Item#: 6996
Level5
Containment Class:
keter
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
amida
Risk Class:
critical
SCP-6996.
Special Containment Procedures: All objects in the SCP database are to be monitored for existing or future connections to SCP-6996. Of particular interest are correlations to an increase in anomalous intensity. All identified objects are to be classified according to the SCP-6996 taxonomy and monitored for potential developments.
There are currently no known methods of limiting SCP-6996's influence. Research into establishing said methods is of the highest priority. Misinformation campaigns are to discredit any civilian research relating to SCP-6996's emotional effect, denigrating it as pseudoscience.
Description: SCP-6996 is the color Red. A color from the spectrum of visible light, SCP-6996 and its various shades have an approximate wavelength of between 625 and 700 nanometers, and an approximate frequency of 400 to 480 terahertz.
SCP-6996 displays an ability to elicit anomalously strong emotional reactions from those who observe it. When controlling for social conditioning and idiosyncratic factors, Foundation laboratory testing has shown that exposure to SCP-6996 can result in significantly higher levels of anger, aggression, libido, anxiousness, or arrogance.
In addition to this, routine statistical analysis of the Foundation database revealed SCP-6996 is significantly associated with a disproportionately large percentage of anomalies. Whilst no link between the majority of these anomalies has been discovered, the overrepresentation of SCP-6996 is statistically improbable. A selection of these objects demonstrate a correlation between their anomalous traits and SCP-6996. SCP-6996 related anomalies have been categorised into a taxonomy comprised of three thematic elements: Violence, Blood, and Power. An example of anomalies linked to SCP-6996 include:
Taxonomy
SCP Object
Details
Violence
Use of the anomaly leads to a society decimated by violent, anomalous activity. In addition to the object's red coloring, generating a red glow and traversing through a mirror leads subjects to the anomaly's source.
Upon initial discovery, the entities' skin was translucent and colorless, with their behavior far more docile than detailed in current documentation. Audio imitation was limited to ambient noise and animal sounds, with claw and teeth size significantly reduced from present measurements.
After several months in containment, SCP-939 instances were found to have developed their current physiology, the ability to imitate human speech, and their skin had taken on a shade of SCP-6996. These changes occurred concurrently in uncontained entities.
The most effective shade of SCP-6996 to distract the anomaly was initially a light pink or coral color. As time has progressed, the effectiveness of lighter shades has declined and the effectiveness of darker shades has increased. This progression correlates to an increase in the violent and sexual nature of SCP-2851-1's encouragements.
Blood
Whilst performance of On Mount Golgotha invariably results in an audible "disagreeable cacophony", individuals affected by chromesthesia report a much different experience. Performance results in the synesthetic listener experiencing a visualisation of complex, non-Euclidian patterns in various shades of SCP-6996.
In contrary to most testing, these subjects have found listening to the musical piece a pleasurable experience; subjects commonly compliment its complexity and beauty. Frequent exposure results in the development of deuteranopia color-blindness, and closed-eye hallucinations reminiscent of the visualisations experienced whilst listening to the piece.
To date, SCP-5664 has been responsible for the loss of █ Foundation Sites and ███ employees. Staff are reminded that bloodletting is in no way officially sanctioned, and all messages received from lost Sites should be disregarded.
All efforts to clean the mosaic of blood have been unsuccessful. Despite remaining obscured by blood, the mosaic has begun to demonstrate memetic properties once more.
Power
The oval-cut ruby positioned in the centre of SCP-963 has turned a more intense shade of SCP-6996 with each new host.
Before proper containment was established, SCP-4342's memetic effects increased greatly upon turning a shade of SCP-6996.
Various
Connections between SCP-6996 and the entity known as the Scarlet King are currently under investigation. Entity has been linked to a variety of anomalous objects, including SCP-231, SCP-2317, and SCP-3838.
Initial investigation into SCP-6996 uncovered a large number of references in various thaumaturgical and religious texts. The significance of this has yet to be established:
Written by Marguerite Sprenger, circa 1510. This is the first recorded mention of the text in contemporary records, yet no publication records exist. Investigations are ongoing into a potential connection to "Margaret the Magnificent", a figure mentioned in The Wanderers' Library folklore.
Question XII: Of all energies, which bestows the greatest gift upon the user?
Reader, your mind likely wanders to contemplate the Prime Four Elements. When considering the connate powers of the Prime Four Elements, the unbridled strength and destructive potential of the Fire cannot be understated. One must exercise the utmost care in its handling, but properly controlled, the Element can be manipulated to devastating means. The Fire gifts utility in addition — a blazing light to guide thy way, heat to warm thy body, cook thy sustenance, or purify thy wounds. The Fire possesses both destructive and protective peculiarities.
We know of a witch in Augsburg who, through proficiency of the Fire, did survive when bound to a pyre and set alight. Her mastery was such that those in attendance did stand back in awe, and later did inquire onto our ways due to the demonstration of power. Alas, her proficiency was not strong enough to melt the papal swords which swiftly fell upon her neck.
Objection: Here it is noted that limiting our discussion to the Prime Four Elements precludes the nature power innate to all beings. I speak of the Four Humors which runneth in our bodies. Whilst all are essential to our health, it be Sanguine through which life itself is begot. The Blood does carry the soul itself (if one is still in possession of it), and embalms the most venerated of our internals, the heart.
Sanguine is prime at the adolescence of life, where one is most full of vigour and potency. Practitioners of the Sanguine Arts are often known to induce copulation amongst lovers unable to sanctify their relationship, through the use of direct remedy or a Succubus or Incubus as intermediary. They handle the very energy of life itself, and all childs begotten through such rituals are gifted a natural affinity for the magical arts themselves. Those practitioners are often imbued with a rosy hue in the cheeks, as the magic saturates the blood.
Solution: Therefore we make the following proposition. We uncover the shared ground between the Fire and the Sanguine — The Red. The Red is the colour of Sanguine passion, and the colour of the Humor itself. The Red is the colour of the Fire's flames and fury. As we discussed in the prior question, all magic is based on a negotiation. It gives with one hand, whilst it takes with the other. Yet The Red is an energy so innate and eternal to us that it offers freely, not through bargain. The mastery of such an ancient and elusive art is not easy to accomplish, but shall always be available for those who wish to seek it. For The Red was present at the beginning. And The Red shall be present at the end.
Genesis 2:5-7
"All the wild shrubs did not yet exist on the earth, and all the wild plants had not yet sprouted. This was because God had not brought rain on the earth, and there was no man to work the ground. A mist rose up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the ground. God formed man out of dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils a breath of life. Man [thus] became a living creature."
Notes: In Hebrew, the name Adam, אדם, is derived from דם, blood. Words derived from אדם include אדמה, meaning ground, and אדום, red, which links all aforementioned words. In the above extract, Adam (אדם), 'red' man, is formed from "dust of the ground" (עָפָר מִן-הָאֲדָמָה), 'red' ground.
Taken from p526 of SCP-140. Pages 517 through 895 are written in human blood.
From the (Red/Blood) we come
To the (Red/Blood) we go
It is the (Spirit/Creator/Builder)'s (plan/dominance)
We beseech ourselves to march with the (Fire/Red/Wrath) in our (soul/heart)
We deliver to the daeva (glory/victory)
Investigations are ongoing.
BY ORDER OF THE OVERSEER COUNCIL
The following information is Level 5/6996 Classified.
Unauthorized access is forbidden.
- _
INPUT SECURITY CREDENTIALS...SECURITY CREDENTIALS ACCEPTED...
SCP-6996 Additional Information:
SCP-6996 is believed to be linked to the deaths and severe injuries of numerous Foundation employees. A bright, SCP-6996 colored light, with no apparent source has been observed at various incidents of the aforementioned nature. Examination of the sites of these luminescence, where possible, has shown Hume level residue indicative of extreme fluctuations in reality. An abridged log of these instances is outlined below:
Individual(s)
Details
At the close of Agent Papadopoulos's amputation surgery, lights in the operating theatre briefly flashed a shade of SCP-6996. No other anomalous phenomena noted.
On review of security recordings, the light can be briefly seen in the reflection of the shower room's tiles, as Haddow's pelvis splinters and he is dragged into the building's drainage system.
MTF Zeta-9 "Mole Rats" Fireteam Eleven
In the MTF's final exploration of the Vatican catacombs, the large bonfire they discovered burnt an intense shade of red in the final stills of footage, before cameras disconnected.
During his time within SCP-3001, Dr Robert Scranton recorded his experience through the use of a Lang-Scranton Stabilizer ("LSS") control panel. Dr Scranton frequently referred to the LSS as "Red" due to a blinking light on the panel. Whilst LSS panels are equipped with numerous lights, none of these shine red. Yet, on its return from SCP-3001, the panel which accompanied Dr Scranton had one light shining red.
Former Administrator Harold Vincent Oleander
Given the circumstances surrounding his tenure's end, Former Administrator Oleander was afforded only basic care in a Foundation retirement facility where he quickly fell into ill health. Upon suffering a large, haemorrhagic stroke, the medical equipment monitoring Oleander malfunctioned, emitting red light of a far higher luminescence than mechanically possible. Whilst captured on security tape, the malfunction resulted in staff not being alerted to the incident. He died scared and alone.
This, in conjunction with the aforementioned object links, leads to the hypothesis that SCP-6996 represents an intrusive and malignant threat to both the Foundation and baseline reality. A potential cause for the Hume level variation at sites of SCP-6996 manifestations would be a direct, intrusive action originating from an extradimensional space. As part of investigatory efforts into SCP-6996, Project: SPECTRUM was proposed.
Extract from Proposal Abstract:
Through the measurement of Hume displacement in SCP-6996 intrusion areas, the Department of Extradimensional Studies believe they have triangulated the source universe of the anomaly.
Through use of the Department's prototype extradimensional transporter, it is proposed an agent is sent to this source universe for intelligence gathering on the anomaly and, if the possibility arises, its neutralisation.
By a vote of 13 to 0, SPECTRUM was approved by the O5 Council. A log of the exploration follows:
PROJECT SPECTRUM: PART I
- CLOSE EXPLORATION LOG -
Foreword: Due to an exemplary service record and previous experience of both hostile anomalies and solo excursions into unknown environments, Agent Ava Cervantes was selected as the most viable candidate for SPECTRUM. Cervantes was equipped with an AISS and ocular camera implants.
[Agent Cervantes is situated in the extradimensional transporter. The passenger unit is cylindrical in shape and built to Cervantes' dimensions. The unit sits in the center of a mass of machinery. Tubes and thick wiring snake down through the room's flooring, leading to below-ground generators.]
Command: Agent Cervantes, we'll shortly initiate the transportation process. Whilst we are hopeful we'll receive the output from your surveillance equipment, it's unlikely communication channels between us will function.
[Command pauses.]
Command: We don't know what you'll find in there, Agent. Stay alert, stay cautious.
Cervantes: Understood. I'm ready.
[Command initiates the transportation procedure, calibrating the aim to the calculated wavelength. A cacophony of noise erupts from the machinery. The passenger unit begins to intermittently glow. As the noise grows more intense, so too does the luminescence and frequency of the glowing.]
[Agent Cervantes' breathing grows more rapid, as the chamber heats up.]
[The glowing continues to intensify, and begins to take on a red hue. A final burst of bright, red light occurs, and Agent Cervantes vanishes from the chamber.]
Cervantes: What…
[After a few moments of static, the ocular implants come online and begin transmitting. Agent Cervantes finds herself in an environment composed entirely of shades of SCP-6996, with the occasional flourish of white or black. Looking forward, Cervantes appears to be in an immense corridor, stretching into the distance beyond the horizon point.]
View from Agent Cervantes' ocular implant. Hover to enlarge.
Cervantes: This is breath-taking.
[The colors comprising the boundaries surrounding Cervantes are in constant flux. Different shades of SCP-6996 oscillate towards and away from Cervantes, growing and fading in luminescence. The corridor boundary is translucent; vague, ambiguous shapes can only just be discerned floating on the other side. Cervantes turns around, surveying her surroundings.]
Cervantes: Woah, I-
[She gags, then leans forward and steadies herself against the glowing, red floor.]
Cervantes: I'm okay. Just motion sickness.
[After standing back up, Agent Cervantes rotates 180 degrees, yet the corridor remains directly in front of her.]
Cervantes: Command, I hope you're receiving this. It looks like the Northern Lights, but entirely composed of shades of red. Suit readings are normal — atmosphere seems similar to our own, although I'm not going to risk removing my helmet just yet. The dimensions aren't quite right. Every slight turn throws me completely around. If I try to move side to side…
[She steps to her left; the view remains the same. She steps to her right; there is still no change.]
Cervantes: I don't seem to go anywhere. Which only leaves…
[Cervantes takes a step along the corridor.]
Cervantes: Forward.
[Cervantes continues onwards for 10 minutes; the corridor continues, no end in sight.]
Cervantes: No sign of any forces, hostile or otherwise, so far. There's something happening on the exterior of this space though, I can see shapes, movement. Something's out there. I don't know what.
[Cervantes continues onwards. A distance tracker built into the suit reports a reading of 0m travelled. Whether Cervantes is moving through the corridor, or if the corridor is moving around her, is unclear.]
Cervantes: The outside environment seems to be getting lighter, I think…Mom?
[Cervantes gazes to the right, at the membrane surrounding the corridor. Visible through it is a woman sat in a hospital bed. A man stands besides her, gazing down at a baby the woman is cradling. The whole scene is tinted red through the membrane. The swirling red of the boundary occasionally obfuscates details of the scene.]
[For a moment, Agent Cervantes does not respond. She tries to step to the right, then walks, then breaks into a sprint, in an attempt to press herself against the membrane for a closer view.]
Cervantes: Command, I-
[Her voice cracks, followed by a deliberate cough.]
Cervantes: Command, the environment is becoming visible through the corridor membrane. It's showing —it's showing my parents. I don't know why it's doing this. It could be a diversion tactic, a psychological play. Let me continue onwards.
[Cervantes remains in place for a moment, before progressing. She walks on for another 7 minutes, before stopping once more. She looks through the corridor boundary once more: a child, approximately 3-4 years old, sits on a picnic blanket eating strawberries. A playground and trees are visible in the background.]
Image captured by surveillance equipment.
Cervantes: It's showing me… me. I remember this. I think? It could be that I remember remembering this day. That doesn't affect how I feel about the memory. It was my brother's second birthday. We went to the park at the end of our road. Dad lost his job just before Christmas, so we didn't have much. I ate so many strawberries, Mom told me I was in danger of turning into one. It was a good day.
[20 seconds of silence elapse.]
Cervantes: I don't know why this is here. It's potentially in my head, reading my thoughts and memories.
[Cervantes turns away and walks onwards, stopping at the next scene. A child stands in a doorway, waving.]
Cervantes: First day at school. I know most kids dread it, but I was so excited. Dad dropped me off and I practically sprinted in.
[The scene expands, showing more of the school and schoolyard. The child can be seen waving at a woman who waves back with one hand, and wipes tears from her eyes with the other.]
Cervantes: I, I swore it was Dad that dropped me off.
[Over the next 110 minutes, Cervantes progresses through the corridor. She narrates the various scenes from her life displayed along the way: making her first friend, birthday parties, school lessons. Playground arguments, invitation snubs, detentions.]
Cervantes: I'm unclear why I'm being shown this. Command, I, I can't do anything but keep going forward.
[Cervantes moves on, arriving at the next scene after 10 minutes. Her child-self sits in a church pew, next to her brother and father. All three wear black clothing and are crying.]
[Cervantes takes a single step forward along the corridor. The scene on the other side of the membrane changes: back at their home, the child, still dressed in black, lays on her bed alone. She stares silently at the ceiling. Her father enters the room and sits beside her, before extending a hand. The father offers his child a bowl of strawberries.]
[Cervantes pauses here for 5 minutes, before progressing. The scenes change, showing memories from childhood, then progressing into adolescence.]
Cervantes: My first kiss.
[Two teenagers sit adjacent to each other in cinema seats.]
Image captured by surveillance equipment.
Cervantes: He tried the yawn trick, but got nervous halfway through and pulled his arm back. So I waited till he went to grab some popcorn, and did the same. Met his hand in the box. I was 15, we broke up three weeks afterwards but it was nice, for what it was.
[Over the next three hours, Agent Cervantes makes her way down the corridor. As she does so, various scenes from her life are shown through the membrane: graduating high school, enlisting in the military, her first tour of duty. Being recruited to the Foundation. Throughout all of these, Cervantes offers commentary and her own recollections of the scenes shown. For some scenes, her recollection and what is depicted through the membrane differ.]
Cervantes: We should shortly be arriving at my first mission. It was a simple one, but I can't complain about not being thrown in the deep end. SCP-5889 caused a driver in downtown Orlando to crash their car and run through the streets shrieking. Simple locate, amnesticise, release.
[After 4 minutes, Agent Cervantes happens upon a scene depicting what she described.]
Cervantes: Told you — if you're even still there. They say you never forget your first mission, and I mainly remember how simple this one was. One of the other team members actually complained on the way back that-
[Cervantes stops midsentence. The scene begins to oscillate, then fracture, before suddenly disappearing entirely. It is replaced by another. Agent Cervantes and her MTF rush down a street in an unidentified location, weapons drawn.]
Cervantes: I, I don't know what this is.
[In the scene, Cervantes aims her weapon and opens fire on a large crustacean-like entity ahead of her. It screeches, then charges at her. She dives out the way at the last moment, and it collides with the wall. Similar entities are observed approaching the team.]
[Cervantes attempts to step back from the edge of the corridor; due to its dimensional properties, she remains in place.]
Cervantes: I don't recognise this at all. I don't recognise this mission, that place, those creatures.
[The scene jolts upwards, disappearing from view, and is replaced by the original scene in Orlando.]
Cervantes: I've never been amnesticised — I don't think I have.
[Without warning, a kaleidoscope of different scenes appear at all angles around the outside of the corridor. Cervantes' eyes flick between them.]
Cervantes: I… I'm not sure what's going on here, Command.
[She keeps moving forward. As she does, it is no longer a single scene displayed through the corridor's membrane, but a myriad of shifting, sometimes contradictory, events.]
Image captured by surveillance equipment.
Cervantes: This I recognise. I was given the opportunity to transfer to Site-43 for a year, or stay based in the Southern States on fieldwork. I went with the former; they were looking for someone to review their Site security policies and protocols. It was a chance to try something different.
[Through the corridor membrane, Cervantes can be seen talking to a Site Director in their office.]
Cervantes: I was conflicted though. I didn't know how easily I'd transition back to the MTF at the end of the year, whether I'd still have the skills and stomach for it.
[Variations of the scene in question are shown numerous times at different points around the corridor. Some are identical, some have differences; subtle changes to the furniture, Cervantes' appearance is inconsistent, or the Site Director is a different person entirely.]
[Cervantes walks on. The scenes change to show her time at Site-43, with one exception, which she stops to observe.]
[Cervantes, and the MTF seen in earlier scenes, traverse through a forest terrain. It is night time. They approach a cave, nestled in a thicket, in formation. Without warning, a turquoise Ford Anglia car accelerates at speed from the cave, directly at the MTF. ]
Image captured by surveillance equipment.
[The team break formation and dive out the way, narrowly avoiding the car. The latter handbrake turns hard, taking shelter behind a row of trees, avoiding the salvo unleashed by the MTF.]
[A human hand protrudes from the driver's window; Agent Cervantes raises her weapon and takes aim. The screeching of an engine grows louder.]
[Another vehicle, identical bar its red paint job, approaches the MTF at speed from the opposite direction. Agent Cervantes realises this too late, and the car makes direct impact with her.]
[She is thrown into the air, and lands with a wet crunch.]
[The scene begins to fade away, and is replaced by a solid block of red coloration.]
Cervantes: I-
[Cervantes begins to run, full speed, down the corridor. Scenes fly past, often indiscernible due to her movement. She slows down occasionally to catch her breath, before resuming her sprint.]
[After several hours, the scenes displayed through the corridor membrane begin to gain luminance, and become more uniform in what they depict. They show Agent Cervantes being approached regarding Project Spectrum and SCP-6996, her training for the mission, and her boarding the extradimensional transporter.]
Cervantes: I think there's an end. I think the corridor has an end!
[Any deviation between scenes disappears when they begin to display Cervantes' arrival in, and progression down, the corridor. The corridor membrane appears to grow thinner; the scenes have more clarity, but are still colored red.]
Cervantes: There's definitely an end — there's a mass, a glut, of red in the distance. I don't know what it is, but it's something.
[The scenes progress quicker than Cervantes progresses down the corridor, eventually becoming in sync with her movements, displaying her life in real time. She diverts her gaze to the left, looking at a scene of herself also gazing left.]
[She then diverts her gaze to the right, at another scene of herself. This facsimile, however, gazes left, making directly eye contact with Agent Cervantes. The latter hurriedly returns her gaze forward, and keeps moving.]
Cervantes: I'm here, Command. I'm at the end.
[Agent Cervantes stands in place, surrounded by scenes of her doing so. In front of her, the corridor's walls coalesce into a single point. A mass of swirling, red matter, metres high, is situated at this point.]
[She raises her arm and reaches forward. Her hand slips into the matter, causing the surrounding area to ripple. Withdrawing her hand a moment later causes the same.]
Cervantes: The only way is forward.
[Cervantes steps forward, submerging herself in the matter. She exits the corridor.]
[The ocular implants adjust as Agent Cervantes enters a space devoid of any light. She gasps, as her feet fail to find footing. She begins to fall downwards through the darkness.]
PROJECT SPECTRUM: PART II
- CLOSE EXPLORATION LOG -
[Agent Cervantes falls through nothingness for a period of 4 minutes. Her breathing is the only sound that can be heard.]
[She abruptly halts mid-fall, and appears to land on a surface — though none is visible. She stands, and checks herself and the suit for any damage. Despite the length of her fall, she is uninjured.]
Cervantes: Command, I hope you're still hearing me. I've entered a new space, one in which I seem to be able to move more freely.
[She turns on the suit's light; the light does little to illuminate her surroundings, dark is all that can be seen. She surveys the area, turning in a circle.]
Cervantes: Doesn't seem to be anyth-
Image captured by surveillance equipment.
[Agent Cervantes halts midsentence. As she completes her circle, a large object has now appeared in her field of vision. A large orb, glowing bright red and comprised of matter of the same color, can be seen in the distance.]
Cervantes: Command, I've encountered… something. I don't know what. It's huge and spherical, and, no surprises here, red. It's the deepest, darkest red I've even seen. It, it hurts to look at.
[The orb levitates, suspended in the air. It appears to be comprised of some form of liquid, which constantly drips from its base; despite this, the orb seems to lose no mass. Upon hitting the floor, the liquid dissipates in a red haze.]
[Cervantes begins to move forward, and draws her Ω-5 Energy Rifle from her suit.]
Cervantes: Commencing engagement.
[Without warning, the orb begins to pulsate and a sound is heard.]
Unknown: Ava.
[Cervantes raises her rifle.]
Unknown: Welcome.
[The orb's pulsating speeds up, and it abruptly swells, its liquid form shooting into the air and forming a shape. The entirety of the nothingness is bathed in red light, as the orb transforms into the shape of a bird.]
Unknown: Why have you travelled here?
[Cervantes presses down on the trigger, and a beam of light fires from the end of her rifle. It collides with the orb and ricochets away, evaporating into the darkness.]
Cervantes: I've seen what you've done. The pain you've caused. I don't know what the trick with the corridor was, but it hasn't worked.
Unknown: Pain?
Cervantes: The Red, running through death and destruction. At torture, at maiming.
Unknown: We were there. Yet, we did not cause it.
Cervantes: What do you mean?
Unknown: You have not seen the whole. There was one small fraction gleaned, which you decided was the truth. It is a very human thing to do.
[The orb stretches upwards, taking the form of a many-legged arthropod.]
Cervantes: Then tell me, tell me what I missed.
Unknown: We shall not tell you, as we can show you.
[The entire environment is rapidly enveloped in red. Distinct images and scenes begin to flash in front of Agent Cervantes' eyes.]
[Two individuals kiss underneath a wedding arch on a rainy day.]
[A bottle of red wine is poured at a merry table.]
[A petal is picked from a rose.]
[An umbilical cord is snipped.]
[A blushing face smiles.]
[Hands meet in a red popcorn box.]
[A bowl of strawberries.]
[The red fades; Agent Cervantes returns to the previous environment. The orb is still present.]
Unknown: Red is pain. Red is sorrow. But Red is love. Red is joy. Above all, Red is passion. You, your Foundation, were so preoccupied with the pain it blinded you. Hurt was all you could see. All you could focus on.
[The orb elongates, and takes on the appearance of a fish. It begins to swim around the space, and around Agent Cervantes. Agent Cervantes has lowered her weapon.]
Agent Cervantes: What are you?
Unknown: You are not returning home.
[Agent Cervantes is silent.]
Unknown: You know this.
Cervantes: I… what's your point?
Unknown: You asked why your entry here was encompassed by your life. It was you because it was you. Had another come, it would have shown them them. But it was you.
Cervantes: That doesn't answer my question.
Unknown: You are not returning home. Does that make you wish you had no home to return to?
Cervantes: Of course not!
[The orb changes form again, moulding into a musical symbol, before returning to a spherical appearance.]
Unknown: All moments of passion, of significance, are worthwhile. All must be archived, must be observed, must be commemorated. Without the bad, one cannot truly appreciate the good. This is what we were trying to show you. That is our role. We archive all things that have and all things that could have been. That is what you saw in the corridor. You, all of you, have Red intrinsic to you.
[The orb erupts into an intense, bright light. Agent Cervantes stares down at her body, holding her hands up. Through the suit, a warm, red glow can be seen, particularly surrounding her heart.]
Unknown: You will not return home. Yet your life, your Red, was and is still worthwhile.
[Agent Cervantes does not respond for some time. The dark surroundings begin to glow a soft red.]
Cervantes: I am not going home.
Unknown: You are not. Yet, you may stay here.
Cervantes: What will become of me?
[The glowing continues to intensify.]
Unknown: We do not know. We cannot see what has not yet been lived. But you may sit. And watch. And observe too.
Cervantes: I'm slightly scared, I think.
Unknown: You need not be. For it is not the destination…
Cervantes: It is the journey which matters.
[It is now difficult to discern the orb from the red environment. All readings from Agent Cervantes' suit are normal.]
Unknown: Do you know what you would like to see first?
Cervantes: I think I might…
[Agent Cervantes gazes down at her hands. Through the ever increasing red, the shape of a strawberry can be seen in her open palm.]
Last image transmitted from Agent Cervantes's communication device.
[[SIGNAL LOST]]