In-Character (IC) Info:
Onyx Path Publishing
Chronicles of Darkness
Chronicles of Darkness
Venue: Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Ed
Post by: Jerad Sayler
TASK FORCE: VALKYRIE
THE FOLLOWING IS CLASSIFIED:
TOP SECRET///SPECIAL ACCESS///CBS//GG-RW//BLB//
Shamelessly lifted and converted from The Laundry Files rpg based on the books by Charles Stross. I am planning on adapting some of the lore as part of Task Force: Valkyrie. Most of the Lovecraft lore I utilize for Abyssal purposes in Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition. In fact, our next Chronicle - Mage 3: The 6th Watchtower will be largely dedicated to fighting the Abyss. And that is all the spoilers you get.
The following requires Special Access///CODICILBLACKSKULL//GODGAMERAINBOW//BLOODYBARON. If you do not have CBS//GG-RW//BLB access you are not cleared to read this document. Violating special access will result in criminal prosecution. The unauthorized disclosure of government secrets is High Treason and is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and death. This is your final warning.
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A series of three TFV-accredited counseling services are mandatory after reading this file.
Preamble
This is a briefing document intended for the use of Squadron 666 or TFV personnel who are about to be deployed as part of the CODICIL BLACK SKULL observation and exploration missions. If this is the first time you have been deployed offworld, ensure that you are familiar with relevant safety, survival and security procedures.
Overview
The purpose of CODICIL BLACK SKULL is to ensure that an entity known as the Sleeper remains secure and undisturbed. The Sleeper currently resides in a tomb atop an alien pyramid, surrounded by a forest of impaled reanimated corpses called the Wall of Pain. Our role is to ensure that no-one wakes the Sleeper, and to put it back down should it ever rise.
The Plateau
The Sleeper’s tomb stands on a distant planet, across the gulf of interstellar space. Attempts to locate it using conventional astronomy have so far been unsuccessful. Most researchers assume that it is somewhere within our galaxy, but there are no guarantees of that. It could be in another galaxy, or in another dimension, or be billions of years in our past or future – or even all three. “The Old Ones walk serene and primal between dimensions, untrammeled by our petty notions of space and time” to quote the Apocalypse Codex (see APOCALYPSE CODEX).
The planet – or at least the Sleeper’s Plateau – has a thin, but breathable atmosphere, suggesting that at some point life held sway here, cracking the oxygen out of the bluish rocks. Foot patrols to the planet carry extra oxygen supplies with them, but additional O2 is only needed during periods of heavy exertion. The only native flora discovered by past expeditions is a purple lichen that is mildly poisonous, but has powerful hallucinogenic and oneiromantic qualities. Background radiation is approximately 20 millisieverts per hour (or as much as a nuclear power worker would absorb over the course of a year) – hot, but not unmanageable.
The primary source of this radiation appears to be a mobile source that orbits the planet once every six hours, possibly a satellite or moon composed of highly radioactive material. Gravity is approximately 70% that of Earth. The planet rotates once every 31 hours. There is little discernible seasonal variation in temperature, or in weather – you can expect clear skies and whispering, maddening winds year-round. Average temperatures hover just below freezing.
The planet has no magnetic field. Directions therefore use the pyramid’s sides as the cardinal directions. Rock samples recovered from the Sleeper’s Plateau show that the pyramid rests on a granite outcrop. The rocks have a high proportion of selenium and cobalt, as well as traces of elements without official names from deep within the island of stability. The site appears to have been selected at least partially for its geological qualities; up until recent events, seismic instruments found no signs of earthquakes or other volcanic activity.
Micrometeorite impacts are considerable less than would be expected, suggesting some force protects the plateau from disaster. The rest of the planet is largely unexplored. All known Gates opened to the planet appear on or near the Plateau. Squadron 666’s aerial observations show signs of other structures in the lowlands around the Plateau, but no expedition has ever reached these cryptic mausoleums and returned.
Exploring the Plateau has an extremely deleterious effect on the human psyche. Even with wards, medication and training, most visitors experience delusions or suffer psychological breakdown within 48 hours. Therefore, except in emergencies, all contact with the Plateau and the Pyramid is minimized through use of supersonic over flight.
Operations on the Plateau
Standard insertion protocol is via a Class 3 Gate. As such gates have an operational lifetime measured hundreds of seconds, you will either take your own Gate-making technology with you, or have a scheduled extraction time. Radio on the Plateau is unreliable over distances longer than 500 meters, and power drains faster there than it does here. Electronic equipment fails alarmingly quickly on the Plateau, so keep visits short and carry spares. Take precautions – treat the Plateau as though it was a radioactive hot zone, and always ensure that your personal wards are active. Unwarded individuals perish within a few hours of exposure to the Plateau.
The Pyramid
The Pyramid of the Sleeper is a four-sided stepped pyramid, made from the same stone as the Plateau, black granite. It is composed of approximately two million stone blocks that at a short distance appear seamless and almost polished. Analysis of the stone blocks reveals traces of partially eroded symbols or markings. No translation exists, although some cults have partial transcriptions of the symbols and use them as part of their mysteries as a substitution cipher.
Despite the efforts of generations of astronomers, astrologers, numerologists and researchers, the
pyramid does not appear to be aligned with any celestial object, nor does it appear to conceal any clues about he impending date of CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (CNG). Its architecture does not correspond to that of any known human culture other than its iconic shape and being made from blocks. There are no roads, ramps, quarries, waste tailings or any other signs of construction around the pyramid. The stones are mortared together with an unknown substance that defies chemical analysis. It is a blackish-grey resinous compound that is a perfect electrical insulator.
While dating methods based on radioactive decay are unreliable without a better baseline for comparison, most researchers assume the pyramid is less than ten million years old. The size of the pyramid is a matter of debate. Scale within dreams and visions is of course unreliable, and visions of the pyramid being ‘miles high’ or ‘bigger than a mountain’ can be discarded. However, four expeditions recorded different heights for the pyramid despite using reliable scientific instruments. The height ranged between 120 and 180 meters. This discrepancy continued into the CODICIL BLACK SKULL era; observations by Concord missions have recorded multiple different heights for the pyramid. These differences in scale cannot be explained by human error or the movement of the pyramid (the area is tectonically stable).
The steps are shallow enough to be ascended easily by humans in this low gravity. Many reports from those who have ascended the pyramid speak of falling into a trance or experiencing bursts of missing time, as though the monotonous act of climbing all of those steps is hypnotic.
In addition to the Wall of Pain at the foot and the temple on top, there are several other sites of interest on the Sleeper’s Pyramid:
• The Rosetta Stone: A series of stone blocks on the ‘north’ face of the pyramid whose markings differ from the rest of the pyramid; in fact, linguistic analysis suggests that there is a better than 80% probability that these markings are in a completely different language. This second language could help translate the cryptic symbols on the rest of the pyramid, and is the focus of intensive linguistic research by TFV and several other groups.
• The Watchtower: The watchtower is a small ruined structure located half-way up the southeastern ridge of the pyramid. Most of the building has collapsed, but computer reconstruction shows that it was a twenty-meter-tall round tower made of the same stone as the rest of the pyramid. It is clearly a later addition, as the original steps are still visible beneath the scattered debris. The bottom quarter of the tower still stands, and was used as a base by the fourth expedition. The stones of the watchtower are unmarked.
• The Erratic: Located approximately one kilometer from the pyramid, on the far side of the Wall of Pain, this is a single carved stone block like the ones that make up the pyramid. Why this stone was rejected by the builders is a mystery. The stone was dragged six meters south by persons or forces unknown in 1992.
• The Baron’s Mark: The fourth expedition found a broken cavalry saber (a shashka saber, identical to those used by Cossack soldiers) along with a water bottle and some rags on the west face of the pyramid. Someone – presumably Baron Ungern von Sternberg – used the saber to carve a large ‘X’ into a nearby block. The Fourth Expedition examined the block in detail, but reported nothing unusual about it.
• The Door: The existence of secret tunnels and chambers within the pyramid has long been rumored, but never confirmed, and ground-penetrating radar fails to penetrate the structure. In 1947, the Laundry obtained a photograph of a tapestry from a Tibetan monastery that appeared to depict a door or passageway half-way up the west face (near the Baron’s Mark). The Fourth Expedition investigated this region, and found nothing. However, in 1984, a BLACK CODICIL overflight photographed six figures scaling that section of the pyramid. The Concorde made a second pass twelve minutes later, and found no sign of the intruders.
• The Rapture Walk: This is a section of the pyramid near the temple. There are no discernible physical signs that distinguish the Rapture Walk from the rest of the structure, but two expedition team members committed suicide here by hurling themselves off the walk and falling to their deaths. Furthermore, examination of the stones below the Rapture Walk revealed the presence of old blood and tissue, suggesting that other visitors also committed suicide by jumping off that spot.
The Wall of Pain
The Wall was constructed by the ‘Bloody White Baron of Mongolia,’ Ungern von Sternberg, probably between 1919 and 1921. The Wall consists of two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-four human corpses impaled on stainless steel spikes. The Wall completely surrounds the pyramid on all four sides, and is between three and nine corpses deep all along its perimeter.
Most of the corpses are those of Russian soldiers from the Fifth Red Army; the Baron appears to have filled any gaps in the wall with Mongolian peasants or men from his own rag-tag army. Despite being nearly a century old, the corpses are well preserved thanks to the cool temperatures, high radiation and lack of native bacteria. The corpses still wear their uniforms and carry their equipment, including rifles and swords. Most of the corpses’ weapons were found in their scabbards or strapped to their backs, leading some researchers to suggest that the weapons were returned after the bodies were impaled. Rope burns and other scarring, together with some signs of dehydration and starvation imply that the victims were prisoners who were marched alive onto the Plateau, then impaled.
The two-meter steel spikes are made from a high chromium steel alloy, similar to stainless steel. Where exactly the Baron got his hands on nearly three thousand high-quality steel spikes in the middle of Mongolia is a minor mystery. The fence was constructed with the aid of the Bogd Khan’s priests, although the Baron appears to have greatly modified their rituals.
Injuries and post-mortem contortions strongly imply that the victims were impaled on the spikes while still alive. Most were impaled through the chest, but others were impaled through the anus, or else impaled multiple times through, say, the thigh and forearm. Marks on the necks and faces suggest that the victims’ heads were restrained at the time of death – they were probably forced to stare at the pyramid as they died.
The Wall of Pain is one of the greatest examples of occult countermeasures ever created by humanity. Its purpose is at least three-fold. Firstly, it is a wall of nightmares. The necromantic energy of all those deaths blocks the dreams of the Sleeper. Extrapolating from written accounts and other sources, it appears that nightmares of the Plateau were much more common before 1921. This was, it seems, the primary impetus behind Sternberg’s actions – he saved the Bogd Khan from bad dreams.
Secondly, the trapped dead observe the Pyramid, blocking Gate spells and preventing anyone from using magic to bypass the wall.
They are also theorized to observe the Sleeper, collapsing its quantum waveform and keeping it partially quiescent. The effectiveness of this spell is unknown. It is possible that Sternberg’s actions prolonged the quiet period before CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (CNG); it is equally possible that the Sleeper is unaffected by the spell, and will wake on cue when the Stars are Right. No-one wants to try kicking the Wall that might be holding back the end of the world.
Thirdly, the corpses that make up the wall are vessels for possessor entities (Feeders in the Night). If anyone trespasses too close to the Pyramid, the entities wake up and destroy them. The guardians of the Wall of Pain are considerably tougher than the average Residual Human Resource, with special capabilities beyond their physicality. Those killed by the possessors are then added to the Wall of Pain. Squadron 666 observation photos are regularly analyzed for new additions to the Wall.
Navigating the Wall of Pain
Sternberg’s Wall prevents any intruder from reaching the Pyramid, and so far has proved almost completely impenetrable. Other than the 1984 incident, there were no successful attempts by unwanted persons to gain access the Pyramid until the Colorado Incident (see OPERATION: BLOODY BARON).
The only known safe way to cross the Wall is with the aid of TEAPOT, the ‘Eater of Souls’ entity that formerly inhabited the body of Evgenie Burdokovskii, and is currently incarnated in a security location. As TEAPOT helped build the wall, it knows the transitive order in which the Wall must be deconstructed to break down the spell.
Recently, a cult in Colorado managed to open two Gates inside the Wall of Pain’s protected zone, a feat that was previously believed to be impossible. Spectral analysis suggests that the Sleeper stirred and helped them breach the containment field. If so, then the Wall may become increasingly unreliable as the conjunction approaches, raising the likelihood that troops will have to be deployed to the Plateau to augment the Pyramid’s security.
The Temple of the Sleeper
Atop the Pyramid is a temple containing the tomb of the Sleeper. The temple is largely unexplored, following the fifth expedition incident. However, through a combination of fourth expedition photographs, eye-witness accounts and secondary sources, we can state the following:
The temple consists of 128 pillars, each 23 meters tall and 2.5 meters in diameter supporting a domed roof some 30 meters high at its apex. The temple is a square with sides of 128 meters in length. There are four entrances, one at the mid-point of each side of the Pyramid. These doorways are 3 meters wide and 6 meters high, and have wooden doors. (The wooden doors are a new addition, and are made from Mongolian oak.) The pillars and door frames are all decorated with disturbing alien glyphs and symbols. As the scroll that lead to the possession of Evgenie Burdokovskii was derived from the markings on the temple, personnel are enjoined not to examine the symbols without prior authorization and proper safety procedures.
Surrounding the tomb are rows of benches, made out of a crystalline substance. Unlike the rest of the cyclopean structure, these benches are human in scale. They may be later additions to the Temple, as they do not match either the surrounding architecture or the style of décor. Each bench has a small gully behind each seat, suggesting they were meant for some humanoid species with a tail.
The Tomb of the Sleeper stands in the center of the temple on a raised dais. It is a sarcophagus four metres in length. Markings on the Tomb are entirely unlike those on the Pyramid or the Temple, suggesting that the Tomb predates both edifices. The Tomb is the nexus for a powerful thaumaturgical effect, probably either a binding or a suspended-animation spell. Possibly, the Sleeper was deliberately imprisoned here for some unknown purpose, or took refuge here to wait out the long aeons until it could exist again in our universe.
Operations near the Temple
If the Sleeper awakens, it will trigger a series of events that will lead inevitably to CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN (CNG). Its return is a signal to the other Great Old One entities that the stars are right and that they should return. It is the first shot in the apocalypse. Therefore, you are advised and enjoined to stay well away from the Temple. There are power sources and magical forces buried deep within the Pyramid that focus on the Temple. We do not know what might disturb them. Damage to the Temple, touching the Tomb, loud noises, the wrong thoughts – consider the Tomb to be an unexploded and highly unstable nuclear bomb, and keep clear unless there is absolutely no other choice.
Previous Expeditions and Contacts
There are natural portals and dimensional fault lines (aka ‘thin places’) where the Plateau touches our world. Several of these portals are in Central Asia; other confirmed portals exist in Antarctica. The Miskatonic Expedition of 1931 encountered one such portal, when Charles Danforth saw a bizarre vision that drove him mad, likely as a result of a fleeting psychic contact with the Sleeper.
Images and stories of a wonderful and terrible Plateau and sleeping kings are common in many cultures; the Sleeper was out there, waiting, long before human civilization arose. We grew up in the shadow of that dreadful Plateau, and it has informed our myths and nightmares throughout history.
Prehuman Contact
• Tomb Builders: Presumably, some race built the Temple and the Pyramid around the Sleeper. We know nothing about this species except the structures that they left behind. It is unlikely that they evolved on the world of the Dead Plateau, unless some cataclysm (perhaps a previous conjunction) erased all signs of their civilization and destroyed most of the biosphere.
• ANNING BLUE SKULL: The proximity of the Plateau of the Sleeper to ANNING BLUE SKULL ruins in Antarctica implies that they knew of its existence. Certain bas relief carvings in their cities imply that they dreaded something in the mountains near their city.
BLOODY BARON (BLB)
As per Section V.5 of the Second Treaty of Nice, all developments and information regarding the Dead Plateau and the Sleeper are shared with the TFV's European partners on the BLOODY BARON committee. Please review guidelines on information sharing and cross-agency encryption and warding when submitting any reports with BLOODY BARON clearance.
• DANUBE CROSSING: The pews in the Temple certainly resemble their reputed physiology.
• BLUE HADES: We cannot be certain that BLUE HADES had contact with the Plateau, but drawing a line through the Church of the Sleeping Christ to their inhuman patrons strongly suggests it.
Prehistoric Contacts
• Sigils matching those found on the Pyramid were found in a cave in Afghanistan, and verified to be more than 30,000 years old. Found far was a Babylonian temple to the god Sin.
• The Mesopotamians worshipped (or placated) fearful gods in pyramids.
Historic Contacts
• Awareness of the Plateau is ancient among the mystics of Mongolia. The Priests of the Black Buddha, an obscure religious order in Tibetan Buddhism, conducted rituals that often involved visions or physical pilgrimages to the Plateau. The Priests of the Black Buddha were reputed to have driven a tribe or group of cannibals out of the mountains. These cannibals were likely either the Tcho-Tcho tribe, or devotees of a radical sect of the Dzogschen school of Buddhism.
• Baron Ungern von Sternberg, an eccentric Russian military officer, mystic and warlord, visited the Plateau to construct the Wall of Pain. The Bloody Baron fought on the pro-monarchist side of the Russian civil war, and believed that he was destined to become a new Genghis Khan, who would lead an army of Mongolian warriors to conquer Eurasia and purge the land of Bolsheviks and other traitors. As part of his crusade, he allied himself with the Bogd Khan, the eighth Bodg Gegen. The Bogd Khan was the third most senior lama in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and the de facto ruler of Northern Mongolia. The Baron won the Bogd Khan’s support and trust by promising to end the nightmarish visions and dreams sent from the Pyramid.
• The OGPU (the precursor agency to the KGB) had a long-standing interest in the Plateau. Gleb Ivanovich Bokii – secret policeman, cryptographer and Rosicrucian – took over the OGPU’s petsotdel department in 1923. That included 7th Section (which later became the Thirteenth Directorate after another series of Stalinist purges and reorganisations). He tried to dispatch an official expedition to Tibet in 1925, but elements in the OGPU’s Foreign Intelligence section blocked him (and accused him of drinking blood, to boot). He tried to do an end run around Foreign Intelligence by sending Yakov Blumkin to sneak into Tibet. Given Blumkin next shows up in Sternberg’s old stronghold at Dauria, we believe he made it to the Plateau and learned about the Wall of Pain.
Expeditions
Following TEAPOT’s initial debriefing in 1945, the Laundry became aware of the danger posed by the Sleeper. Two expeditions in Tibet failed to locate any ‘thin places’ that crossed over to the Plateau, and a third expedition to Antarctica was cancelled due to more pressing business elsewhere. It was not until 1961 that the Laundry mounted a successful expedition to the Plateau.
The First Expedition reached the Plateau via the Gate on Bogd Uhl Mountain in Mongolia. On arrival, it conducted a cartographic survey of the Plateau, although it did not dare to cross the Wall of Pain. Two men died of exposure on the Plateau, and another three perished or went mad on the return journey. Still, the expedition confirmed that the Wall was still in place. The Second Expedition (1965) used an artificial Gate opened in the basement of the University of Manchester using the Atlas-3 mainframe, in one of the first large scale invocations using computational demonology.
The Second Expedition took more scientific equipment with it, and were able to measure thaumic flux and radiation on the Plateau, as well as being able to conduct a closer examination of the Wall of Pain.
The disastrous Third Expedition (1966) attempted to penetrate the Wall of Pain to reach the Pyramid. Arcana Analysis believed that it was possible to fool the watchers using a thanothic manipulation; this proved to be incorrect, and the entire expedition was killed. Their bodies are still visible on the south-east approach to the Pyramid.
The Fourth Expedition (1968), mounted with the assistance of TEAPOT, was the only expedition to cross the Wall. The means used to do so are classified WIDOW GAMBIT and are unlikely to be used again. Six members of the Fourth Expedition successfully crossed the Wall of Pain and spent 14 hours on and around the Pyramid of the Sleeper. The crossing was a one-way mission, but their observations and samples were placed in a glider and flown off the Pyramid to be collected by the support team on the far side. Of the six officers who crossed over, four committed suicide (two on the Rapture Walk, two using their cyanide tablets), one was shot when he attempted to open the Sleeper’s Tomb, and the last member vanished and is presumed to be dead somewhere inside the Temple. Following the Fourth Expedition, Squadron 666 took over the duty of monitoring the Pyramid.
The Fifth Expedition (1984) conducted a search of the Plateau following the sighting of six intruders. It found footprints leading up to the Wall, but there were no signs of damage or any other tampering. Two members of the team returned to the Gate to contact mission control and request use of WIDOW GAMBIT. However, while waiting for clearance, the remaining team saw a bright light flash from inside the temple, followed by ‘an inhuman scream.’ Moments later, they received a radio transmission informing them that everyone in the Temple had perished. Mission control denied the use of WIDOW GAMBIT, and there were no further transmissions or unusual activity at the Temple.
The Sixth and final Expedition (1987) planned to rappel down the side of the Plateau and explore a nearby structure nicknamed ‘The Monastery.’ A base camp was established at the edge of the Plateau, while the advance team descended to the plains below. They crossed six kilometres of broken terrain without incident before contact was abruptly cut off by a sudden dust storm. When visibility cleared, there was no sign of the advance team. No radio transmissions or other signals were received, suggesting that whatever happened to them happened very quickly.
- - Transmission Transcript - - - - - - - -
Classified CODICIL BLACK SKULL - 8/9/84 0519 hours.
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SMITH: Bravo, any sign?
BRAVO: Not yet, sir. Doorway is still clear.
SMITH: All right, let’s assume that we’re going to do this. Bravo, you’ll escort REDACTED when –
UNKNOWN VOICE: ... dead...
SMITH: Say again.
UNKNOWN VOICE: ... please... I can hear the flute...
SMITH: Who is this?
UNKNOWN VOICE: We looked beneath his mask... I saw... all dead...
SMITH: Are you on the Pyramid? Who are you?
UNKNOWN VOICE: You fool... we’re all dead...
JACOBSEN: I think it’s coming from up there, sir. Short range.
SMITH: Who are you? Identify yourself! Where are you?
SMITH: Identify yourself!
SMITH: Anybody see them?
SMITH: Anything?
---END-
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Squadron 666
The high casualty rate of ground expeditions onto the Plateau, coupled with the desire to develop more effective countermeasures against the Sleeper, led to the re-tasking of Squadron No. 666 with the mission of conducting regular reconnaissance overflights of the Dead Plateau. Squadron No. 666 was an Army Air Corps Air Observation Post unit up until 1964, when it was retrained to conduct offworld operations. The first flight of the new 666 Squadron took place in 1968, and it has successfully completed one recon flight every week since then from their base at RAF Cosford.
Initially, Squadron 666 flew English Electric Canberras, refitted with optics and thaumaturgy equipment in addition to their payload of WE.177 tactical nuclear weapons. The Canberras were escorted on their flights by BAC Lightnings.
After 1978, the Squadron switched to using four Concorde refitted for occult reconnaissance and nuclear strike capability, while Tornado F3s (and, latterly, Eurofighters) gradually replaced the Lightnings in performing escort duty.
Squadron 666 currently operates a stable of four MQ-9ORS Reapers to provide unmanned observations of the Pyramid.
Manned FlightsCurrently, there are no manned flights to the Plateau, and all Concorde aircraft are undergoing extensive maintenance and exorcism. However, due to the unreliability of the Reaper drones when operating on the far side, the decision has been made to reactivate CODICIL BLACK SKULL manned flights as soon as possible.
Under standard conditions, flights take off at night from RAF Cosford and fly west over the Atlantic, refueling from a VC10 tanker based at RAF St. Athan in Wales. The loadmaster on board then opens a Class Three gate big enough for the lead aircraft plus escorts.
Gate spells targeting the Sleeper’s world are unreliable. The Plateau itself is remarkably easy to get to. The barriers between realities are thin there; it almost seems to draw travelers towards it. However, opening a Gate away from or above the Plateau is much more problematic. The far end of the Gate usually opens at an altitude of 2,000 metres within 50 kilometres of the Plateau, but considerable variation has been observed. Some flights narrowly avoided crashing into the Plateau itself; other flights arrived more than 200 kilometres off course and had to reorient themselves before commencing their scheduled overflight.
Standard watch protocol consists of flying three circuits of a racetrack pattern over the Plateau, using a rock formation nicknamed Bovington as a point of reference. Flying directly over the Pyramid itself or crossing the Wall of Pain is not permitted. During each pass, Concorde’s crew capture images using a combination of conventional aerial photography, FLIR, thamatography and Raytheon SAR/MTI dual mode radar. Up until 2001, flights also used a Tillinghast/SCRY4 Kirlian camera, but the use of this instrument has been discontinued except in emergencies due to its deleterious effects on airframe and crew. All missions now carry air-launched GABLE WINDOW pods as an alternative to Tillinghast fields. Concorde flights also gather atmospheric data and photograph the sky or stars above the Plateau. The escort planes carry dust collection pods, and fly lower over the Plateau.
Once the recon mission is complete, a second Gate is opened, and the flight returns to base. There, both crew and aircraft are exorcised. The Plateau is highly contaminated with necromantic energy. Squadron 666 crew are rotated regularly, and no member is allowed to log more than 200 hours on the other side.
Drone Flights
As of 2009, Squadron 666 switched to flying Reaper drones instead of sending manned flights into the Dead Plateau. These drones are launched from RAF Cosford and escorted by a recon aircraft (usually a Sentinel R1) equipped with a Gate generator. The drones fly through the Gate to the target world, while a second smaller Gate opens at the Remote Operations Centre at Winterbourne Gunner. Telemetry is sent through this second Gate via a sympathetic link, allowing group operators to control the drones even when the primary (physical) Gate closes.
The Sentinel circles until the Reaper flight completes its mission, then opens a second Class 3 gate to retrieve the drones. The intent of the switch to drones was to shield human operators from the deleterious effects of the Plateau.
Drone flights were suspended in 2010 following multiple mission failures. The sympathetic Gate link worked during test flights, but proved unreliable during field operations. Two drones failed to return to the exit Gate, and a third was destroyed in flight by an unidentified flying monster.
Post-Mission Analysis
Recon data from BLACK CODICIL flights is analyzed between each mission. Images from previous flights are compared for changes, allowing the quick identification of any new features or movement. Concorde’s crew complete a quick analysis while in flight; if they detect anything significant, then they flash a warning to the backup flight (see Threat Response). Between missions, staff at JARIC6 at RAF Brampton perform more detailed analysis of all readings and photographs.
Threat Response
One Concorde7 is always kept in readiness. Should analysis of images detect a threat, this aircraft can be dispatched to the Plateau to deal with the threat. (If an aircraft spots a potential threat during a reconnaissance flight, its orders are to return to our reality via a Gate, radio for authorization to engage, and then return to the Dead Plateau.) The threat response ladder for BLACK CODICIL is a short one, as no interference with the Pyramid can be permitted.
• Rung One: Intervention. A unit of paratroopers and support staff airdrop in (or Gate in) and secure
the Plateau and the Wall of Pain. Likely scenario: cultists attempt to deconstruct the Wall of Pain.
• Rung Two: Conventional Strike. The escort aircraft launch a precision strike on the threat using Brimstone air-to-ground missiles. Likely scenario: summoned horror attempts to roll over Wall of Pain.
• Rung Three: Nuclear Strike. Concorde drops WE.177 tactical nuclear device. Likely scenario: Sleeper awakens.
• Rung Four: REDACTED . Likely scenario REDACTED
Support
Squadron 666 can provide CAS (Close Air Support) to teams operating on the Plateau. While this capability has not previously been employed, all Squadron 666 pilots are trained in close air support when directed by a qualified FAC (Forward Air Controller). Teams operating on the Plateau can employ laser targeting equipment to direct bombing runs or missiles onto hostile targets. Due to the difficulty of reaching the Plateau and the notoriously unreliable communications in the area, CAS is limited to a single bombing run under most circumstances.
Afterword
The Watch on the Dead Plateau is the single most important duty you will ever undertake. If someone
succeeds in waking the Sleeper, they start a chain of events that ends in the destruction of our world. We must be prepared to make any sacrifice in order to prevent this catastrophe. Our mission is nothing less than the safety of the human race.
The Sleeper in the Pyramid is an Endgame Condition. Wake the Sleeper, and CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN kicks off.
The Plateau of the Sleeper
This place looks well and truly dead at first sight. I take three steps and nearly go arse over tit, for with each pace I land too late, too far away. Lower gravity than Earth, but not too low—this planet still has a breathable atmosphere, which suggests something is still putting oxygen into it. Above me the sky is dark, save for a broad sash of bluish glowing dust that crosses the upturned bowl of the heavens—and a sun, angry and red-eyed and much too small. It’s daytime and the milky way (or what passes for the ecliptic of the local galaxy) is visible and the ground underfoot
is dry, uneven grit and stone slabs. Mountains rise in the distance, beyond a fencelike series of isolated lumpy posts.
You have dreamed of this place. Everyone has. If you’re lucky, you forgot the dream upon waking, and it left only a lingering disquiet. Not everyone is so lucky. Not everyone wakes up. The Sleeper waits in a temple atop a Pyramid on a distant world. It is not dead, but lies in not-quite-eternal slumber, waiting for the strange eons to come again when the walls of reality become so thin it can tear them down and let its masters return to the universe they once ruled. That cold, lonely Plateau is not the only battleground in the Laundry’s struggle against the coming apocalypse, but it’s one of the most likely flashpoints. The end of the world is closer there.
Mechanics
“The Sleeper. You’re not saying it’s N’yar lath-Hotep itself ?”
“No, nothing that powerful: there is a hierarchy of horrors here, a ladder that must be climbed. But the thing in the pyramid can set in motion a chain of events that will ultimately open the doors of uncreation. To release it, they would best wait for the conjunction of chance: but it is in the nature of mortal cultists that they are impatient.” - The Fuller Memorandum
“One of the tools used by the monks was a preta, a hungry ghost: a body in its custody could function on the Sleeper’s Plateau far more effectively than any of Sternberg’s men, who had a tendency to die or go mad after only a few hours.” - The Fuller Memorandum
The Plateau’s a bad place, for very, very large values of bad. Player characters sent to the Plateau face numerous hazards.
Cold: Anyone on the Plateau must roll Endurance once per day; failure means that the character loses 1d6 Hit Points.
Thin Air: The lack of oxygen means that characters who exert themselves for more than a few minutes on the Plateau must make Endurance rolls; failure means the character feels lightheaded and becomes Fatigued.
Sanity: Those who walk in the shadow of the Sleeper often go mad. Characters lose 1d3/1d6
SAN every three hours while on the Plateau, in addition to any other SAN losses caused by encounters or uncanny experiences.
Health: The Plateau drains the life force from those who walk on it. Characters lose 1d6 Hit Points every three hours spent on it. Warded characters can count their ward as armour against this roll (so, if you’re wearing a Class 2 ward, you lose 1d6-2 Hit Points).
Characters that perish from this life-draining effect just fall dead where they stand, with no marks or symptoms.
Gear: Bad luck haunts the Plateau. The Gamemaster should call for Luck rolls at especially inconvenient moments to determine whether or not key pieces of gear succumb to the increased entropy of the Sleeper’s domain. Such items must be replaced or repaired. On the other, failure has to be mitigated, especially early in a campaign. It’s frustrating to have your character killed in the very first fight, and it’s even worse if you accidentally end the world (and, more importantly, the campaign) by failing in your very first adventure. That’s not an issue in novels and other fiction. There, the writer can decide whether or not a character succeeds. Roleplaying games bring interactivity and unpredictability to the story; it’s their blessing and also their curse. Things can and do go horribly wrong.
The Black Pharaoh
Follow the REM signal to a place where Leviathan eyelids hang heavy. So many eyes, scabbed with coral sores. May they never open. The annihilation signal is trapped, bouncing off triangular corners. But if the angles should ever bend or break...
Follow the signal to the land of dried Pharaoh meat. Deep crevices and steep mountainsides fold like hands in prayer, like a magician's secret palming, hiding the City of the Sun God from the world. An ancient pyramid rises from the depths.
Your vocal organs have no designation for the peculiar, foreign material of the pyramid. It reflects a ruddy hue. The cyclopean structure rises from a shining pool. Some long dead wretch named it the Divine Lake, and the name remains. The greasy film of the surface shows like a smoking mirror.
Oblivion contaminants detected. The Filth. The Filth!
Worship was done here, worship and bad things, This tri-sided tomb was the holiest of holy dwelings for the Aten religion. What is time to us? We stand outside. We hear the cult chanting from tongues that were ash three thousand years ago. They call to the terrible sun god.
Inside, this pyramid does not behave as pyramids should. The huge chamber in the centre houses a downward chasm into the fathomless nothing. The apex lacks a capstone, allowing moonlight to penetrate into the eldritch dim. Moonlight and stars. Yes. Seeing the stars must taunt it so. The gnawing hunger. An event horizon licking its lips with a tongue of concentrated gravity.
Deeper now, into tomb-heavy air. A tangible, ear-popping pressure - liquid flows strangely - objects too heavy or too light. A dull ringing. Reverberations from the chasm, mechanical sounds, metal straining like a submarine's hull. Not darkness, no, but an unlikely twilight. Your jelly eyes would adjust by now and see the impossible shapes below.
Only the most devoted are permitted here. They meditate and fast. Some starve themselves to death. Some throw themselves into the pit, following the mad whispers down and down and down.
Deeper still. Just a peek...
Signal disruption! Something rips our data-weave flesh. Away.
Whosoever entered that chasm never returned, save one. Akhenaten bathed in the blackness of eons, and climbed back out. When he expired, the sarcophagus of the Black Pharaoh was placed within the pyramid. The City of the Sun God was sealed. Egypt returned to the worship of their old gods. There Akhenaten abides, waiting for the return of the whispers.
Can you hear, sweetling? The behemoth eyelids tremble. May they never open. May the eye movements always be rapid. Let us pretend the whispering is only the desert wind.
