Text Log - "Knowledge"

The following is the documented conversation between Dr. Θ and a previously unidentified man now known as Mr. Sigma. The interaction took place over text-based communication, as Mr. Sigma, by unknown means, managed to discreetly contact Dr. Θ on his private terminal at R.I.F.T-TG headquarters. As decided by the Operational Consensus, this information is declassified for others to read verbatim, aside from a few minor details. 
>>>NEW CONNECTION ESTABLISHED<<<
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Have you ever wondered how you are going to die? Because I have. In fact, not only have I wondered, but I have found the answer! “How?” you ask? Well, I assure you, it was not easy, but with a solid mix of ingenuity and unparalleled genius, I did it. And I can show you, too, at the low, low price of your very sanity. Act quickly; the clock’s ticking, and the offer ends soon!
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
Who the hell is this? How did you get access to our communications?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Come on, Doctor. Use that unusually big brain of yours. Who else would have the nerve to try and contact you on your own, secure, R.I.F.T-TG servers?
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
No one I know of. Not that anybody could. Who put you up to this?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
No one “put me up to” anything. I do this on my own accord. Think of it this way… I was clever enough to have killed one of your scout teams by myself, with very little trouble. Who is to say I cannot find a way to get access to your precious servers?
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
You are the one responsible for killing Scout Team Ocelot?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Indeed. I take it you got my message, then?
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
Loud and clear. You really could not have simply had the team relay the message on their own?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
You know as well as I do that that was never an option. They would never have agreed to it. Considering the information I had on you, their “standard operating procedure” would have been to take me in for questioning. I cannot afford such inconveniences. There is so much work to be done, but so little time to do it.
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
Quit with the cryptic [EXPLETIVE]. It is a waste of my time. You said in your message that you wanted my help. If you want to have any hope of attaining it, you need to answer some questions.
Who are you?
What do you want?
What “work” are you talking about?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Fair enough. To the first of your questions, I can only tell you to go look in the mirror; suffice it to say, you were onto something with that journal entry you declassified. To the second, I will plainly say that I only seek a mind that is equal to my own, so that I can finish my work in a timelier manner with someone who thinks as I do. To the third… Well, I will get to that in a moment.
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
So, it’s true… There really are other versions of me out there…
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Indeed. It’s impossible to say how many, though. I knew that there was at least one other “me” out there. I just never knew where to look until you declassified that excerpt.
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
You could tell who I was just from that?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
I could. The way you presented your thoughts, the limited details of your personal history, the line of thinking you shared… There was something about it… It was all very much “me,” albeit with a lesser understanding.
<<<Mr. Θ>>>
Is that supposed to be an insult?
<<<UNKNOWN USER>>>
Not at all. I am simply making an inference that you have been trapped in this “reality” for less time than I have, considering I once thought EXACTLY as you did. One moment…
>>>USER IDENTIFICATION UPDATED<<<
<<<SIGMA>>>
There. So that we can differentiate ourselves, you may refer to me as “Mr. Sigma.” Yes, with the full word, not with the symbol.
(You complain about me being cryptic, while you sit there referring to yourself with a damn symbol rather than an actual word!)
>>>USER IDENTIFICATION UPDATED<<<
<<<THETA>>>
There. Happy now?
<<<SIGMA>>>
Ah. Much better.
<<<THETA>>>
Well, at least I now have something to call you. Now, why is it that you have contacted me? Why do you want my help so badly?
<<<SIGMA>>>
There is something on the horizon, Doctor. There is something coming that no one across the entire Backrooms has ever documented before, not even the M.E.G. I have seen it. I know what it does, what it is capable of. I intend to stop it.
<<<THETA>>>
And what might that be?
<<<SIGMA>>>
A great entity, unlike any other we have seen. It has the power to erase everything within the Backrooms. It has done it before; it has swept across levels one-by-one until they are but a great nothingness.
<<<THETA>>>
How do you know this?
<<<SIGMA>>>
Because I have been in contact with another entity that witnessed the previous cycle. It told me of the coming danger and what it saw so many lifetimes ago.
<<<THETA>>>
What? How did you even accomplish this? How do you know this “danger” even exists?
<<<SIGMA>>>
I discovered all this in pursuit of the same cause by which you are motivated: understanding the Backrooms. What I found, as a result, was not only the true nature of the Backrooms, but also all of reality… Or should I say, “realities.” The entity I have spoken to revealed much about why the Backrooms appears to us the way it does.
<<<THETA>>>
How so?
<<<SIGMA>>>
Have you ever wondered why the various levels in the Backrooms appear as places in the “real world”? If this liminal reality has always existed, why do we not see locations reminiscent of other time periods?
<<<THETA>>>
The Backrooms are always changing, shifting with time. For all we know, what we see now is the result of such adaptation. Perhaps it is just borrowing from other realities and creating amalgamations of them in the form of “levels.” We have yet to find out.
<<<SIGMA>>>
You may have yet to find out, but I already have. You see, neither the Kauer Thesis nor your Mandela Crossroads Theory are entirely wrong in what they propose; the Backrooms reflects the minds and concepts of people in all realities, generating an amalgamation of environments that range from feeling like home to being something entirely alien. However, you give too much credit to how the Backrooms “changes” in the first place. As we have seen, it does not drastically change with the times. If that were the case, levels appearing similar to a high school or shopping mall from the 1970s would be “updated” to look like something more modern. But they never do.
This poses a problem, considering that, if there are no “updates” that occur, then there should still be locations reminiscent of times and peoples that have long since passed. But there are no such places, are there? So, what happened to them? There is no way the Backrooms have not always existed; clearly, it runs parallel with all of existence! Something must have happened to past iterations for them to be completely absent as they currently are.
<<<THETA>>>
And you believe this entity “on the horizon” is the “something” behind it?
<<<SIGMA>>>
Precisely. This entity, whom I have fondly dubbed as “The Harvester,” causes the Backrooms to “reset” every so often, allowing for new peoples, new locales, and perhaps even new entities to take the places of the old ones.
<<<THETA>>>
Let’s pretend for a moment that I believe you and that this “Harvester” exists. How would we stop it? How long do we have?
<<<SIGMA>>>
The countdown has already begun, long before you or I ever came to be here. I am afraid I do not have an exact time of arrival, but that is why I want your help. Together, I believe we have the greatest chance of stopping it.
<<<THETA>>>
You mean you do not already know how?
<<<SIGMA>>>
Nothing is confirmed yet, but I do believe I have a lead. I must first reconvene with my entity friend before I can say for certain. Please, allow me to send the information I have, then use whatever resources you can to investigate the matter yourself.
<<<THETA>>>
I will accept whatever you can send me. We will investigate this matter to the best of our ability. However, I would like to know who this entity you have been speaking to. I believe knowing that would make our investigation go much quicker.
<<<SIGMA>>>
I am afraid I cannot disclose that at this time. It does not want to be disturbed by you unless you agree to help. As it was, even I did not locate it myself; IT contacted ME.
<<<THETA>>>
But if this information you have came from the entity, should we not also speak with it and find out what it knows?
<<<SIGMA>>>
The information given to me by the entity allowed me to find the location from which I drew my evidence. It is what you might call a “vault,” housing relics of now-ancient origin. It is the only place to have survived the Harvester’s wrath last time, and I highly doubt it will survive this next time, so you must move quickly. Instructions on finding it will be included in the information I am sending you.
<<<THETA>>>
Very well. I will verify your claims. How will I be able to contact you in the future? If you are anything like me, you will likely not be reachable by this same server link.
<<<SIGMA>>>
I will be in touch.
>>>CONNECTION SEVERED<<<
At the time of declassification, the investigation of Mr. Sigma’s claims has already begun, using the information he provided to Dr. Θ. This information will remain classified until otherwise specified.
Category:Riftverse Canon
Category:Tales