| Designation: | Phoenix Tank | ||
| Type: | Autonomous War Drone | ||
| Anomaly: | Extradimensional traversal, nonconservative energy and matter manipulation | ||
| Hazards: | None from the Item, its current locale contains unidentified threats | ||
| Required Gear: | None | ||
| Position: | Unknown, projected to Area "Macello" in conventional 3-Space | ||
Usage
All project data on the Item has been lost (see Appendix A for the only exception), necessitating retrieval of the only existing prototype for study and reproduction. Combat and other risks must be avoided until the study of the Item is complete.
Recovery of the prototype is complicated by its current extradimensional location. Liberated Site 75 is maintaining a permanently manned communications station which monitors the Item's radio channel as primary point of contact. Although all radio communications with it are encrypted, the unit does only support severely outdated protocols that must be assumed to be trivially breakable by motivated adversaries. As such, all communications are to be assumed to be in the clear.
The unit's ammunitions magazines have been depleted, leaving it with only non-shell physical impactors, which it can regenerate at a slow rate. Whilst the prototype can physically endure indefinitely through its self-maintenance system as long as it does not suffer critical damage, its mental integrity has deteriorated massively over almost 6 decades of isolation and repeated exposure to โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ.
The prototype does recognize the Insurgency as ally and is generally cooperative during phases of mental clarity, but is incapable to act against its last official instructions. Part of those was the order to remain entrenched in-place, and it does not recognize Insurgency authority to revoke those orders. Given its mental instability, attempts of remote indoctrination are considered too risky to stake the Item's massive potential on.
The unit has confirmed that it has no instructions or intentions to prevent a physical override of its cryptographic registry by an ally. A first rescue sortie has been dispatched, but failed (see Appendix C). Once the previous failure has been properly understood and the required assets readied, a second attempt is to be staged.
Report
The Phoenix Tank is a model line of autonomous armoured fighting vehicle incorporating two pieces of anomalous technology, each tentatively designated as Sub-Items. Although originally planned for frontline combat deployment, the models can be equipped to fill various AFV roles, with the only prototype being configured to act as self-propelled artillery piece.
The Item was originally developed by Putiferio, an Insurgency stem cell that was resisting Foundation take-over of Italy after the second world war. As such, it drew assets from various GoIs active during that time, in particular former RIDIA1-members that could escape Foundation pursuit and allied with ALDA2. With the formation of the Coalition-backed SISMA3, Putiferio suffered multiple devastating defeats. Its remaining forces were absorbed into the Greater Insurgency, but not before the complete destruction of Putiferio East saw all R&D on the Phoenix Tank lost.
The main anomalous properties of the Item stem from its Sub-Items:
- SBI-PHOETNK-001 - "Locust Sign": Grants the Item the ability to regenerate itself to factory condition with a thermal eruption. See Appendix A for more details.
- SBI-PHOETNK-002 - "Strange Drill": Appears to be a funnel for laterally traversing to one of the 22 hyperspace dimensions that are orthogonal to classical 4-space topology. (For consistency, the old terminology of "digging in/out" will be used for such movement here. It predates and is largely synonymous with what is contemporarily described as crossdiving.) The exact means through which this is achieved remain unclear, but the Item is apparently capable of not just digging itself into a secure extradimensional location, but also focusing the funnel on its barrel to fire back into normal space, or on its antennas to send and receive radio signal from there. It is not clear whether this Sub-Item can be mass-produced or if it's a unique anomaly equipped to the prototype for testing purposes.
Besides those anomalies, it also used state-of-the-art para- and biotechnology, including experimental reactive armour and an advanced fire control system. It is however restricted to analogue technology, including its cybernetic brain, which is based on the template of a volunteer selected for loyalty, resilience and aptitude with the synaptic sensory system.
Appendix A: Recovered Surveillance Footage from Area "Mocello"
The following footage was reconstructed from a surveillance tape found inside the only security camera that survived the destruction of Putiferio East due to being placed far out from the point of impact.
(All dialogue translated from Italian)
The camera is overviewing an access road to leading down a gated ramp into an concrete structure to the right. A fence and can be seen stretching into the background on the left. Sparse trees grow in the otherwise barren field.
A man riding a motorcycle is seen arriving at the gate, quickly speaks something inaudible into the intercom, and is let into the building.
A while later, a man in plain clothes (Dr. Marchioni), presumably a researcher or engineer, is seen leaving the building on the right through a recessed door. He rubs his eyes, stares into the sky for a bit, then sighs, leans against the wall and lights a cigarette.
His smoking is interrupted by the first man walking up the ramp and ducks under the gate. He at first nods in greeting, before straightening his posture and saluting.
Dr. Marchioni: Salutations commandante! Excuse me, I did not recognize you at first without your usual suit. I thought you were still at West?
Commandant: No need to be so formal, dottore. I'm currently not on duty. I just returned, we managed to finish a few days early. Mind if I join you?
Dr. Marchioni: Not the least, commandante.
The commandant produces a cigarette from his pockets and lights it. The two men smoke in silence for a while.
Commandant: How is work going? You look like you had a rough day.
Dr. Marchioni: Yes and no. It looks like finally everything is falling into place, so there is a lot to do. I'm exhausted, but it feels good to have finally made a breakthrough.
Commandant: Dottore Marchioni, if I'm not mistaken? You were with the Digger project, weren't you? I'm glad to hear that, I was afraid you wouldn't find a way to stabilize the Drill in time.
Dr. Marchioni: Well, we didn't exactly do that.
Commandant: Huh? Surely, you found another way to sidestep the issue. You piqued my interest, dottore. Tell me more.
Dr. Marchioni: Do you remember the Sign of the Locust?
Commandant: The corrosive ritual?
Dr. Marchioni: More of a summoning circle, really.
Commandant: I remember it was quite useless in most situations. Having to directly apply it to and around the object it should destroy is usually more trouble than it's worth when a man with a circular saw can get the same thing done in a fraction of the time.
Dr. Marchioni: Well, as I said, it's more of a summoning ritual. The things it "eats" are technically used as fuel to create a shape of our choosing from the provided model.
Commandant: Yes, yes. But also consuming the model in the process, making it a net loss.
Dr. Marchioni: Not exactly. You see, we discovered the Sign can also be used as a model for itself.
Commandant: So … I presume it then re-creates itself from the matter it consumed? Effectively making the Sign a reusable means of removal?
Dr. Marchioni: Yes.
Commandant: What does this have to do with the Drill?
Dr. Marchioni: You see, the Sign we've been using is a minimal, reduced version from how it was originally described in the recovered tomes. The original had many unnecessary flourishes we could eliminate through parts mathematical reasoning, parts trial and error.
Commandant: Go on.
Dr. Marchioni: As it turns out, these non-essential parts can also replicated this way. Now, I wish I could take full credit for what follows because I proposed it first, but truth be told D'Agostino had played with similar ideas before, and really it was lovely Sig. Rocchi who made the computer actually calculate the design we had in mind…
Commandant: Putting the new mainframe to good use already, I see.
Dr. Marchioni: Yes, indeed. …anyway, we managed to, err, "evert" the Sign in such a way on itself that it is capable to use itself not just as model, but also as sacrificial matter.
Commandant: Clever. Of course the Sign would always have exactly enough mass to create a copy of itself. Certainly an interesting opportunity, but how did it help with the Digger?
Dr. Marchioni: Well, you see, the add-on bits to the Sign can get rather elaborate. Like a metal chassis. Or perhaps even more, like a synaptic system. Or a full vehicle.
Commandant: This … you spend all that effort on making the Digger capable to sacrifice itself in order to … summon itself? This seems impressive, but still strikes me as profoundly useless.
Dr. Marchioni: It almost is. But you have to pay attention to the original formula. The sign, plus a sacrifice, plus a model, created a copy of the model, plus some excess. Mostly waste heat in the form of sublimated dust, but still, a little bit of matter and energy. And now that the Sign is also both the sacrifice and the model, the output is still the Sign … and some surplus. And as now our new Sign-and-model contains a little bit more of mass and energy, if we use the Sign again, we get even more of it, even if its vanishingly few. Which we can use to create even more matter in the next iteration.
The Commandant seems to think for a moment, and then grins and slaps Dr. Marchioni approvingly on the back.
Commandant: I think I know where this is going, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You are going to compensate the gradual deterioration caused by the drill by having the Digger use the Sign to periodically refresh itself, don't you? Ingenious work, all of you. I'll make sure to give your team my formal commendations.
Dr. Marchioni: Thank you, commandante. I fell honoured.
Commandant: So how far are you implementing this? Is there anything your team still needs?
Dr. Marchioni: Well, our first problem is the waste heat I mentioned. Because the extra matter is mostly in the form of gas, it is highly volatile and we need to perform the iterations in quick succession. That's currently our main limiting factor. The metal components can take quite some heat before they melt, but the more sensitive components would get destroyed, and of course, as this is in the aftermath of the regeneration, also stay that way.
Commandant: Hmm. How frequently do you need to activate the Sign to make meaningful repairs?
Dr. Marchioni: One regeneration cycle is currently 1500 iterations over the span of roughly 4 minutes.
Commandant: And how many could you do without the the limitations of the organic components?
Dr. Marchioni: Well, the critical path in the Sign's circuit is about 17 meters, divided by the speed of light … the theoretical maximum should be somewhere at about 18 Megahertz. Although I doubt there'll ever be electronics fast enough to control such a trigger sequence. But without having to worry about the fleshy bits, I assume we could get a full cycle with the same amount of iterations done in a little less than a second. At that point, the heat would act more like an explosive combustion.
Commandant: A potential weapon to clear the direct surrounding of the Digger.
Dr. Marchioni: Yes, although it would have to cool down for a while before it can do it again, or fire any potential ammunitions without them detonating already in the barrel. Speaking of which, the magazines were also an issue we have yet to solve. The Sign doesn't deal well with … removable parts. Right now the magazines are their own component, isolated from the main hull and the Sign of the Locust. Like a thermos can. We're basically sacrificing and regenerating everything around it, which means the digger can regenerate from hull and sensor damage, but must still restock ammunitions conventionally. We already switched to metallic fuels though, so as long as there's oxygen around, that's not an issue. We've been also testing some means to use some sort of regrowing armour spike for ammunition, but that's of low priority right now.
Commandant: This is good. Very, very good. When can I expect the first trial run?
Dr. Marchioni: In fact, we just finished re-installing the mind of the new drone. We had to temporarily remove it before we had the, err, unpredictable thermal discharges under control. If everything works out, we'll be done by tomorrow evening and can then directly proceed to a field trial.
Commandant: Splendid. I must speak my thanks again. This is excellent work.
Dr. Marchioni: This might be a good moment to mention we've molten through the other four prototypes whilst testing the new Sign.
Commandant: visibly taken aback But the drill is safe?
Dr. Marchioni: Yes, of course. We didn't integrate it before we were sure not to accidentally melt it.
Commandant: laughs Well then, such is the cost of progress. You proceeded with due caution, and everything else pales in comparison to your achievements.
Dr. Marchioni: Thank you, commandante.
Commandant: Well then. A good talk with good news. Keep up the good work, dottore.
The commandant grinds his cigarette, slaps Dr. Marchioni on the shoulder again, and leaves around the corner of the building.
Dr. Marchioni waits until he left, and then performs an excited fist pump.
36 hours later, the security footage ends when the recorder is knocked from its pole from the orbital strike's impact.
Appendix B: History of first contact with the prototype unit
The first transmissions from the Phoenix Tank prototype were picked up during an otherwise unrelated routine mission in Area "Macello" in 2005, when they were interfering with radio communications. They were clearly using an old Putiferio frequency, but could not be decrypted by the local team. During the mission debriefing, this incident was reported, but not acted upon until May 2009 when a thorough, automatic mapping of receptions from Megalithic Lodestone was well underway.
The presence of an analogue broadcast on Putiferio sideband-C was confirmed, consisting of a short periodic transmission every day at 09:00 CET, and sporadic irregular intermissions. Although missing internal Putiferio cryptographic keys, the transmission could be easily de-scrambled and decrypted.
The daily transmission was simply the status report of the form "This is experimental Digger prototype 5. It is [Date] at 9:00. All systems nominal. Standing by and awaiting further instructions". (Notably, the date was always off by one day, as the unit had forgotten that the year 2000 was a leap year.)
The irregular transmissions, however, revealed mostly incomprehensible ramblings, accompanied with greyscale images, presumably recorded by the unit. These are believed to correlated with the unit undergoing a regeneration cycle. Examples follow:
Example 1
Message: This is not me. Not me is not authorized to use this channel. The dead must not speak.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 2
Message: Every time I die, I die a thousand times. I wish it could be a million more.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 3
Message: The sky is fake.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 4
Message: Do you remember Malta? You and me? We never were there.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 5
Message: I will die. Only the living can die. Paradox.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 6
Message: This is not right. No. Stop. Who are you talking too? You are not supposed to talk to me. No. Stop. Don't go away. Yes. Not me.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 7
Message: The sky is dead.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 8
Message: I want the sky dead. The sky wants me dead. Paradox. No. You do not make sense. This is not a paradox.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Example 9
Message: I screamed. Death did not find me. I whispered. Death did find me. One death is not enough. Death must die. Paradox.
Image:[COGNITOHAZARD REDACTED]
Following this discovery, contact was established with the unit in on the 11th August of 2009 from a team present in Area "Mocello", with back-up operators listening from the Megalithic Lodestone.
Radio Transcript
Protype unit:[IT] This is experimental Digger prototype 5. It is August 12th, 2009 at 9:00. All systems nominal. Standing by and awaiting further instructions.
Bushrock:[IT] This is Chaos Insurgency unit Bushrock, calling allied Putiferio unit. Do you read, allied Putiferio unit? This is Chaos Insurgency unit Bushrock, over.
Protype unit:[IT] This is a Putiferio experimental autonomous armoured drone, call sign pending, replying to Bushrock. I read you loud and clear. I did not expect Insurgency involvement during this experiment. Over.
Bushrock:[EN] Please reply with your location, unnamed unit. Over.
Protype unit:[IT] My location is latitude โโยฐโโ'โโ" North, longitude โโยฐโโ'โโ" East, lateral Bowitz-Rubens-translation of 1.4 radians. Over.
Bushrock:[EN] Can we continue in english? Over.
Protype unit:[EN] Of course.
Bushrock:[EN] Unnamed unit, when was your last contact with Putiferio forces? Over.
Protype unit:[EN] 17924 days ago.
Bushrock:[EN] Unnamed unit, I am afraid I have to bring bad news. On of the 15th of July 1960, Putiferio East was completely destroyed by a Global Occult Coalition super weapon, and their remaining forces at Putiferio West were quickly annihilated or forced to hide and disperse. As it stands, you are the last active Putiferio member since over 49 years. Over.
Protype unit:[EN] This … saddens me to hear. (It falls silent.)
Bushrock:[EN] (after a while) Unnamed unit, please reply. Over.
Protype unit:[EN] I'm sorry, I was just somehow overwhelmed.
(There is some debate about whether or not to ask the prototype if it ever questioned the absence of contact for almost half a century. It is decided to skip this question for now.)
Bushrock:[EN] Do you … want to know what happened? Over.
Protype unit:[EN] Yes, please. Over.
Bushrock:[EN] It has been a cowardly attack. The Coalition used you a practice ground for a new weapon of theirs with unprecedented power. They called it "The Final Sentence". A penetrator of twisted tungsten-alloy fibres, deorbited from a satellite carrier and configured to unfurl its threads once beneath the surface to use its kinetic energy for cutting.
Protype unit:[EN] Thank you for the honesty.
Bushrock:[EN] This weapon has costed us many valued allies in short succession. But we persisted. And in time, we made them pay. And we will continue to make them pay. Perhaps the best you could do is to join us, if you want. So let us extend an offer to you, friend, and offer of both revenge and a new home. Over.
Protype unit:[EN] Thank you for the offer. I think I will accept, but I need some time think.
Bushrock:[EN] Take you time, unnamed unit.
Protype unit:[EN] Thanks. Out.
(The prototype is given until later that day to contemplate its decision.)
Bushrock:[EN] Unnamed Putiferio unit, this is Bushrock. Have you made your decision.
Protype unit:[IT] Why did they only get to die once? Pitiful.
Bushrock:[EN] …Excuse me? Please say again. Over.
Protype unit:[EN] This is experimental Digger prototype 5. I have decided to accept your offer. If the Insurgency exists to continue the legacy of Putiferio as your possession of our encryption keys implies, I am willing to serve the greater good in a new form.
Bushrock:[EN] We're glad to hear that.
Protype unit:[IT] The sky really is beautiful, isn't it?
Bushrock:[IT] Yes, yes it is?
Protype unit:[EN] Is the area on baseline earth clear? Once you give the unlock sequence, I shall unburry myself and join you there.
[Remainder omitted]
Following this it was established that the prototype unit could not unlock itself from its entrenched position without proper authorization, and was unable to update its cryptographic registry on its own to include Insurgency personnel. As there are no living or otherwise active members of Putiferio with sufficient authority (and the capacity to act on it) remaining, this has proven a major obstacle in accessing a Phoenix Tank for study and remains so to this day.
It was further revealed that whilst technically on a test-run, it had been fully stockpiled with AA artillery shells for a live-fire exercise, most of which remained still serviceable after almost half a century. More worryingly, it was revealed that as of 2009-08-11, the time since last enemy contact has been a mere 521 days, although the prototype claims it could not remember the nature of the encounter. It however confirmed previous encounters, all of which it could not describe. Originally assumed to have been hallucinations resulting from its declined mental state, the theory after further question is that at least some of these were โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ, which remain a threat that must be calculated into future crossdives (see Appendix C).
Appendix C: Catastrophic Failure of the first Rescue Attempt
On the Night from the 31th of October to the 1st of November 2013, the liberation of Foundation Site 75 took place. Having only 10 armed combatants and no heavy weaponry at hand, Site 75 would have fallen back into Foundation hands if it wasn't for the quick intervention of the Phoenix Tank prototype. Although unable to leave its position, significant parts of the airspace of Site 75 were in its firing range, and it could provide meaningful AKASHA-coverage over it.
Faced with shelling from an undetectable adversary, the Foundation lacked the air supremacy required for quickly deploying MTFs before Insurgency support forces could arrive and deploy proper Anti-Katrahaski, -Air, -Satellite and -High Altitude measures to secure the area. Whilst a decisive part of the ensuing battle, the Phoenix Tank prototype ran out of ammunitions the very same night, and furthermore posed a liability due to the need to share tactical intelligence with it over a practically insecure channel.
In direct consequence, a rescue sortie was formed from the assets at hand and dispatched in a risky decision, which proved to be a catastrophic failure. โโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโโ
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The prototype unit refused any communication for a month after the event and did not appear lucid during that time. It has since rebound, but is still below the state of already impeded mental stability it had upon the original encounter. It does not appear to become impatient at the fact that no tangible progress in its recovery has been made since that incident.
