CHAPTER 10: SCRIBE-OF-WORLDS
IRE Identifier: 1549
Codification: Upsilon (Unstable)
Description: IRE U-1549 is a forum website associated with the domain ‘www.scribe-of-worlds.com’ that contains an anomalous onload script titled “fairywitness.js”. It is highly probable that this Irregular Runic Entity takes on the form of a JavaScript file in order to mark returning users for its own deceptive agenda. Users are instructed in occult followings and provided with ritualistic magecraft that delves into the topics of [REDACTED]. A communications portal is available for user interaction, and a forums page exists where users discuss their achievements in the occult and engage in various illegal transactions.
Effects: Users are known to have gone insane or turned into cannibalistic monsters devoid of conscious thought. Those marked by its corrupted Anima would occasionally show signs of delirium, chanting “All Hail The Faerie Court!” Before inflicting injuries upon themselves and others in their vicinity. Long-term exposure to any known victim will lead to similar symptoms. Those who are found to have been marked by fairywitness.js are to be neutralized immediately unless instructed otherwise.
Addendum: IRE U-1549 was discovered by a Human Preservation Project web-crawler. Further experimentation showed that the Anima signals utilized by U-1549 could bypass all major ISP blockers and firewalls. Access to the website must be granted by Director Level personnel only.
The information she read in the file played in Julie’s mind. It was only on her second day that Dr. Miguel shared the case file with her. According to her colleagues, it wasn’t uncommon for rogue IREs to pop up around the city, especially one as densely packed as New York. But for it to be this deadly and could spread not just airborne, but through internet cables themselves was highly unusual. Despite being an intern, her division just so happened to be in the area, and the team she was instructed to work with was dispatched to investigate the situation.
And now, she was faced with this same digital creature with no one to help her.
She pulled out the pistol from its holster and aimed at the computer monitor. Why the fuck is my luck so dogshit? Squinting her eyes, she pulled the trigger, shooting a hole through the monitor screen. The recoil almost caused her to lose her grip on the gun. She opened her eyes faintly and looked back at the monitor screen, which was now in shambles as the pixels continued to shift unevenly.
I can’t let my guard down… It could still be alive… Whatever the fuck it even is…
She couldn’t be more right. Just as she was about to back away and head for the stairs, she noticed a faint, golden butterfly in her peripheral vision. She flinched backwards as the golden light flashed in her eyes.
“Ugh!” She rubbed her eyelids and crawled back in fear while shakily aiming the gun at the broken monitor. “What the hell just happened?!”
She couldn’t make sense of what had changed, but… There was definitely a change. Her head was filled with faint whispers that raved on within her mind, and yet, they were too soft to fully hear. Every time she focused on them, a stinging sensation would take over her body.
Before she could even lift herself off the ground, the two guards rushed up the stairs with their weapons pointed at her. Her eyes widened when she noticed their presence.
“Report?”
She lifted her hands up and took a deep breath before answering. “IRE U-1549 was spotted. It displayed itself on the monitor screen inside the room. I sh-shot at it…” I hope they don’t think I'm lying…
The agent signaled to his partner to investigate while he kept aiming the weapon at her. “Anything else?”
Her brows furrowed. What else should I say?... She suddenly remembered the golden butterfly she saw before her vision turned blurry, as well as the faint whispers within her head—a clear sign of being corrupted or marked by the rogue IRE. A chill ran down her spine. Would the organization kill her if she disclosed this? Julie was always cursed with bad luck, but she didn’t lack intelligence. Reading over the case file on this IRE the day before already told her a bit about how those who were corrupted by its influence were treated. There was no way in hell that she would ever disclose that information.
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“N-nothing else for now… But it could still be traversing across the other devices in the home.”
The soldier stared at her coldly while continuing to aim his weapon at her. Sweat trickled down her chin as she tried to ignore his suspicions.
“Nothing else to see here,” the other agent reported. He had found no signs of IRE U-1549 in Soren’s room. The two soldiers looked at each other and nodded. One of them forcefully pulled Julie away by her shirt, dragging her outside the home while the other went to investigate the other rooms in the house.
Julie straightened out her shirt and tie while sitting down on the pavement outside the house. She stared up at the agent standing next to her—weapon still drawn to her head in case she even dared to try anything funny. He activated his communications device.
“Incident Report: Agent B34 came into contact with IRE U-1549, according to her account. Requesting PTF-0 support.”
Julie frowned. PTF-0? Why would they be needed? It had only been a few days for her since she had joined the organization—many of the divisions and units were still very unfamiliar to her. But she did understand one thing and that PTF-0 was only requested in extremely dire situations such as dealing with Pandemonium class IREs or events that could threaten entire populations.
Even if the agent discovered something was wrong with her, PTF-3’s omega division would have been more than enough to deal with it. Heck, even the Special Services Agent that’s holding her right now could kill her without even batting an eye.
Her thoughts continued to swirl for a few more agonizing minutes before three armored vehicles rolled into the street. The sigil of a shield in the shape of a globe pierced by a sword was visibly painted on their sides. Julie watched as all the agents hopped out smoothly, ready for action. However, her eyes darted to where Dr. Miguel was.
The signature kind smile and slightly grayish hair, paired with his usual lab coat that was marked with the Human Preservation Project’s logo, reflected in her eyes. Finally…
The man walked toward her slowly before smiling at the agent who was saluting him. “Intern B34, I heard you have come under an unusual situation?”
She smiled faintly in relief. “Y-yes… I was approached by what I believe was IRE U-1549… It displayed itself on the monitor screen with text that read, ‘Scribe-of-Worlds’ in bold lettering. Beneath the text was a loading icon. I believed it was trying to attack me, so I immediately used my firearm and shot the monitor screen…”
His hand ran across his chin, “I see…” He looked at the agent standing next to her. “Have you requested PTF-0 support?”
The man saluted, “Yes sir. They will arrive in 5 minutes and 43 seconds.”
“Good.” He looked back down at Julie and frowned. “It seems like we will need to update our understanding of the true nature of IRE U-1549. Its codification needs to be changed from Upsilon to Alpha once again…”
Julie tilted her head sideways. “Why is that?”
“It's because its nature has changed. We were under the assumption that it did not approach its victims directly—that it simply spread through word of mouth. As more people learn about the website and search up its domain, they would come into contact with the onload script that forms a connection to them using Anima. But that does not seem to be the case if we take your word as a gospel.”
She gulped. Could they still be suspicious of my story?
Dr. Miguel continued. “Secondly, since it showed up in this home, it's fair to say that it has some connection to Soren Andersen’s disappearance case as well as his ability to perform occultist magecraft. Though, according to what Director 004’s recount, it seems that the ritual he was conducting was far different from any of the other mysticism knowledge that was advertised to users on the website. It also doesn’t really make sense for him to disappear, as all our previous research showed that users of IRE U-1549 simply lost control of their minds or turned into cannibalistic monsters. None of them disappeared spontaneously like this…”
He ran his hand through his hair. “However, none of this will really impact you. Your involvement in this case will be over once we know more about your connection to the individual named Soren Andersen.”
She sighed in relief. “I see… I'm guessing you guys will be doing some tests on me to see if anything is wrong due to my interaction with IRE U-1549?”
Miguel’s eyes darted back toward her. “Very astute… Yes, that will be a requirement. A psychological and physiological assessment will also be taken. But do not worry, I’ve already somewhat assessed your current state. I doubt they will give you any trouble.”
Julie sighed. My luck is truly rotten. There was nothing she could do but accept it. At the same time, her thoughts lingered on the info regarding the case and IRE U-1549. Between me and Soren, I wonder who is more unfortunate right now? I hope it’s him, hehe.