Episode 4: What is Unseen

## Description

The Breacher's exploration continues, and tensions start to build from what feels like aimless wandering in pursuit of VINCULA's goals. A disturbing pattern begins to emerge amongst Silas's fellow employees. Cassius creeps ever nearer to the realization of their ambition.

## Content Warnings

Mentions of: psychoactive effects, tranced state, prescribed medications, minor bodily injury, death, paranormal entities, illness, interspecies war, propaganda, brainwashing; Loud noises, Explicit language, Arguments, Animal attacks, Implied bodily injury, Sounds of pain/terror

## Plot Summary

Silas's Translation Date: April 21st, 2021

The episode opens with Cassius saying, "The creatures we saw... But what is unseen...?"

Scene One picks up right where Episode 3 left off. Cassius is frustrated over the VINCULA-provided microphone dying, as well as Silas insisting that he is perfectly fine despite his dazed state after looking up at the creature in the sky at the end of Episode 3. Even with the team medic, Jeremiah, checking for any signs that something is wrong, Silas insists he is perfectly fine. He seems to have no recollection of the episode. The group decides to make one more circle around Specimen One's pyramid, then return to the Breach so that Silas and Greg (who was injured by a Unilope in the previous episode) can be examined and treated properly. Silas is sure that he hasn't been contaminated in any way, at the very least.

Scene Two begins with a field report for VINCULA by Silas. They've come to another clearing in the forest that has a lake in the center of it. The lake water is "astonishingly blue" and cloudy. Alyx reports that they should not go anywhere near it, as it is likely an acid lake given the lack of vegetation surrounding it and the coloration of the lake itself. There is also a faint sulfuric scent akin to rotten eggs, which is a telltale sign of the lake containing sulfuric acid and hydrogen chloride, both of which are common in volcanic and hot spring eruptions. Elizabeth suddenly shouts for the team to look at the lake, spotting something dark moving under the surface of the water. She explains that it looked snake-like and seemed to be roughly 10-15 meters in length. Elizabeth asks them to watch and wait for it to show up again, but it does not, and Cassius suggests that maybe it doesn't want to be seen. Cassius insists that the team move on and return another day for proper observations, upsetting Elizabeth for not being taken seriously. Frustrated, Cassius tells Elizabeth she can sit there and watch if she'd like, but they are just trying to keep the team safe by returning to the Breach as planned. Greg and Jeremiah approach, hearing the arguing, and Cassius tells them that the team will be moving along. Cassius takes the lead, departing ahead of the group, and Silas sticks behind to offer some reassurance to Elizabeth. Alyx also offers some reassurance, stating that if they are going to find "ghost bigfoot" then why not "acid nessie?" The scene ends with Elizabeth sarcastically stating she'll walk into the acid lake.

Scene Three takes place inside Silas's apartment where he is talking to June about their most recent expedition into the Breach world. June is very excited to hear about it all, as she does not go on the trips as the residential manager of the team. Her duties keep her at VINCULA's facility, and she worries about the team whenever they go out into the Breach world, hoping anxiously for their safe return and making sure they have a fresh meal for them when they return. Silas delves into detailing their most recent trip into the Breach. He explains that due to the differences in day/night cycles between Earth and the Breach world, they enter the Breach in the afternoon and return in the evening. Silas explains that Specimen One is of particular interest to VINCULA for some reason, due to its semi-sentience, so locating Specimen One after its disappearance will be most beneficial to the Breachers. Silas also tells June that they found another "vicious" creature, referring to the Unilope, and June wonders if that is what hurt Greg (who tried to hide his minor injury from June when she pressed him on it). June states that she'll have to keep a closer eye on Greg given his bravado, which will likely get him into trouble. Silas also explains how the group came across the acid lake and Elizabeth spotted something in the water. June notes that Elizabeth seemed downtrodden about something, and wonders if the group gave her a hard time about it. Silas reassures June that while Cassius did give Elizabeth a hard time, the two were poring over notes together just a bit ago when Silas saw them before going to his apartment. There is a knock at the door, confusing Silas since he isn't expecting anyone, and June opens the door to find Elizabeth (whom she affectionately calls Lizzy).

June and Silas invite Lizzy in, offering her some tea and sweets. June gets the refreshments from the kitchen and Lizzy sits on the couch with Silas, asking him how he's doing. Silas says that the toxicology report hasn't come back yet, but he's feeling fine. Elizabeth then says that Silas didn't have to tell Cassius to go talk to her, to which Silas replies that he didn't and that Cassius went to speak with her of their own volition. Elizabeth explains that after their discussion with Cassius, they decided on the Latin name *Lepis Uni* for the Unilope, and expresses her disappointment that they don't have a discarded horn sample to examine closer. She also says that Cassius wants to give the Breach world an official name, and asks Silas for his input, seeing as he is the linguist. Silas agrees to help as best he can. Elizabeth also excitedly mentions that Cassius agreed to set up a monitoring station near the lake before they commit to sending a hazmat crew. They'll have to get the footage in one trip since nothing survives overnight tech-wise. June returns with the refreshments but makes to leave, and Elizabeth asks her to stay and tell one of her stories. Silas agrees, hoping to hear it too, since he has yet to hear one from June. She obliges and sits down with them, suggesting she tell the story of Old Mill Man Ronnie Jones.

June begins the tale by explaining that where she grew up there was an old abandoned mill far behind the school property. The principal frequently told the students not to go in there, as it was a hazardous old building. June explains that because of this, it was a favorite place for clandestine hookups and meetings with the hooligans from school (though, she was the "picture of obedience and sainthood" when she was at school). So, she spent her time *thinking* about the mill from a respectable distance. One day, she was dared to venture inside by a cute boy from her history class. She decided to be smart about it and found an older girl from school who went to the mill often to ask her about what she should be careful of in the mill. The girl said the building was rickety and to watch her step, and that she shouldn't go to the loft. June assumed it was because that was where the group kept their hidden stash. June only had to stay in the mill for five minutes anyway, so she decided the loft wouldn't be worth looking at regardless. The girl also warns her about Ronnie Jones, the old mill's last owner before it was shut down fifty years prior. Ronnie Jones had mysteriously disappeared without a trace when the mill was no longer needed, but is rumored to still lurk around. The girl instructed June that if she were to encounter Ronnie Jones, she should keep her eyes to the floor and not look at him, and to tell him she meant him no harm and just wanted to have a look around. "Be respectful and don't spend a minute longer in there than you have to," the girl explained. June takes the advice and heads to the mill to have the boy and other children watch her complete the dare. She explains that she was confident right up until she was in front of the mill. She was unsettled by the lack of noise surrounding the building, as the old riverbed had dried up long ago. June, ever the polite young girl, knocked on the door. When no one answered, she opened the door and entered the mill, then shut the door behind her.

She explains that once she was inside, she just looked around for a bit. It was far less scary on the inside than she thought it would be. She stayed near the door but looked around, and once her eyes adjusted she noticed a man standing in the corner to her immediate left. He had on jean overalls and a big straw hat, with pale jaundiced arms. As soon as she saw him, June kept her eyes glued to the floor. She politely said, “Sorry to barge in, I’m just here to take a peek. I don’t mean no harm," and didn't look at him. As she counted and bided her time for her dare to be up, she realized she was grinding her teeth and put her hand over her mouth, worried that the sound of it was rude. As June heard a commotion outside, she said, “Welp! I’ve had a look around, thank you for your time!” When she exited the mill, she found her darers trying to explain what she was doing to another classmate who had come to check on June. Another boy in the group, Christopher, asked June if she was alright on the way back to the school, to which she replied that she was fine and could handle herself. Christopher replied, “I reckon you’re right on both counts.” June then says that Christopher ended up being her future husband. Silas and Elizabeth thank June for the story. After Elizabeth yawns, June shoos her off to bed to rest. After the two leave, Silas finds his cat, Vox, hiding away from all of the company. As Silas speaks to Vox, we learn that June has been taking care of Vox whenever Silas is away and certainly babies the creature.

Scene Four takes place in Silas's office as he works on translating more of the Akkadian text.

> "This land reeks of filth. Fetid pools holding worms of vicious temper gnaw at us, the people here take up arms against us, with spears and shields they harass and slay us. We are left with no choice."
>
>

Silas notes that the story being told is bizarre at times and incomprehensible at worst. The Akkadian text seems unable to properly transliterate the Isolate text. There are new sigils and words in the unknown language that result in a bad translation into the Akkadian version. Silas explains that he will just be trying to translate the Akkadian text as literally as possible and try to make sense of it later on.

> "We must apply our strengths and overcome them. We are not given to the air. We are not given to the caves. We are not given to the worms. Upon the mushrooms, warriors clad in green armor cluster together. A bulwark against all who invade, tall and strong as the roots they defend. We are faster, and they possess little intelligence. Like a thief, we steal into their forest of stalks and plant ourselves among them. Unlike their bodies, their minds are pliable. We bend them to our will. Now they form a shield wall on our behalf. They see us now for what we are, superior, as we... nest? Inside their brains. (Might mean like an idea being planted – propaganda, maybe.) Their thoughts are filled with only thoughts of us. Our will, our survival, our deeds. We have bought peace for now. Now we turn to save those who remain in the land of the false, the *Hamma’u*..."
>
>

Silas explains that while he is getting a handle on the script itself, he still feels that the closer he gets to understanding, the more he realizes how clumsy the translation to Akkadian is. He suspects that the translation may have been more of a transcription by someone who did not know what they were writing down and was just doing so word for word. There are no guides or side notes in the text to offer extra information, and Silas laments that he cannot speak with the author directly or read from the missing first part of the book.

Scene Five takes place inside the Breach world with an expedition report for VINCULA, the third one overall thus far. Silas explains that in their sweep around the ziggurat, they found another clearing where a giant redwood had fallen over and taken some of the canopy above with it. Cassius interjects, explaining that the fallen tree has allowed for further biodiversity to take place. They have also spotted some nests in the lower branches of the trees about 10-20 meters (30-60 feet) off of the ground. Cassius notes that they can't see anything in the nests, but that it's possible they aren't supposed to see anything. They have been watching the nests for the last hour or two and might approach to investigate in the hopes of gathering some fur or dropping samples. Silas worriedly wonders if the creatures *are* invisible and are just sitting there watching from their nests, making approaching them a bad idea. Cassius reassures him that they'll be careful and will turn back at the first sign of anything still occupying the nests. Alyx whispers "Good luck," to which Cassius explains that there's no need to whisper and that it'd be better if the creatures heard anyway so they'd know if the creatures are up there. So, Alyx loudly yells "Good luck." The group waits and when there is no sign of anything getting territorial or reacting to the yelling, Cassius decides to approach and Silas hands off the recorder.

Using some climbing gear, Greg helps Cassius climb up the tree to the closest nest. The nest is constructed of piled leaves, sticks, and other debris, but among it all is also a fuzzy material that Cassius assumes must be fur based on the texture, but they cannot actually *see* the fur. As Cassius is busy gathering the fur samples, Elizabeth points out something approaching, the creature flying closer with a horse-like whinny. Just as the group shouts out for Cassius to look out, the creature attacks Cassius as they are still up in the nest, and the episode ends.

## Cast and Crew

Cast:

* Ty Von (Silas Caldwell)
* Beth Sage Phung (Cassius Thatcher)
* Cody Burke (Greg Washburn)
* Elgin Smith (Jeremiah Woods)
* Morgie Bee (Elizabeth Bellanger)
* Jules Christine (Alyx Yard)
* Renee' Hensel (June Dawson)
* Terra (Vox)

Crew:

* Ty Von
* Rowan Odom