| Item: | Fractal Music Box |
| Size: | 5.0 x 5.0 x 3.5 cm |
| Type: | Music Box |
| Living: | Yes (extended definition) |
| Sentient: | Yes |
| Potential/Current Hazards | Mild Discomfort, Unknown (Speculated to be highly destructive) |
| Required Wear/Weaponry | Communication with the produced entities is to be made impossible outside of approved testing |
| Location: | Base Six |
| Reported Anomaly: | Hallucinogen |
Usage
The item may be used for psychological therapy and mental contamination treatment. It is not to be used for recreational purposes. To achieve the desired effect the hand crank is to be turned with no less than 25 rotations per minute (rpm) and not more than 50 rpm. This is to be ensured via a battery powered motor turning the handle.
Manual turning of the hand crank is not permitted for the foreseeable future. Tests involving the manual turning of the hand crank has to be performed require 5 Gamma or higher clearance members agreeing to the conditions of the test. A higher clearance does not count as multiple votes. No member of the Insurgency may be forced to vote in a particular way during these votes by other members. Members that have experienced the item with a rotation of 90 to 120 rpm may not vote on future tests.
Unauthorized activation of the item is to be stopped with extreme force.
The device is not permitted as part of the Base Self-Destruction Protocol, and is never to be used in this or a similar capacity.
Report
The item is a stone music-box with a copper interior, and an iron hand crank. The origin of the box could not be determined. The box entered Insurgency possession in 2016 when it was found as a uncatalogued item in the [REDACTED] Museum of Modern Art, a Insurgency subcontractor for the storage of neutralized Anomalies.
The box itself is engraved in a script identified as English with the letters being substituted with symbols resembling a pictographic script. The words span the entire box, with only the bottom of the box being flat. The text on the box reads: "Once I get out of here you will stop to grin. Laugh as long as you can, because the worms are coming for everyone. My eyes are closed, but my voice still reaches you. How long can you resist the screams of Infinity?"
The effect of the item is determined by the speed at which the hand crank is turned. Subjects were able to recognize the same melody at all different speeds. The melody seems to repeat every 180 turns.
A speed below 21 rpm will always result in a slow melody that has been described as "sad" and "creepy". At this speed the item is dependent on a subject to hear the music to trigger an effect. If a subject hears the music they will feel unease and "that something is terribly wrong". This effect is even produced at turn speeds of less then 1 turn per minute.
Speeds between 22 and 30 rpm produces a melody that triggers a feeling of indifference. Subjects described the indifference as an absence of all feelings, even the feeling of being calm. During times the music box is played at this speed subjects describe seeing movement within the walls, floor and ceiling. Subjects in the same room that were unable to hear the music have not reported these movements. The emotions of subjects not able to hear the music are dampened, but not fully suppressed.
Speeds between 30 and 90 rpm produces a melody that triggers happiness and euphoria. Subjects are not required to hear the music to experience the effect. Subjects under the influence of this stage of activation, begin to experience vivid hallucinations about worms emerging from walls, floor and ceiling. Even subjects with scoleciphobia1 were unable to resist the happiness triggered by the Item. Higher rotation speed increases the effect. At 60 rpm or higher, subjects began to develop a dependency on the item, similar to addictive substances.
Speeds between 90 and 120 rpm produces a melody that triggers a form of non-violent rage. Subjects are not required to hear the music to experience the effect. Subjects outside of earshot of the music start to be attracted to the box. At this stage subjects can no longer distinguish between fiction and reality. Subjects describe seeing and hearing humanoids with human exterior, but completely filled with worms. The eyes of these humanoids are always closed. Subjects see these beings as their friends and the box as a symbol of an enemy the subject were unable to describe. Subjects that communicated with the worm creatures were unable to distinguish individuals. Instead the worms seem to posses a collective personality, describe it as [REDACTED]. The creature seems displeased with the continued existence of the box, but was unwilling to provide information about its origin. The creature also seems unaware of the text on the box. Subjects under the effect of the item at this stage of activation will always attempt to increase the speed of the song. Once an employee has experienced the box at this stage of activation they are no longer allowed to vote on future tests for the item.
At speeds above 120 rotations subjects begin to feel something they could only describe as "the joy of someone who finally, after a long time, gets revenge for something truly awful."
At this stage the effect of the item begins to affect humans and animals which are more than 50 km away from the box. Hallucinations of worm people and closed eyes on all surfaces are common for 10 km around the music-box. This area increases exponentially per rotation over 130 rpm.
It is currently unknown which effect the box has once it reaches 180 rpm, but the estimated affected area is 10⁵⁰ kilometers in diameter. It is currently unknown how the anomaly spreads in 3 dimensional space. It is to be noted that the entire earth will be covered at 139 rpm or a 10⁹ km diameter.
