章 13: When Knowledge Breaks
I carried the modified APC on my shoulders as I flew. I couldn't move as fast as I wanted, so I kept my acceleration to a comfortable 2 g before slowing down by the same rate of deceleration.
I dropped the APC right next to the entrance where the garbage trucks would enter and exit. Hovering next to the vehicle, I knocked on their door and waited for either Irantu or one of them to come out.
Just like last time, Irantu did after a few more seconds. In the brief moment between Irantu exiting out the door and the thing closing, I spotted the presence of three more heavily armored individuals.
"Alright, so the people I've rescued are definitely going to be surprised at what just happened." I said, "Irantu, We're going to slowly ease them in by introducing yourself before letting the vehicle venture into this place."
Irantu nodded, "Yes, Goddess Kukulkan."
Leaning forward, I inserted my fingers into a specific indent by the base of the heavily fortified door before pushing upward without any problem.
Despite not saying anything, I could tell based on the minute body language expressed that Irantu was surprised by my physical strength.
"Hey everyone! We got some new people. They're from the SCP Foundation."
Irantu entered and I closed the garage door behind me by gently laying it down. Everyone who wasn't sleeping stood up, and even some of those who were sleeping got woken up. There were 52 pairs of eyes on me, all of them staring at me before moving to the figure behind me.
Rick made the first move. Approaching cautiously, he asked, "Who is this?"
"I just told you, he's a member of the SCP Foundation. You know, the one who sent out the broadcast before it got corrupted?"
"The SCP Foundation?" Bethany called out, "What proof do they have that they're a member of this unknown organization? What are they even?"
Ah right, these people don't know anything about the SCP Foundation. The masquerade that the Foundation kept up to protect normalcy, or as the Administrator liked to call it, 'the light'.
Their first contact with the SCP Foundation is that emergency broadcast warning them to never come out into the light without proper protection and don't listen to anyone pleading for help.
I snapped my fingers, "Irantu, explain the SCP Foundation to these people."
The person in question stepped forward to the edge of the ramp. He cleared his throat before starting.
"I am Irantu of Mobile Task Force Tau-5, the branch of the SCP Foundation responsible for dealing with anomalous threats. Normally, we of the SCP Foundation prefer to stay in the shadows and protect the light. But now that the light is the danger and the darkness is much safer, the masquerade that the Foundation has kept all these centuries has been broken and thus, I have no problem telling you what I am about to now."
Irantu paused for a few seconds. Probably not for dramatic effects but for clarifications on what he's allowed to say and not allowed to say.
"The 'SCP' in the SCP Foundation stands for Secure, Contain, Protect. We secure objects and phenomena that don't obey natural laws for the well-being of humanity. We contain these things and keep them hidden from the public so they cannot be used for malicious purposes. We protect the public from these objects and study them for the advancement of science and technology. We are a clandestine organization entrusted by every major world government to deal with the paranormal."
"Did you cause all this?" Rick blurted out, "By a failure to contain these 'anomalous' things?"
He slowly started walking up to Irantu.
"I'm going to assume you mean the current state of the sun. To which I answer: we don't know. We were caught off guard as much as the average person did."
I called out to him, "Rick—" moving in to stop him before Irantu raised a hand and caused me to pause.
"Your failure in detection caused billions of deaths!"
Rick marched up to Irantu and punched the guy. Irantu didn't even flinch or move as Rick's fist collided with the agent's helmet.
*Whack*
"Argh!"
Rick groaned in pain as he clutched the wounded hand. Nonetheless, the man maintained a glare at Irantu even if he had just possibly broken his knuckles.
Irantu pointed his raised hand at Rick, "That was a freebie. I know you're emotional, but please don't attempt to attack me again."
I quickly moved in and with a single application of the Pan-Human History version of me's Authority over water, healed Rick's broken knuckle until the only evidence of its existence was the memories within all those who were present.
"That's a neat ability. What's your limit?" Irantu couldn't help but ask. Everyone returned to what they were doing before as it seemed all had settled.
I tilted my head to face him, "I can't cure death or those turned by the sun."
Irantu nodded before looking around at the rest of the survivors.
"How're you gonna tell them?"
Only now did it occur to me how casual Irantu was being with me, his words were like night and day compared to the whole 'oh Goddess' shtick. His commanding officer must've had time to run him through how to talk to me during the few minutes we were in the air.
Though… "tell them what?"
"You know, how you're leaving for a few days and you're leaving some outsiders in charge?"
Does he think I'm inexperienced?
"..."
I mean, he's not wrong per se but couldn't Irantu have been just a bit more subtle about it? Having my shortcomings pointed out in such a fashion is a bit jarring.
I hovered above everyone and clapped my hands, catching everyone's attention once more.
"Alright, so here's what's going to happen. I have negotiated with the SCP Foundation and they have agreed that so long as I help them clear out one of their fallen facilities used to contain those anomalies, they will grant you all shelter at one of their presently secured Sites. You all will be much safer there and will have a better quality of life than anything I could provide."
Looking around, I could see maybe half a dozen people will a look of relief on their faces. It made me feel a bit inadequate, to be honest. I tried my best and yet these people were glad to escape.
That feeling of inadequacy was quickly drowned out by how most of those people, particularly those who prayed with Bethany, had expressions of fear and uncertainty on their faces.
"Prophet, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. We are perfectly happy to stay here, under your care." One of the people stated.
"Yes, Prophet Kukulkan, we are perfectly happy to remain here inside this fortress shrouded in darkness, away from the corrupting light."
Bethany declared, "If you are uncomfortable with dealing with these people, then you don't have to, Prophet Kukulkan. You're the new Messiah, the new Prophet, the new voice of God upon this Earth. There's no need for you to lower yourself to doing anything for these people. You're far higher than any of them."
Oh god… oh for goodness's sake. It's really making me uncomfortable with how much reverence was in Bethany's voice.
That worship… It makes me embarrassed. It gets me hot under the collar from sheer embarrassment.
Despite my claim of being a Goddess… I really don't feel like one. I'm like a peasant who's forced into the body of a King and is thus forced to take in the unearned respect of his subjects when, for all that peasant's entire life, it was he who gave respect to others.
With worship comes expectations. Do they worship me solely because I am the provider of their safety, or do they worship me for something else? If I failed to meet those expectations, would they still worship me?
I scratched my hair as more and more people begged me to reconsider. They all said how they were perfectly fine staying here until I raised a hand and stopped all of them.
My influence over them was immense. With one gesture I was able to silence the crowd.
There's this tiny, ugly voice at the back of my mind saying how I wasn't worthy of this worship. That voice said how my facade stood only because of my unearned powers, and how it'll crumble away shortly should my extraordinary powers be taken away.
"I see working with the Foundation to be the correct path forward. That place is much more secure than anything I can come up with—"
There was a chorus of disagreement from those who worshipped me. They tried to reassure me that everything was fine.
I pushed onward.
"—This decision is final. I have weighed all pros and cons and I will hear no arguments against it." There was steel in my voice. It became an audible version of an unbending and unyielding steel rod.
No one argued any further.
I turned to face Irantu, "I trust that the Foundation will have no problem sustaining 52 people?"
"Three meals a day, ten liters of water, and a place to sleep per day? No problem at all."
Rick then asked, "How long will you be gone?"
"Three days at maximum." I replied, elaborating further, "That's why I'm not leaving until noon the next day. I'll prepare enough water and food that will feed 52 people for a week. These people are specialists from the Foundation trained to deal with anomalous threats. They make your Delta Team and your SAS look like five-year-olds playing with toy guns. My negotiation with the Foundation involves them leaving two of their members to serve as my replacement—"
There was another chorus of many people voicing their displeasure at the disappointing temporary replacement started by Bethany. They voiced their doubt about whether these outsiders could truly keep them as safe as I could.
To be honest, I don't blame them for their doubts.
Taking me away would be like America giving up all its nuclear weapons in favor of an untested laser defense grid in space during the height of the Cold War. A known and viable solution traded in for an unknown and potentially unviable alternative.
I raised my hand again and silenced the crowd.
"I trust these people and their abilities to defend you all from any potential monsters. However, for more safety, I shall make the moat even wider—" I turned my head to face Irantu, "Can you guys detach that gun above your APC and use it to defend this place?"
There was a few seconds of silence before Irantu nodded.
To which I happily added, "And these people have just agreed to use heavy weapons to destroy any flesh blobs that dare to come and assault this fortress. You all will be safe until I return, have no worry about that."
Those who prayed to me were still unconvinced. They don't trust in any protection other than those from me.
"Perhaps if you give us your blessing, Prophet Kukulkan, we'll feel much more confident," Bethany asked.
Blessing? How does one do that? I get the idea behind it, it's the same perspective as things like lucky charms and other superstitious beliefs.
I stared at the middle-aged woman who used to be called a 'Saint'. Then I sifted through my abilities, the only thing that could possibly constitute a 'blessing' would probably be improving them using Pan-Human History Kukulkan's Authority over water.
I'm not going to do that, so instead I opted to place a hand on Bethany's head and tapped a bit.
"I'll be back." I said, "Have no worries, I am more than capable of dealing with whatever anomalous things are present. More than that, I trust these people to keep you all safe."
Instantly, Bethany collapsed to her knees and started praying and thanking me.
Ugh… I looked at Irantu and the man only watched.
Damn.
____________
Commander Sarah Hughes watched Irantu's perspective from inside the heavily modified APC. In her hands was a tin can of rations that she was taking scoops out of, eating and replenishing her energy.
The Foundation Field Ration-K consists of a very flavorful nutrition paste that gets completely absorbed by the human body, meaning that the operative won't have to release any waste during a mission.
"Damn, you sure that's a Goddess?" Arthur asked as he finished up with the paste, "That don' look like any Goddess I've seen before."
Sarah added, "Probably some reality warper that got their powers during the events of Daybreak. Or maybe a hidden reality warper who was always there but just never used their powers."
"The latter doesn't seem likely," Munru said.
"Maybe. Or maybe this whole 'Goddess' business is something that women got roped into. She's got unexplainable powers, desperate people need something to worship, so she's worshipped as a Goddess, or a 'Prophet' as some of those inside call her. By the way, how did we miss that Prophet part?"
Munru replied, "I listened in to the thoughts of this one 'Rick Thompson' person. He called her a Goddess while others called her a Prophet. Given how Rick is the unofficial leader of this group of survivors after Goddess and how another woman called our feathered serpent a 'Prophet', I figured Goddess is probably the correct term."
Sarah scooped up a spoonful of the nutrition paste before speaking after her mouth was empty.
"Can we confirm that she's actually Kukulkan of the Mayan myth or not?"
Nanku the resident specialist spoke up, "The sensors picked up no Akiva radiation from her that would suggest anything of divine origin. Nothing Empyrean or Tartaerean. Given how uncomfortable Goddess is with the faith people are putting in her, her abilities don't seem to be Pistiphagic in origin either. In short, she's probably not the Kukulkan that the Mayan people worshipped."
Akiva is the unit of measurement foundation used for divine faith or grace, just like how lumens are used to measure the total available light emitted by a source. Any gods or demons manifesting into reality would be bursting with Akiva radiations. Pistiphages refer to entities that feed on faith, becoming powerful through belief and worship.
"A Demiurge then? She did make that superstorm five days ago." Arthur asked.
"No. Whenever she uses her abilities, the local Hume level doesn't change according to the Kant counter on the APC. It's almost as if she can redefine what the proper reality is."
"Wait a minute— Nanku are you saying we've got a reality warper on our hand that doesn't change the local Hume level when they warp reality?"
Sarah was put off by what Nanku said.
Hume, developed by Doctor Scranton before he disappeared, was a way to determine the strength of reality in the local area. When a reality warper makes changes to the local environment, its local reality changes alongside the Hume level. One can then neutralize the changed reality by equalizing the Hume level, typically through a Scranton Reality Anchor.
"Yes, Captain. All of our current anomalous technologies like the Scranton Reality Anchors would not work on Goddess. We have no way to contain her. We can bury her in layers upon layers of concrete but that wouldn't do any good since she can very easily escape. Perhaps there is a Thaumiel-class SCP we can use but I can't say for sure."
Sarah chewed on the plastic spoon used to scoop up nutrition paste.
"Are we sure she's not a Deity from a divine space?"
Arthur asked again.
"There's no Akiva radiation, so yes, I'm sure."
A complete anomaly unlike any other, right when the Foundation is in its weakest state. Sarah cursed internally. They really will have to play softball with this entity given how the Foundation simply cannot afford to spend any more resources right now.
'We need all hands on deck', that was what Doctor Bright, the new Director of Site-19, had told her. But if Sarah had her way, she would seek to contain every single anomaly in existence.
This is going to be a fucking disaster.
Damn it, Sarah cursed again, this is going to end just like the last time Foundation tried to employ SCPs. Omega-7 ended in disaster and the complete loss of a containment site as SCP-076-2 went on a rampage. It served as a lesson to the Foundation's higher-ups to never employ anything anomalous.
But now, she's forced to since apparently. Goddess was just too 'useful' and 'desperate time calls for desperate measure'.
Fucking Bright.
Sarah let out an audible sigh as she finished the nutrition paste.
"Irantu's telling us to come in," Nanku said.
"Alright let's go."
With that, Sarah took the driver's seat once more and saw how on the monitor, the heavily armored garage door was being lifted open by Goddess.
Sarah pressed lightly on the gas pedal and moved in, the APC barely able to fit into through the doorway.
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