"People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when knowledge is so damn frightening."
- Laurell K. Hamilton (The Laughing Corpse)
CASE FILE TD9IQ
[Extract from a personal journal entry by Dr. Yuuta Satou, dated October 5, 2008. Translated from Japanese to English.]
Throughout two million years of human history on this planet, as cultures and civilizations rise and develop, so do their own myths and legends. Many of these tales share similar concepts; divinity, spirituality, forces of good and evil. Gods that provide salvation and blessing, demons that bring havoc and corruption.
In this day and age, while religion is still growing strong, its grip on society has begun to weaken. Many have embraced the possibility that there is no God, that these are just mere stories with as much truth as the existence of Superman or Santa Claus.
This, however, begs the question. If gods and demons never existed, what about their prevalence in various historical cultures worldwide? Why is it that different civilizations have their own religions and interpretations of the supernatural? If you chip away at the differences between these mythologies, you will ultimately find the same fundamental elements between them.
So, does the supernatural exist? For years I've pondered this question. Growing up in a religion-free household, I was largely neutral to the idea yet found it fascinating. The possibilities of the unknown both intrigued and frightened me all the same.
It was not until years ago that I found the answer I was looking for, in perhaps the most bizarre way possible.
I was invited to be the chief historian aboard Operation Caesar, an archaeological expedition to Rome. We were mainly searching for artefacts dating back to the era of Julius Caesar, as shown by the name. What I found instead was something that changed my view of the world and of history forever.
I... don't even know how to begin describing it. We drilled our way into a so-called alternate dimension, some kind of surreal nightmarish fever dream. A bright, piercing pink sky enveloping the vast emptiness. A cackling cocophony of carnival jingles and guttural howls. The cloyingly sweet stench of death.
But nothing prepared me for the monstrosity that called this place home - an abominable malformed mess rooted to the ground; a formless, pulsating torso of gears, clockwork, and God knows what else. The creature danced to the twisted tune; a waltz of madness, a warping misshapen body swaying to and fro.
What could I even do at that point? There seemed to be no escape. That was the thing about this place - it was just so heavy and oppressive, instantly draining the life out of anyone unlucky enough to step foot within its confines. To say I couldn't resist was an understatement.
And then a series of explosions shook me out of my trance. The monster's guttural scream - oh god, the scream - boomed in response to the blasts. Mustering the courage to finally look up, I laid eyes upon something most unbelievable - a young girl dressed in a vibrant military-like outfit levitating in mid-air, a Rocket Launcher perched on her shoulder. To my overwrought mind, it was as if she was an angel who had come to rescue me.
I think I must've passed out from shock at that point, because the next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed.
The next few weeks passed by in a blur. I learned that I was found about a few hundred metres away from the dig site, which remained mysteriously untouched. I was the only surviving crew member; the rest remained missing. When the police questioned me, I attempted to tell them about my experiences the best I could. Of course, they didn't believe it. I never expected them to. Same thing happened when I was sent for therapy. Hallucinations, they said. None of it was real.
But it was. I know it was, and I needed to prove myself.
The police eventually ceased investigations due to lack of concrete evidence. To them, it was as if the crew members disappeared without a trace, like ships within the Bermuda Triangle. They couldn't tell what really happened at the site.
They were fortunate enough not to have seen the truth for themselves.
