THE MAN 
You are to come to the Planet of Hands. 


1232 hours local time - upon concluding with the above dialogue, 
daylight returns to Tahrir Square. Of the estimated 10,000 people 
gathered in the square, several thousand spontaneously lose vision, 
and several hundred appear to be instantaneously flayed alive 
through unknown means. All other persons present in the square no 
longer have hands after the conclusion of the anomalous display, 
instead having completely healed stumps. Regional news networks, 
in particular Al-Jazeera, begin to run coverage despite attempts at 
coordinated interference with dissemination of information. 


All nations have put their militaries on high alert, and a 
few look to have already taken the opportunity to settle a 
few scores in the confusion. That's the only thing that 
makes sense now, really. What do they think they're 
mobilizing against? A way to look like they're doing 
something, anyway. 


The churches, mosques, synagogues, etc. are 
overflowing. The Abrahamic folks are convinced that 
judgment is at hand. Everyone else just sort of figures 
that we're all fucked. The first reports of murder-suicides 


are coming in. Not as many as we might have expected, 
though. People have options. 001 made sure to let them 
know that. 


Act Two - The Traveler Prepares 


ACT TWO 
SCENE ONE 


1521 hours local time - reports emerge from Beijing of the 
embalmed corpse of Mao Zedong ambulating under its own power 
from its mausoleum and into Tiananmen Square. Visual confirmation 
emerges on Xinhua news service outlets several minutes later. An 
anomalous humanoid projection, similar to that seen in the part of 
"Proteus" in the Cairo disturbance, appears in the middle of the 
square alongside the corpse of Mao, which appears to have 
assumed the role of The Man. 


THE MAN 
There's no sense in lingering. We all have our appointed places. 


PROTEUS 
But there's simply no sense in it! Our world is immense, our use of 
its resources efficient and wise. Surely none of us must live in exile. 


THE MAN 
Problems of the far future become the problems of tomorrow for a 
race that has no end to its days. 


PROTEUS 
There must be a way to manage it. If all women and men live for as 
long as they care to, we must have no need for births. What purpose 
the creation of life if it is to suffer? 


THE MAN 
| have had this duty for a very long time, my friend. These are not 
new questions. And my answers are not new. Our kind ascended 
when we understood the true nature of ourselves. We must always 
be able to create new life. Our minds, subtly interconnected through 
the air and through the dreamscape, turn dark and destructive when 


the act of creation is taken from us. 


PROTEUS 
What of suffering? What of the cruelty that lives on our nine moons? 


THE MAN 
Suffering? Yes, there is suffering. It must be so. And we must know 
of it, taste of it, build our houses upon its foundations. As life preys 
on life, so does human enterprise need vast inputs of suffering. It 
binds us together. The knowledge that there are others that cannot 
have what we have built affects us deeply. It is a cornerstone in our 
souls. That is something we discovered a very long time ago. It is 
vital. And it was this discovery that paved the way to Heaven's gate. 


THE MAN 
But cruelty? No. We do not do these things because we wish to 
cause pain. We do it for those that remain in the wondrous society 
that we have built. We have given beauty and truth without end to 
those that are chosen. If even one person may taste of the infinite 
good, is that not worth any amount of finite suffering? 


PROTEUS 
But why must it be | who pays the price? 


THE MAN 
My friend. Come with me. | shall escort you. 


1559 hours local time - upon conclusion of the anomalous 
occurrence, crowds in Tiananmen Square become highly agitated, 
tearing apart the corpse of Mao Zedong and resisting an assembled 
cordon of riot police. Leaders of major world governments have 
begun issuing statements urging for calm among their populations 
as scientists struggle to explain the occurrences in Cairo and 
Beijing. Thousands are reported to have died in civil unrest in 
population centers throughout the world. 


ACT TWO 
SCENE TWO 


1610 hours local time - the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province, 


China, spontaneously disappears. The immense volume of water 
being held back by the dam previously does not move. Within 
minutes, helicopters operated by local emergency authorities are on 
the scene. Humanoid projections appear on the vast surface of the 
wall of water. 


PROTEUS 
What is this place? 


THE MAN 
Do you see our planet in the sky, that wondrous blue sphere? You 
are on the Planet of Hands, my companion. 


PROTEUS 
| don't understand. It looks like it has been on fire. Buildings, rubble. 


THE MAN 
There was a time when we merely exiled those whose duty was to 
come here. They built their own societies, in a fashion. They were 
driven by what they could not have, their slender hope twisted into a 
sort of vengeance upon their children at the center of this great 
constellation. They built great structures, vast ships, terrible 
weapons. The uprisings happened many, many millennia ago. The 
last conflict our humanity will ever have to face. Now, it's a simple 
matter to ensure that this never happens again. No perverse hope to 
tempt anyone into foolish destruction. 


PROTEUS 
By taking away our hands. 


THE MAN 
By taking away your hands. The mindset of a planet of those without 
hands is the proper one, for all of us. 


PROTEUS 
Where is everyone? 


THE MAN 
Come. 


1632 hours local time - the waters of the Yangtze River are 


released, causing massive flooding, widespread destruction of 
homes and property, and thousands of deaths along the area of the 
river's banks. The destruction further inflames instability in the 
People's Republic of China, and the country's ruling Communist 
Party is overthrown in a popular uprising within a matter of hours 
after this event. 


It's all come apart, One. Everything that we've worked 
for. Crushed in a matter of hours. And the only thing 
holding them all together, keeping things from being 
even worse than they are right now, is one idea. 


Going home. Wherever home happens to be. 
Act Three - To the People of Earth 


ACT THREE 
SCENE ONE 


2301 hours local time - all notable buildings within the Capitol Mall 
region of Washington D.C. change coloration, from white to red. The 
Washington Monument emits a bright column of red light, stretching 
up into the sky and visible from hundreds of miles away. Ten meter- 
tall holographic projections of several humanoids, similar to those 
previously depicted, appear directly over the monument's reflecting 
pool. 


PROTEUS 
We have traveled many miles. 


THE MAN 
The Planet of Hands is vast. But look. We have another. 


HANDLESS WOMAN 
More people? | must be close to the blessed end. 


PROTEUS 
Who are you? 


HANDLESS WOMAN 


| no longer have a name. We have no need for such things here. 


PROTEUS 
Do you remember your home? 


HANDLESS WOMAN 
This is my home. 


PROTEUS 
| mean the place you came from, to here. 


HANDLESS WOMAN 
| remember a time when | wasn't starving. But that was a long time 
ago. It's difficult to recall. 


PROTEUS 
Your ribs are showing. Would you like me to find some food for you? 


HANDLESS WOMAN 
There's nothing to find. This is a place of ash and salt. But the 
hunger is a blessing. My mind feels clear, my being so light and 
clean. God speaks to me here. He tells me to lift my stumps to the 
blue light in the sky, and so | do. And | pray, and | am filled with the 
knowledge that | am here for a purpose, | am suffused with 
happiness. 


PROTEUS 
This place makes you happy? 


HANDLESS WOMAN 
The last gift of the body before it evaporates is the divine revelation. 
| live in truth. | live without fear, without doubt. | dwell in the spirit 
that had made this place. This is a place of ecstasy. 
(HANDLESS WOMAN collapses) 


THE MAN 
And now her time here is at an end. No torments of false hope, no 
food nor water to sustain her suffering longer than it must. It is but a 
little sacrifice, when faced with the salvation that it brings. 


PROTEUS 
How long was she here? 


THE MAN 
A fortnight. 


PROTEUS 
She did not seem to be suffering. 


THE MAN 
The joy of martyrdom obliterates all suffering. It is a secret known 
only to those of the outer planets, a gift to those who make this 
sacrifice. No. She is truly transcended. 


PROTEUS 
lam ready. 


2333 hours local time - crowds estimated at approximately 50,000 
people have gathered around the Washington Monument to witness 
the anomalous occurrence. Law enforcement authorities are not 
present at the scene, having been summoned to contain unrest 
elsewhere in the Capitol region. 


ACT THREE 
SCENE TWO 


2340 hours local time - a large doorway in the center of the 
Washington Monument opens. Nothing is visible inside but a faint 
green light. The holographic projections continue. 


THE MAN 
Present your hands, Father of Humanity. 
(THE MAN holds a ceremonial blade aloft in one hand, a torch in the 
other) 


PROTEUS 
| stand ready. 
(PROTEUS holds his hands before THE MAN) 


THE MAN 
Do you accept the gift of sacrifice, for those brethren that shall 
remain in the light for all of time? 
(THE MAN saws at PROTEUS ' left wrist) 


PROTEUS 
I do. 
(PROTEUS bleeds profusely) 


THE MAN 
Do you offer your suffering for the good of the whole, your exile for 
the benefit of the collective psyche of Humanity? 
(THE MAN wrenches PROTEUS ' left wrist, snapping bone and 
tendon, then slicing the remaining ligaments keeping the hand in 
place) 


PROTEUS 
| do. 
(PROTEUS spurts blood from left wrist) 


THE MAN 
Do you renounce the unstable reality of the universe outside of this 
system? Commit yourself to the preservation of sanity within this 
system of planets? 
(THE MAN burns PROTEUS left stump with the torch, cauterizing 
the wound) 


PROTEUS 
| do. 
(PROTEUS screams) 


THE MAN 
With the left hand, you accept your duty. With the right, our duty to 
you. 
(THE MAN cleanly slices off the right hand of PROTEUS in one fluid 
motion) 


PROTEUS 
| thank you. 
(PROTEUS bleeds profusely) 


THE MAN 
We, the living, shall keep a society of perfect harmony, perfect 
justice, perfect beauty. We, the living, shall keep our human natures 
pure, living in the highest purpose that is possible for our forms. We, 
the living, shall transform your suffering into the most divine purpose 


imaginable. 
(THE MAN burns PROTEUS ' right stump with the torch, cauterizing 
the wound) 


PROTEUS 
| am honored beyond measure. 
(PROTEUS screams) 


THE MAN 
In this holy pact, we shall know love without measure or end. Go 
forth, Father. Complete your journey. 


PROTEUS 
| accept my duty. 


2359 hours local time - the humanoid projection portraying Proteus 
enters the doorway within the Washington Monument. Other 
projections vanish upon its entry. The doorway begins to slowly 
close. Several spectators from the closest ranks of the crowd rush 
into the doorway, followed by increasing numbers of onlookers, until 
an estimated three thousand bystanders enter the monument before 
the gateway closes. No person entering the monument has been 
contacted or seen since this event. 


Thirteen asked me if what we worked to preserve was 
ever natural. What a stupid question. What does it matter 
if the world we enabled was unnatural? It was better than 
what waits for us. 


The thing in Washington gave people lots of ideas. 
People have managed to summon a couple more of 
these gateways in a few places. They're fleeing into 
them. It's hard to blame them. We've lost any meaningful 
ability to control anything. The jig is up. The world knows 
that science is an illusion and certainty is a cruel joke. 
Why not take the chance? Better a refugee than a 
corpse. Or worse. 


Me? No. | will not. | won't end my life as one of the cattle. 


It was a pleasure to serve, One. 


EXPUNGED] 
« SCP-524 | SCP-525 | SCP-526 » 


-Twelve 


Casa de Jacinta / Jacinta de la Casa 


Aurelio always rides too fast. | told him as much on the last night | 
saw him. Do you really need to die in a way that will leave such a 
mess? It's so unfair to the rest of us that we have to see you like 
that. His reply was always to hell with you all, I'll be dead, what do | 
care? Ha ha. 


Here he comes on his bike, tearing around the hillside curves as the 
Ciudad comes into view. He's by himself, and this is worrying me. 
He's been bringing large crews of the new Barqueros with him lately. 
Trucks and equipment and tools into the tower. But now? Just him, 
this time. How many are left? Does it matter? The empty city is 
cursed, just as much as it's haunted. The new Barqueros crossing 
the same river as the old ones. 


He slides around to a stop in front of the little market, spraying dirt 
everywhere to the infantile delight of the ever-present Maximo and 
Ernesto, seated in their pensioner's chairs in front. Why do they find 
him so funny? Is it because he isn't dead yet? That's something that 
might be funny to those that grow old, maybe. | wouldn't know. 
Never got the chance. 


Aurelio goes inside, and | already know he's getting his traditional 
six pack of Quilmes for whenever he visits the Ciudad. The tanned 
wrecks of old men return to their wizened, ritualistic head shaking 
and muttering while he goes inside. Maximo and Ernesto sway like 
two spindly quebracho trees stripped of their leaves, the brief 
disturbance of Aurelio and his motorcycle giving way again to the 
wind that always whips through this place. Wind is madness and 
impermanence and slow grinding destruction. If the planners from 
the Ministry had thought to ask anyone before they built this city, 
anyone from the plains could have told them that. 


He's coming back out now, already started on the first bottle. He 
throws one to Maximo and one to Ernesio. I'm troubled. They're not. 
They start drinking without any questions. You question everything 


when you're dead. | miss that; plunging headlong into the next 
moment of your life without thinking. Not allowed now. | would 
complain to the management if | could. Aurelio stops a moment 
before getting back onto his bike. 


What do you think, eh? What's going on in the world now? 
Ernesto doesn't bother to look up. Same as ever. 


Maximo looks at his fellow scarecrow, insulted. His face folds up 
even more, a scribble of brown lines and wrinkles. Same as ever? 
You old fool. It's falling apart. Even the goddamn yanquis are 
shitting themselves. 


Eh, they just grew eyes now. It was always there. That's why | told 
you not to go poking in that fucking tower, Aurelio. No one listens. 


His words make me catch. Oh Ernesto. Not even you knew what 
was in there. 


Aurelio laughs. And when have you ever listened to anyone, eh 
cabron? 


Ernesto scratches his beard and drinks some more. No one listens 
to anyone. No one pays attention to nothing until it's hurting them. 
Just the way of the world. The madness really comes from out there. 
It leaked into the valley below. Dribbling into a puddle down there. 


You should come work for me Ernesto. We could use that insight. 
It's a real growth field, you know. Career advancement, dental care, 
a receptionist with nice chichis. Man like you could have a real 
future. 


Those guys who came with you last time. What kind of future they 
have? 


Seems like even Ernesto has had enough joking around today. 


Aurelio finishes his bottle. Same one we all have, Don Ernesto. Ona 
day like all the others, we lie down under the earth. 


| never felt closer to you than when you were quoting some idiot