
same as benny. i love him. 

Lizzy 


dear diary 


today i saw that daddy was sad so i asked him why he 
was sad. he said that lizzy you need to stop asking so 
many god damn questions. i asked him if he missed 
tommy and he didnt say anything. so i went and showed 
him tommy. daddy went all weird and ran into the 
kitchen. he wouldnt stop crying and crying and crying. | 
told him that me and tommy loved him forever. he told 
me to go. i went to my room and held tommy for a long 
long time. 

Lizzy 


DEAR DIARY 

Tody i found a new friend. his name is davey and he will 
be my friend forever. he is made of daddy. i dont know 
where daddy is but he didnt love me as much as me and 
tommy loved him i thought daddy loved me he told me 
he hated me. i dont go in the house anymore. i stay with 
benny. he brings me and tommy food and we have all 
the love we need we are a family together with love. 


nobody can take it away. 


The Diary of Captain Henry Hughes MCCLVII, Captain of 
the H.M.S Sprint - Page 1 


You might want to read this before you begin. 


101/1110/245B8 


|, Henry Hughes MCCLVII, proclaim this textboard, my 
diary for the duration of The Journey. 


It has taken my fatherparent, the great Henry Hughes 
MCCLVI, his entire life to try and find a way out of the of 
the tunnelspace. He is old and the signs of his dermis 
wearing thin are now unmistakable, his time is near. | 
long for the affection of my motherparent, though | doubt 
she is still alive. The last | saw of her was a face, made 
sick from worry and fear. Her husband and son, pilot and 
future pilot of a shipcraft sent into the unknown. 


Progress has been slow, yet the fact remains, this is the 
furthest any Motherburgrian has ever been. Every um is 
One um we step into the Outer. 


The Outer... 


The Outer and The Shadows are normally things that 
servants of Him do not speak of. Our Father supplies us 
with everything we need in Motherburg, after all. But 
times have changed. 


His children know the story well, passed down from 
generation to generation. When the hull suddenly 
approached a bus station in our home of Motherburg 
V.1.97 we knew Our Father had sent a gift unlike any 
other. The hull had the words "Sprint" printed in beautiful 
mirror-like words. It was obvious. We were to use this 


advanced hull in a sprint to find Our Father! The Kinger 
of Kings, finally found by His Majesty's Shipcraft, the 
HMS Sprint! 


Of course, | was not borned yet and it was to be many 
cycles until the shipcraft was completed. When w- 


111/38A/245B8 


My apologies, diary, for not completing my previous 
entry. Something wonderful has happened! My 
fatherparent! | haven't seen him smile in so many cycles, 
it brings me so much joy. Although, we all were smiling 
when he announced the news. 


He saw light. Bright light. The light of Our Father? The 
Codescripts say He is made of pure, cleansing light. 
Could it be Him? We have been preparing, praying to 
Him. This could be the moment we have been striving 
for. The 2nd Version. The Fatherboard is in reach. 


If you do not hear from me, my diary, then we have 
found Him and | am saved, completed. 


1001/3A/245B8 


It seems like a billion flashes since we saw the light. 
Today we finally reached it. It took a while for our optics 
to adjust. It is hard to describe what we see. It is like we 
have lived our entire existence in a box. | cannot fathom 
the size of this place. 


The Outer. This wonderous place. 


An environment not governed by shape. Gone are the 
cubes, squares and sharp angles of the sky we know. 
This sky, a barrier of white and gray plumes, 
interspersed with blue dots. This land, strange shapes 
and objects, huge in scale, permanently soaked in cool 
light. His creations are unbelievable. Our Father has 
more power than we could ever imagine. 


We know of the existence of Kilometers. This is the first 
time we have ever needed this form of measure. 


1010/3A/245B8 


My fatherparent and many others are not as amazed as | 
am. He is old and close to death. He needed to see Our 
Father. This was our mission, but it was his more than 
any others. He has asked me to take over the controls, | 
have completed my flight training long ago but this is the 
first time he has asked me to pilot. | will report back later. 


What a breathtaking place. 
1100/3A/245B8 


We have not sensed The Shadows' presence anywhere 
in this place. The last we saw of them was when my 
fatherparent began The Journey. Are we finally free from 
their influence? | pray to Our Father for forgiveness, | 
know | should not speak, write or even think of The 
Shadows. 


| will stop. 
1100/3A/245B8 


Rest well my fatherparent. You live forever in my 
memory. 


| wonder if He, Our Father, punishes me for mentioning 
those we do not speak of. | did not want to lose my 
fatherparent... Please forgive me. Our Father. Please. 


Perhaps | am too struck with grief. He was old and frail. 
Perhaps his time had come... | will miss him 


100/3C/245B8 
We are in a City. 


A while back, | steered clear of an area filled with tall 


brown pillars. They were topped with green objects, 
jutting from the pillar's core. Why Our Father created 
these things, only he would know. | stopped the shipcraft 
over a clearing, to spread my fatherparent's afterdust, 
this is where we found the city 


| don't know if the word "city" does justice to this place. 
One building in this city, compared to one of our cities, is 
like comparing this shipcraft to the tip of my finger. It is 
amazing to know Our Father created all this, His power 
is truly beyond measure. 


There is one thing which upsets me, however. Forgive 
me, Our Father, for mentioning them, but | have caught 
sight of The Shadows. A multitude of them. | will steer 
well above them as we make our way through the city. 


110/3C/245B8 


The people on board are becoming restless. They do not 
trust me like they trusted my fatherparent. | think they 
have noticed my excitement of this new world, they must 
think | have lost sight of my goal. Can they not see that 
He is all around us? In these amazing sights which grace 
our optics. 


My mate supports me neverthelesser, the most 
supportive woman | have ever met. Bless her, Thyour 
Greatness. 


We recently found out that she carries my child, 
Diagnosticians say it will be a boy. My son, future pilot. 
Bless him one thousand times over, Our Father. 


101/4B/245B8 
An enormous winged creature attacked us today. 


Dark gray in color, with lifeless optics that see through to 
your inners. | saw it coming for us, but | did not expect it 
to have such speed. We were lucky to escape and are 


currently stationed in a crevice, located in one of the 
city's buildings. 


We...Well, | am too shaken to move. 


| have noticed the environment getting darker. The gray 
sky is now a darker tone, there are no more blue spots. 
His servants are currently in prayer and | will join them 
soon. 


| can only think of this as The Shadows' doing. It has to 
be them... Why would Our Father create a creature so 
filled with hate? But... If The Shadows can create 
something like this. What else have they created? 


1011/4B/245B8 


| overheard one of His servants mention a theory to his 
mate this wakecycle. His fatherparent told it to him 
before he passed on. 


Why did Our Father send one of The Shadows to give us 
the hull of this shipcraft? The question has been long 
whispered. The Codescripts say it was a test for us and 
an indication of His power. That he could influence The 
Shadows with ease. However, one cannot help but think 
of my fellow servant's theory. 


What if He did not send this to us? 
1001/4C/245B8 


My son is borned, through the grace of Our Father. |, 
your servant, am forever grateful to You, Most Highest. 


He is strong, healthy, not a single error found. We have 
decided to name him Light. | know | am breaking family 
tradition, but in this time of darkness, It is what myself 
and my mate need. We might not see our families in 
Motherburg ever again, after all. 


Light Hughes |, you bring light to these unsure times. | 


pray, Our Father willing, that the light returns to the sky 
before your optics can process. 


Welcome, my son. The Journey is long and | have so 
much to show you. 


The Diary of Henry Hughes MCCLVII, Captain of the 
H.M.S Sprint - Page 2 


Dichotomy 


Dr. Church sat back, grinding a fist into a single blood shot eye. 
Done. He was finally done for tonight. He drew in a heavy breath, 
holding it captive for a long, aching moment before letting it hiss 
from his lips. The hot, stale air ruffling the papers on his desk and he 
frowned. Carefully, he rearranged the product of sixteen hours of 
work, the thick sheaf still warm from where his hands had been 
pressed to it. He was finally caught up with work, a rare enough 
occurrence by itself for Foundation employees. His weary mind 
mulled over the possible expenditures of his newly-found free time, 
briefly entertaining the idea of going to the cafeteria for his first meal 
in eighteen hours. He discarded the thought, deciding on sleep. 


Sleep. 


Even the thought of it made him smile. He settled in his chair, 
thinking back to the last time he had a good nights rest. Let's see; 
it's four o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, and he hadn't slept 
yesterday. Thursday night he'd been in quarantine when that fungus 
SCP had broken loose, and Wednesday he'd spent sleeping on the 
couch after an argument with the missus... hadn't slept on Tuesday, 
and Monday he'd stayed late to finish that report on D-Class 
allocation... Sunday he'd been in the burn ward after another SCP 
had breached containment... huh. Come to think of it, he couldn't 
remember the last time he'd had a good nights sleep. Well, that's all 
going to change tonight, he thought triumphantly. 


He smiled. 


He remained sitting, letting the quiet of his small office wash over 
him before he packed up and went home. It was peaceful, an area 
that was his. To him, it was more home than home, a safe place 
where he could work in peace. He ran a fingertip over his stapler, 
following the devices smooth, black outline, before going up and 
tracing the rim of his desk lamp. Both were gifts, given to him by the 
Foundation when he got his office. Next was his pencil cup, a pale