Mystery Flesh Pit National Park

## Description:

The Mystery Flesh Pit National Park, or as it is officially called Facility #5472 by the JPCU and File-1970-567 by the CBPA, is a large cordoned section of West Texas, southeast of the city of Odessa. The Facility is dedicated to the study of a massive bio-geological superorganism that lives under the ground; the superorganism is believed to extend for hundreds of miles horizontally and into the Earth's mantle vertically, making it nearly impossible to fully contain. CBPA efforts have involved the purchasing of all land around the "Pit" that are believed to sit above the superorganism.

The public is aware of the Facility by its original civilian name, the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park. After the incident in 2007 (See: Incident MFP-2379), the region was fenced-off from public view and declared an unstable region unfit for permanent habitation; as a result of the lawsuits, bankruptcy of Anodyne Deep Earth Mining Inc., and the restriction of access to the area, the site was closed to the public, although it remains a National Park to this day. The public is not aware of the JPCU/CBPA Facilities in the area.

### Structure:

The Facilities within the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park are divided into three (3) primary sections: Exterior security perimeter, on-site "Pit" entrance Facilities, and the internal Research Facility. All three (3) sections of the Facility are maintained and staffed by members of a special joint-operation task force between the JPCU and CBPA.

#### Security Perimeter:

The entire region, which takes up several hundred square miles, is surrounded by an initial metal fence fifteen (15) feet in height, electrified and topped with barbed wire; the fence also extends several yards into the ground to deter tunneling attempts. Behind this initial fence sits one hundred (100) yards of seemingly open ground, which actually contains a minefield (both a mundane and Magical minefield) and motion sensors. Beyond the field of mines sits a fifty (50) foot tall steel-reinforced concrete wall, atop which sit guard towers posted intermittently every fifty (50) yards, each of which is manned by a minimum of four (4) armed Security Personnel during the day and a minimum of two (2) armed Security Personnel at night; barbed wire and security cameras are also placed atop the wall. Behind the secondary concrete wall sits a seemingly open desert, extending to the horizon; abandoned villages and towns previously inhabited by the regions residents also dot the area, each of which being cordoned off by another set of fences and concrete walls to prevent the spread of contamination.

#### Surface Compound:

Near the center of the walled region of West Texas sit two (2) distinct compounds; one compound is the tainted remains of the original National Park visitor's center, hotel and resort, convention center, IMAX Theater, etc., and the other compound is the modern surface Facility, manned by both JPCU and CBPA Personnel. The airspace over the entire region is restricted to military, CBPA, Foundation, and JPCU aircraft, and is enforced by on-site aircraft and anti-aircraft cannons.

##### Ruined Complex:

The ruined and abandoned section of the region is all that remains of the original National Park's infrastructure; when the area was contaminated by ejecta in 2007 (See: Incident MFP-2379), macrobacteria and other biological agents developed amongst the infected visitors and on-site staff that sought out and attacked other uninfected individuals, which led to the cleansing of the region via chemicals. The original visitor's center and surrounding Facilities provided too much cover for the chemical sprays to be effective, and the infection observed within these areas was already too expansive to effectively destroy without risking another Spasm or tremor event. Instead, the CBPA and JPCU walled off these areas and declared them biological hazards; few expeditions are carried out into these areas, but observation via satellite and drones has been maintained.

##### Ritual Site:

Approximately five hundred (500) feet south of the "Flesh Pit" sits an ancient and ruined "ritual site," as it was identified by the US National Park Service and Anodyne Deep Earth Mining Inc. shortly after the Pit's discovery in the 1970's. After Incident MFP-2379, the JPCU conducted a thorough investigation of the "ritual site" (See: MFP Inquiry #37), using Special Imaging equipment to search for [REDACTED] and trace signs of Magic; the investigation yielded little, due to the age of the site and the damage it sustained as a result of Anodyne's earlier construction efforts. However, Investigators were able to determine that the site previously held some religious significance, determined by the discovery of old artifacts buried in the ground below where Anodyne had previously excavated; JPCU Investigators then opened an official inquiry into the possibility of purposeful relocation of Native populations and the knowing disturbance of local indigenous religious rites in order to acquire the land for the National Park. This investigation eventually found that Anodyne had worked with corrupt members of the local Park Service to cover up their forced removal of the local Native American population, resulting in the arrest of [REDACTED] individuals. The "ritual site" was cleansed with Anti-Magic by JPCU spellcasters and promptly walled-off; tracing of all surviving site survivors is being conducted to determine if the "ritual site's" [REDACTED] has affected them in any way.

##### Modern Surface Facility:

The inhabited Facility was constructed near the ruins of the original infrastructure to allow easy access to the "Flesh Pit," or primary orifice through which entrance into the superorganism is made possible. All original infrastructure was demolished and replaced by more advanced JPCU/CBPA technology, although not all of the ruins could be extracted. The modern Facility is surrounded by a ten (10) foot tall barbed wire-topped metal fence and also includes temporary habitation for the on-site Personnel, a number of religious facilities for on-site Personnel, an airfield and series of helicopter pads, solar power plant, and a massive titanium wall that surrounds the edge of the "Flesh Pit."

##### The Flesh Pit & Entrance Shaft:

The primary orifice sits at the bottom of a large and steep cliff-faced hole in the ground; the orifice is near the center of the superorganism's epidermal layer, which has been excavated beyond the original compound's size to provide a better view of the orifice. The Pit is now one thousand two hundred (1,200) feet in diameter; the orifice sits two hundred (200) feet below surface level. The superorganism's epidermal layer is several yards thick and resistant to most conventional weapons; the epidermal layer is also known to secrete an oily liquid to prevent desiccation in the desert sun, which hinders movement across the epidermal layer by surface vehicles. The primary orifice is forced open by eight (8) large anchors (as opposed to the 4 anchors of the original compound design) built into the cliff and surrounding desert; these anchors use titanium cabling to prevent the primary orifice from closing and can deliver electric shocks if such an attempt is made by the superorganism. The anchors all feature backup cables, backup generators, and automated stress sensors that alert on-site Personnel if tension on the cables fluctuates beyond normal margins. Specialized gondola platforms and elevator shafts allow access into the superorganism from the primary orifice in a manner similar to that which was used originally, although the newer system is safer and features automated security measures to prevent attack from macrobacteria.

The primary orifice is known to possess anomalous properties, the origins of which are currently unknown; prolonged proximity to the orifice will cause hallucinations, as will skin contact with the epidermal layer or the oily secretions. The orifice is also known to produce utterances of various kinds that can be strong enough to shatter glass and human eardrums; these utterances are normally no less than groans, although moans eerily similar to words of various languages have been observed (See: Incident MFP-1285). Special Imaging of the epidermal layer reveals low levels of [REDACTED] and traces of [REDACTED], the source or cause of such is also unknown; as a result, the titanium retaining wall that surrounds the primary orifice is reinforced with JPCU Norvoritch Reality Anchors.

##### Ejecta & Its Effects:

As observed during Incident MFP-2379, the superorganism is capable of expelling miasma from its primary orifice, either as a reaction to the invasive presence of foreign bodies (humans) or as a self-defense mechanism. This ejecta can reach into the atmosphere and extend for hundreds of miles in every direction, the total range of which is unknown; park management severely underestimated the range during Incident MFP-2379, which resulted in the deaths of seven hundred and fifty (750) people and the injury of over eighteen thousand (18,000). This ejecta, which presents as a thick mucus-like substance near the primary orifice and which presents as a fog when farther from the orifice, carries a potent and anomalous mutagenic illness in addition to its incredibly strong caustic nature; infected water or the mucus itself induces powerful and otherworldly mutations in anything with which it comes into contact, including plant life. The exact effects of this secretion or how it achieves its effects is unknown, but the end result is well-documented; exposure to the miasma or mucus mutates an individual into a non-sentient "zombie-like" monster that seeks to infect non-infected individuals and then enter the primary orifice.

Mucus and miasma that do not land on a host will enter the soil and reproduce off of the available nutrients, eventually surfacing and coating the landscape in a large sheet of fleshy, web-like filaments; these filaments will conglomerate over time to produce macrobacteria, and will spread as long as there is nutrients in the soil or in the bodies of their victims. Luckily, the superorganism's location in the deserts of West Texas prevented a large-scale infected landscape from developing shortly after Incident MFP-2379.

#### Subterranean Compound:

The subterranean Facility within the superorganism is far smaller in scale than the original National Park's infrastructure, to prevent disrupting the superorganism; as a result, the superorganism's interior is riddled with abandoned attractions and unmaintained "flesh caverns" left behind by the National Park Service and Anodyne. The modern main Facility, constructed where the original compound's underground visitor's center was, is larger than its original counterpart; the main Facility sports more reinforcement, fewer windows with superior reinforcement, advanced automated security turrets to fight back macrobacteria, Anti-Magic insulation to dampen the insanity-inducing effect of long-term exposure to the superorganism's insides, a nuclear reactor to provide power to the underground sections of the Facility, and a large vehicle bay for the subterranean exploration vehicles. Due to the mental influence of the superorganism, Personnel alternate between the surface and internal compounds on a bi-monthly basis; psychological evaluations are conducted on all on-site Personnel every six (6) months.

##### "Caverns":

Research on the superorganism and its many parts continues into the modern day. To facilitate this, the JPCU and CBPA have constructed newer, superior structural "stent reinforcements" along the walls, floors, and ceilings of the superorganism's main organs; these reinforcements prevent dangerous Spasms/contractions and provide easy access through the superorganism's main sections. While the Facility is smaller than the original infrastructure, exploration of the superorganism's interior has continued sporadically over the years; construction and exploration is safer, slower, and less invasive than the efforts made in the past, as a means of preventing the superorganism from reacting as it did in Incident MFP-2379.

### Security Measures:

As was dictated in the federal incident report and safety recommendations following Incident MFP-2379, the JPCU and CBPA employ various security measures to sedate and continually pacify the superorganism. Production of Alchemically-potent sedatives occurs in a chemical processing plant a few miles from the primary orifice, where it is transported to the surrounding surface Facility for use; large needles are injected into the superorganism's dermal layer via the "Pit" and used as delivery methods for the sedative. Muscle relaxant chemicals, also enhanced in their potency via Alchemy, are deployed in key areas of the superorganism's tissue structure to prevent Spasms or contractions that may damage Facility infrastructure. The goal of a majority of the present security measures is to maintain the organism's state of dormancy and defend established Facilities from macrobacteria.

Defense against macrobacteria is achieved through automated security turrets, special high-frequency deterrence speakers, and the blocking of passages from which the macrobacteria can move. Personnel that witness a macrobacteria should alert the nearest Security Personnel immediately.

In the case of another Shock Response Event (See: Incident MFP-2379), all Facility Personnel are to be evacuated beyond the region's fence and remain on stand-by; all civilian centers of population within an additional four hundred (400) miles of the region are to be evacuated as well, should the ejecta breach the original measured range. In this eventuality, both the JPCU and CBPA will automatically enter a state of emergency and place all available macrobiologists on stand-by to inform local politicians, citizens, and support staff. Following the Shock Response Event, the affected area is to be cleansed with plant-killing chemicals, all individuals who were in the zone of effect are to be checked for infection and cleansed or eliminated if signs of infection begin presenting, and all centers of population within the zone of effect are to be methodically cleaned and disinfected or burned to prevent the spread of the ejecta.

In the eventuality that the superorganism becomes active, the internal Facility's nuclear reactor will be automatically overloaded to the point of detonation, hopefully injuring the superorganism past the point of offensive capabilities. Surface Facilities will also automatically relay this advanced state of emergency to other nearby support Facilities, each of which will launch their own nuclear weapons with the intent of slaying the superorganism. If this fails, [REDACTED] will be assembled to wipe out the organism (*Note: Standardized responses beyond this level are dictated in all on-site Personnel Safety Manuals*).