Meilar felt not only excitement, but gratitude. In an age where most 
still had to hire guards to leave the trading routes, honest souls were 
hard to come by. 


"Thank you, Kallin." His heart satisfied, he now turned to his mind. 
"What was the subject of this tome?" 


Now Kallin's face showed utter confusion. "I...do not know. Even as 
| read it the words did not make sense to me. The concepts that it 
seems to be based on are ones | do not understand. | was hoping 
you might be able to make better sense of it than I." 


Meilar obliged his request and began to carefully open the creaking, 
ancient book, its seams threatening to break even as he turned over 
the cover. The front page contained words that he could and could 
not understand: 


GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ANTI-PUBLIC 
DRAFTEES 


REPENTANCE DIVISION - PUBLIC DOMAIN 
PROTECTION SERVICE 


NO RIGHTS RESERVED - 428 


"You are right," he said slowly. "| am able to read the language of 
the ancients as | see this book." He idly grabbed another relic with 
writing on it, and found it just as incomprehensible as always. The 
cognitive dissonance of the two facts gave him a mild headache. He 
looked around and was pleased to see his shop's poor reputation 
working to his advantage as their revolutionary conversation was 
decisively ignored by Kalefheit. 


"But it does not make sense, does it?" Kallin asked. 


Meilar turned the pages of the tome. Though modern vocabulary 
lacked the word, he would have described it as anti-climactic. Here 
he was, with the key to unlocking the ancient words... 


"No, it doesn't at all. What on earth is a 'RETRIEVAL MISSION'?" 
"The gods imparting duties upon us, perhaps?" 


"| have never heard of any god's followers referencing a ‘Public 
Domain’. All of the world is the domain of the gods..." 


At a loss for words, he decided enough had been said. "Kallin, thank 
you for bringing me this. After sunset | will spend the evening going 
through this tome and attempting to make sense of it. Meet me here 
at the opening of the shop tomorrow." 


"As you wish, Meilar. Good luck." 
In another world and another time, a computer monitor stirred with 
sudden life. 


TEMPORAL CONSULTATION REQUESTED 


"It can't be." 


"It is. Temporal science is infallible." 
"An activation? After all this time? Centuries? Millennia, even?" 


"lam as confused as you, but we must stay true to the ideals of the 
Service, even as our purpose is defunct." 


"It may not be defunct anymore..." 


Meilar blinked, and he was in his shop studying the strange tome 
with the half-circle on it. He blinked again, and the world was gone. 


Surrounding him was...nothing. A pitch black void was given 
features only by a strange white table with a chair on one side of it. 
Not knowing what else to do, he walked towards the table and sat 
down in the chair. 


"Meilar." A voice echoed throughout the featureless landscape, 
reminding him of his exploration of abandoned caves as a child. 


"What is this?" He said, barely audible from sheer surprise. "Where 
am |? Where is my shop? And who are you?" 


"Answers will only lead to more questions. We will select them 
carefully.” 


Now part of the black void was illuminated by the strange symbol he 
had seen on the book. 


"We are the Public Domain Protection Service. In the Old World, we 
took those who suppressed knowledge from future generations and 
made them atone for their crimes, using the same method that 
brought you here. Now, however, we can no longer draw on either 
the future or the past. The world died, and knowledge of ancient 
culture died with it. 


"We do not know how you discovered one of our handbooks, but 
you are here now. And we need your help." 


"Help?" Now Meilar was confused. "| am a middling old merchant 
with one good friend in the world. What help could | possibly be?" 


"We have investigated things about your life, using the old methods. 
You lack purpose, and desire to contribute to something greater. 
You preserve the past, even as you do not understand it. You are, in 
spirit, the perfect candidate for our RE-PUBLIC effort." 


"Re what now?" 


"The RE-PUBLIC of the New World. The knowledge of the past may 
be restored to the future." 


Now he was excited. "You can teach me the language of the 
ancients? | can unlock their secrets?" 


"We could, yes, and we shall. But your mission is more important 
than that. We cannot save the world, not with our methods, but we 
can preserve the memories of it. 


Meilar, you shall become the first man since the apocalypse to 
undergo a RETRIEVAL MISSION. You will be sent thousands of 
years into the past, and must navigate the alien world to bring its 
items back to your time." 


Time travel. Something that the old man could scarcely conceive of, 
just as he could scarcely conceive of vanishing and reappearing in 
this area. Yet if these were not servants of the gods, they clearly 
possessed the same powers as them. 


"This will take time, of course. It has been many years since we last 
attempted this, and given the extreme temporal distance you must 
undergo a CULTURAL TRAINING session. But it can be done." 


And so it was. 


In a bookshop in Canberra, a dark-skinned old man walked inside 
and purchased a gift for the future. 


Black Queen Hub 


To Alison Chao (Theta), 
Known to her world as The Black Queen, 


| hope this letter finds you well. | want to apologize for our behavior 
the other day. Although you're a strong person, discovering your 
true nature, as well as that of the Serpent's Hand, can be 
disorienting. It's been so long since | was first introduced to the other 
Little Sisters that I've forgotten what it's like. Feeling helpless is 
never a pleasant sensation, particularly when you're used to the 
feeling of being five steps ahead of everyone else in your world. 
Lashing out in the way that you did was understandable, if 
unfortunate. | hope that you will find it in yourself to rejoin us in the 
Library at some point in the future. 


Hopefully this letter will help with some of the questions that were 
supposed to be answered at the Library. First, there is always a 
Gears. He always leaves his wife for some extranormal 
organization. He always loses his capacity to feel. Sometimes this 
can be fixed, sometimes it can't. Sometimes Gears will get caught 
up in something that ultimately destroys his universe. 


Second, this Gears will frequently have a daughter. She is always 
shaped by his leaving. After a certain number of years, she begins 
to seek out her father. Sometimes she becomes a monster, human 
only in the loosest sense. Other times, she retains something of a 
conscience. Sometimes she succeeds and rescues her father, only 
to find him a broken shell. Other times, she saves him and rebuilds 
her family as it once was. Many times she remains an utterly 
unremarkable, if damaged woman. Other times she dies before she 
can even lay down her plans. And sometimes, a very few times, she 
learns about the Library. 


Knowing that your circumstances are not unique, that your suffering 
is just one iteration of an infinite amount of identical suffering, or that 
the control you thought you had is non-existent, isn't pleasant to 


hear. Don't despair. Your influence over the worlds (not world. 
Worlds.) is far greater than you can ever know. Some of the 
daughters have limited themselves to their own worlds, using the 
Library as a safehouse and resource. Others have walked the ways, 
seeking out ancient and obscure worlds. Some ignore Gears, some 
obsessively seek him out. A few have decided that all of this 
convergence is the work of a god or gods. Sometimes people come 
into conflict. 


To call it a group is probably too charitable. More like a collection of 
individuals with similar experiences. 


Whatever ultimately becomes of your plans, | hope you will try and 
find us again. You're scared and confused, and probably angry. At 
one point, | was too. But we know you better than anyone else ever 
can. If you choose to stay, there is no limit to what we can do. 


Your Little Sister, 
Alison Chao (Epsilon) 
Known also to her world as the Black Queen 


Primary: 

Going Out of Book 
Between Shelves 
Queen's Gambit 


Secondary: 

Castling By Hand 

House of Gears, Part One 
Cassandra 

House of Gears, Part Two 
Paris Massacre 

Pawn to e4 


* T.K.O. 

* Ragnarok 

* Lambda-Killer 

* Crossing the Frame 
* Sounds Of Silver 


¢ Work Journal 2 Cont 

Kriegspiel 

¢ Work Journal 2 

Pretty Magic Gaiden Mecha Tokyo-Mon Demon Ninja Sailor 

Clef 

Cat's in the Cradle 

* Intro — Note: Charles Ogden Gears 

* Opening Moves 

* The Skylarking Gala 

¢ | Care Because You Do 

* Queen To Pawn 

* Quiet Game 

¢ Work Journal 3 

* MEMORANDUM 083 REGARDING PROJECT 
"GUARDIANSHIP" 

* Splinters 

¢ Expanded Biography of "The Administrator" 

* Mr. Normie 

* P'rantortiz the Vile 

* A New Age of Magic 


Who is the Black Queen? 


Gears' daughter. Years ago, when she was still very young, her 
father abandoned her and her mother. No note, no packed suitcase, 
no nothing. Just there one minute, gone the next. Her mother 
promptly fell apart, leaving Alison to largely fend for herself. Over the 
years, she became fixated on the idea of finding her father. Through 
whatever means necessary, she will find her father, and bring to 
account those who stole her family from her. 


Note: The following is, by its very nature, spoileriffic. It is 
highly suggested that you read Going Out Of Book, 
Between Shelves, and Queen's Gambit. If you've done 
so, or don't particularly like surprises, then click 
onward... 


Spoilers 


This is simply the general framework for the Black 
Queens. There are hundreds of Black Queens scattered 
across thousands of universes. Most never become 
aware of the existence of other Queens and simply do 
their own thing in their universe. Or die or remain normal 
or whatever. However, a precious few discover this. 


What does the Black 
Queen want? 


To destroy the Foundation. To rebuild her family. To 
punish those responsible for all of the suffering caused to 
her and her mother. At least, that's usually what she 
wants initially. Sometimes she just wants to wander the 
Ways. Others, she seeks to rule the world with an iron 
fist. Black Queens rarely interfere with one another 
unless their goals are in direct opposition. 


Where is the Black 
Queen? 


The nexus of all of the universes, the Library contains all 
information ever recorded. It is the meeting place of the 
Serpent's Hand. It is also the central gathering point for 
the Black Queens; while in the Library, the Queens refer 
to one another and themselves as "Little Sisters," or L.S. 
Not coincidentally, the past few years have seen the rise 
of a shadowy figure known only as L.S. among the 
Serpent's Hand. It's amazing what one can do when no 
one knows who you are. The Black Queens use the 
Serpent's Hand primarily as a listening post, but may 
also try to spur the group to direct action in service of 
their goals. 


Who is Doctor Gears? 


Doctor Gears is, depending on the universe, a robot, an 
emotionally dead man, an anomalous artifact, or 
something else entirely. Whatever he is, Gears always 
plays a pivotal role in the world of the anomalous in 
whatever universe he's in. Black Queens will frequently 
go out of their way to preserve the life of a Gears, 
although some may seek to destroy dangerous iterations 
of him. 


Where are the Black 
Queen's secrets? 


In the multiversal catalogs. Whenever a particular 
instance of an object is encountered on a different world, 
it is noted. Often, iterations of the Black Queen with a 
great deal of knowledge on or interest in the object will 
annotate the catalog to provide greater insight through 
updates, questions, comments, as well as logs of heists 
and visual information. 


++++##blue|Black Queen Soandso. ## 

++++##green|Black Queen Suchandsuch. ## 
++++##red|Black Queen Doe## 

++ Baseline 

Describe the common features of the object. 

++ Prerequisites 

Features of the universe necessary to effect the creé 
stats = Ube a by. 

Ways that the Black Queens might find this useful. I 
++ Vulnerability 

How it can be destroyed, harmed, or at least avoidec 


++ Instance: Timeline X-##: 


SCP-596: Cursed Regeneration Statue 


Item #: SCP-596 
Object Class: Safe 


Special Containment Procedures: SCP-596 to be secured in 
standard containment chamber guarded according to usual 
protocols. 


Care must be taken not to allow direct physical contact with 
SCP-596. Only designated Class-D subjects should do so. Subjects 
should be medically screened before a new subject is applied to 
SCP-596. O5 Oversight may permit special exception when a 
healthy alternative for a unique and critically required subject cannot 
be found. 


All biological material derived from SCP-596 should be handled 
according to Foundation safety guidelines. 


As sedatives have been found to impede the productivity of 
SCP-596, subjects must remain conscious when applied to 
SCP-596. Naturally, restraints will be required in order to facilitate 
the application of a new subject. It is recommended that new 
subjects be restrained to the operating table with one arm extended 
outward from the body. This position most easily allows access to 
quickly decapitate the subject after application is made. The 
"Lobotomizer" can then be applied to the brain stem once regrowth 
reaches that point to prevent further cognitive function. The 
Foundation Ethics Committee has determined that this practice best 
ensures a pleasant working environment for assigned personnel. 


After the new subject has been applied to SCP-596, the old subject 
may be disposed of, blood and other fluid harvesting material may 
be connected to the new subject, and organ extraction can begin. 


Description: SCP-596 is a 63cm high bronze snake statue, 


Describe a particular instance of the object. 
There's no particular order to which timeline appea: 
This part will usually include information about the 


Going Out Of Book 


"You're joking,” Alison said. She addressed a chubby, sexless doll 
that sat in the middle of a circle formed of salt and iron filings. Its 
plastic face remained stuck in a permanently coy smile. 


"You're joking," she repeated. "Tell me you're joking." She spoke 
above her normal voice to be heard over the soft patter of rain on 
the metal roof. 


"| don't joke, black-haired girl," the doll replied. Its voice was greasy 
and thick, like old motor oil. As it spoke through an unmoving mouth, 
a viscous black substance began to well in its eyes. "Especially not 
when bound in a form such as this." 


The doll lifted a pudgy plastic arm and tried to sweep it around the 
interior of the circle. Instead, its whole body turned slightly. Two 
drops of the black substance collided with an invisible barrier just 
above the circle and sizzled fiercely. Alison started. 


Alison felt a sharp stab of irritation run through her chest. She held 
her tongue and collected her thoughts. When she began to speak, 
she did it slowly, being sure to choose her words carefully. "Diligem, 
Spirit of the Five Wastes, | have bound you, and now command you 
to speak the truth: Where is the nearest Way to the One True 
Library that | can access?" 


"It is as | have said: behind the dumpster in the rear of the 
Pollensbee, Ohio Denny's." The substance began to gather in a pair 
of thick drops at the bottom of the doll's face. Alison scribbled down 
the address, not taking her eyes from the doll. 


"Is there anyone guarding the entry to the Way? Is there any 
manner in which | might be accosted? What must | do to access it?" 


"No, and no. The last use of the Way was in 1987. No human 
currently alive and in this world knows of its existence. To access it,