CTHONAUTC

**CTHONAUTC** is the eighth episode of Season Three of the Monument Mythos.

## Overview

The episode is styled as a mission report detailing the results of a mission performed by Cthonaut C.

The report opens with the graphic of a capsule being approached by a person in Cthonaut gear, labelled C. Text appears as the Cthonaut approaches, reading "Mission Objective, Determine the rate of American Wonderland Syndrome (AWS) in the Martian Serpent Metastructure."

Upon Cthonaut C entering the capsule, they are placed in a space shuttle, the U.S.S. George Washington. The shuttle releases the capsule and it approaches the Martian Serpent, which was previously released by Elon Musk. Text appears reading "Good luck in there."

Footage captured inside the Martian Serpent reveals a similar scene to the Horned Serpent Metastructure (Wonderland), with trees that endlessly reflect off of each other, only everything within is red. The footage endlessly rotates as it is shown. The metastructure eventually begins flashing and rapidly spasming on the screen, before it slowly goes from red to white, implying Cthonaut C returned to the Horned Serpent Metastructure. The footage continues to depict some spasming within the Horned Serpent Metastructure. Text appears reading "The spaghetti's sent us back home. We're in Wonderland. There's a child here too. - Cthonaut C"

The word "child" lingers in red for a moment before switching to a clipshow of childlike drawings, depicting Cthonaut C's encounter with the child in Wonderland.

The first is a drawing reading "C finds the child" with the child depicted atop a tree. The second "C looks at the child" depicts the Cthonaut holding the child and them both smiling. "C feeds the child" shows Cthonaut C providing the child a juice box. "C plays with the child" follows, and is then followed by "C protects the child" where Cthonaut C is depicted using a sword to fend off a heavily disproportional humanoid monster. "C rests with the child" is shown, and the following scene is "C loses the child" depicting the child being zapped by a tree within the metastructure. The slide is followed by "C mourns the child" as a distressed Cthonaut C questions where the child went and why it was taken. Next, "C remembers the child" and, still in distress, "C finds paper." "C draws his story." The next clip that appears features no drawing, only black text reading "C joins the child."

The image cuts to Howard Melrose's call to Eunice Dean in WASHINGTONWANDERER, specifically the line "Our guy, Cthonaut C. He found a copy. It killed him." The text "it killed him" lingers for a moment after the scene cuts to black.

In the black, Leonard Morlin's voice can be heard from his speech in WASHINGTONWANDERER. From his speech he says "Remember me, for Virginia, for America." An image of Virginia Arnoldson appears when her name is spoken, and Everett Arnoldson appears when Morlin states "For America."

A fetus is then shown on text describing "American Wonderland Syndrome," a disease characterized by the distortion of physical attributes of those who have been within the Horned Serpent Metastructure. The fetus rapidly stretches until an image of an unknown treelike figure is shown, depicting Everett Arnoldson in Wonderland, suffering from AWS.

## Notes

### Cthonaut Transmission

-Euthanasia is an option for those suffering from American Wonderland Syndrome.

### Trivia

* The full text of the description of American Wonderland Syndrome reads the following: "American Wonderland Syndrome is characterized by an extreme distortion of physical attributes. The distorition is most commonly observed in individuals exposed to the *Horned Serpent Metastructure*, such as *Cthonauts* or *Washington Absentees*. While Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) is a brain-related condition, AWS is not. There is [no cure f]or AWS, but supportive care can improve quality [of life]. Euthanasia is an option for those suffering [from] American Wonderland Syndrome. Please consult your doctor or..."
* Despite releasing after DEANDEVIL, this episode is currently placed before DEANDEVIL in the official Season 3 playlist.