CLIFTCHAOS

**CLIFTCHAOS** is the ninth episode of the the third season of the Monument Mythos, continuing the storyline established by GOLDENGATEGIRL and DEANDEVIL.

## Overview

This episode is a broadcast following the events of DEANDEVIL, in which Cthonaut A was forced to reset the universe due to James Dean killing both Howard Melrose and himself in a plane collision.

### Statue of Liberty Project

The video opens on red text, reading "The following video has been edited to exclude graphic content."

The broadcast's narration relays information regarding a government project occurring at Liberty Island, where a platform has been constructed at the base of the Statue of Liberty. As the narration plays, various b-roll shots are shown, and have locations of interest censored, presumably due to being considered "graphic content."

Reportedly two weeks after the disappearance of James Dean, the National Parks Service suspended ferries to Liberty Island and began the project over the course of 48 hours. News quickly spread, especially with government officials refusing to comment on the purpose and cost of the platform. A b-roll shot of the Capitol building is shown during this portion, with the Statue of Freedom distinctly missing from her location.

Citizens across the nation became interested in the situation, and writers such as Charles Beaumont and Rod Serling wrote opinion pieces with theories on the subject. Scientists, namely Hugh Everett and J. Robert Oppenheimer created diagrams, including one that read "Make America a better place. Leave the country."

Ultimately, the broadcast reported, no citizens were aware of the purpose of the Liberty Island platform. Shortly after workers arrived, creating a titanium fence and bolting thousands of chairs onto the island. This spread across the news very quickly, and broadcasts were played and looped on national television, giving viewers a chance to speculate. The broadcasts reportedly were popular among families.

The third morning after completing the platform, workers were seen placing large explosives across the island. This sparked concerns across New York. A distinctly edited b-roll shot of a woman is shown, with white pupils and tears going down her face, is shown. The aforementioned explosives created unsubstantiated rumors that there would be an atomic bomb test on Liberty Island, resulting in citizens across New York clogging roadways and airports in an attempt to flee. Many civilians across the east coast intended to flee as well to avoid shockwaves caused by the Liberty Island explosives.

Law enforcement and regional government officials' attempts to alleviate the situation by telling the public to stay calm fail due to not giving explanations for the situation, and public concern is worsened by ambiguous statements by mayors and governors.

Children begin to go missing on a large scale, refusing to stay put with parents and instead leaving to the west. Alongside this, domestic animals are released on mass by owners attempting to spare their lives. This results in a marked increase in dog, cat, and snake attacks in major cities. Cities such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami set curfews.

The broadcast fades out and back into a new part of the report. Servicemen are sent to collect loose pet, and 1 in 5 sustain injuries as a result of agitated animals. Even the incumbent president was attacked when a dog passed through the White House fence. The President was taken to Walt Disney Hospital to treat their injuries. They remained there for the rest of the day.

In the evening, "she" requests an explanation by the National Parks service, however, no response is given and on 6 p.m., the explosives on Liberty Island were detonated.

The detonations cause a shockwave that causes the Statue of Liberty to totter, and fires erupted on all trees on Liberty Island. Due to being bolted onto Liberty Island, the platform and its chairs remained safe. The inferno resulting from the explosion spewed ash into the sky which was then caught on film by ships and planes in the area. Within an hour, at 7 p.m., all plant life on Liberty Island was destroyed, and the Statue of Liberty was further oxidized due to high temperatures.

News sources continued to remain in the dark, with headlines no more useful than speculation.

B-roll plays of the Montgomery Clift campaign advertisement through the next portion of broadcast, eventually coming to linger on Clift's face.

Firefighters extinguished the Liberty Island fires by 9 p.m. with on casualties. At midnight, a spotlight was activated on the Statue of Liberty platform. Several minutes went by with the bright light unoccupied.

The broadcast cuts off before it can explain what appeared in the bright light.

### This Is Democracy

As the broadcast continues, the image of Clift's face fades out, and is replaced by statistics from the 1968 election, as decided in a YouTube community poll. Clift won in a landslide, with 74% of the vote.

White text reading: "This is democracy." This is followed by the text: "This is reality." During this, the broadcast comes back to state that: *"After Clift spoke, James Dean, alive and well-"*

An image of the Earth is shown as the narration fades out. The voice of Cthonaut A can be heard, stating "Try again, fools," as the Earth turns to black and the space around it white. The light fades to reveal Cthonaut A's form, standing behind the Earth. He begins a monologue.

*"My disappointment is vast. I had to save a goddamn teenager from being murdered by the Vice President. Yet you still support Mr. Dean. Grief make monsters and monsters stay in power. Yet you still see me as the monster. Why don't you look in the mirror sometime? If I continue to exist, I will continue to be disappointed. If I let you exist, you will continue to be a disappointment. How about we make a simple deal, you fools! I will leave your universe when I see an act of true kindness. That would take a goddamn miracle! Hahaha~"*

Cthonaut A flashes brightly, disappearing in the light and leaving just the Earth and space. White text appears, reading: "To be continued."

As the text fades away, a text roll appears with the following statement from Alex:

"Dear Dad, It's been almost two years! I wish I could show you the new episodes. I think you would've liked them. - Alex"

## Notes

### Cthonaut Transmission

-After Clift spoke, James Dean, alive and well, joined him in the spotlight. Dean declared into the microphone, “Monty Clift is the one man in the world who can prevent nuclear war.”

### Trivia

* This episode is the culmination of multiple decisions made in fan-polls. Both the 3-way election poll between Clift, Humphrey, and McCarthy and the James Dean Impeachment poll both have had direct impacts in causing this episode to occur. Cthonaut A appears to be speaking directly to the audience as a result.
	+ Two days following the release of CLIFTCHAOS, both polls were deleted and replaced with screenshots of their results posted on the MISTER MANTICORE channel.
* The thumbnail and Statue of Liberty photo depicted in the episode both originate in a Peace Corps advertisement poster with the exact same message as seen in the episode.
* The identity of the female "incumbent president" may potentially be the actress Noel Neill. Neil was popular for her role as Lois Lane, and her likeness was used to represent Alice Avenue in the Nixonverse.

1. ↑ In the narration, this is implied to be the "incumbent President", however, a male singular pronoun is used to refer to the President previously, so this may be a new individual.