An Introduction to Silver Ridge

 In my post about helpful generators, I mentioned the town of Silver Ridge. This was a project of mine that started from an assignment in Advanced Poetry at Tusculum College (now University). I need to say this now. Poetry isn't generally my thing. I write primarily in prose and wouldn't have taken the class had I not needed to for my major. But, I am so glad I did. 

Even though my poetry wasn't great and I still don't feel confident sharing it, one of the assignments set was to write a poem about a small town. In addition to the poem, we had to come up with 50 assumptions (and they could all contradict each other) and a map. I mentioned a lack of poetic skills and my art skills are even worse. However, I'd recently gotten into creating maps using Microsoft Paint and knew that's how I would create the map. The assumptions and poem were going to be trickier. 

I started writing the assumptions with my hometown in mind. From there I began thinking about different parts of my hometown, different facets of living in a small Southern town in the heart of the Bible Belt and mining country (coal and iron, specifically). That helped with the assumptions because I was able to write about churches, small town drama, the house by the bank that looks like it's home to a few ghosts, a yearly festival celebrating a type of fruit, the museum in the basement of the courthouse, and of course, a mine collapse. 

From there, the poem came together without any problem. My town poem was so well-received that for the final poem of the class, which was personalized for each student, my professor assigned me to write another poem that revisited Silver Ridge and the characters met there. I enjoyed these poems so much that when we did a public reading at the Willow Tree, these two poems were the ones I chose to read. Even after graduating, Silver Ridge never left me. I keep revisiting this town and I revised the map, fleshed it out to be more of a town. 

For example, the map went from this when I first created it:

To this in its final version after I'd worked on it:

Is it perfect? No, but it does give me an idea of where things are in the town. 

I'm still working on Silver Ridge, but the map is mostly done. It needs to look better, but I'm proud of it considering I don't have any artistic skills. The map isn't the only thing that's been worked on. The subdivisions have names now, so do the variety of shops. That's where generators came in handy, naming the shops. The subdivisions were all named after things that can be mined (diamonds, gold, lead, cobalt, tungsten, etc.) and the town developed it's own personality. 

I said this was an introduction to Silver Ridge, so I'll share with you an excerpt I wrote about it. 

The quaint town of Silver Ridge, population 7,298, is nestled in the foothills of the mountains. Surrounded by trees, deciduous and pine, the town possesses several sets of forests as well as the untouched natural beauty of various other landmarks such as the Devil’s Eye and South Fork Catfish Creek. The infamous lake was created when the river was dammed, ostensibly to provide power for Silver Ridge and a lake to attract tourists. The locals say it was to keep the catfish in one place. The air here holds an untainted quality making breathing easier. Even the water from the creek is considered safe to drink, though the creek itself is not.
            Main Street bustles with the sounds of shops and shoppers. Kenny’s Bar is already open and serving lunch to a large crowd. Kenny has stepped out for a moment to Top Dollar Pawn just next door. There’s a few things he knows his customers have pawned and he had his eye on them. Amaethon Liquor Emporium has begun stocking their seasonal wines and one of the employees is putting out the sign advertising the wines and the wine tasting schedule. Across the street, incense wafts out of the open door to Dragon’s Keep Books & Tea. The witch from Apothecare just left, retrieving a book she’d ordered a week ago. The Blue Grove Spa has an advertisement going—“30% off first Acupuncture treatment with purchase of Spa Treatment”—and they’ve had a few people interested already. 
        Old Roy in his motorized wheelchair with Shep has finally arrived at Bull’s Eye Buck’s Target Practice Gun Shop so he can make sure his skills are still sharp. He doesn’t need to worry. He practices every other day. Meanwhile in Eye Catcher Tattoo Parlor, the artist is sketching a new design—a dreamcatcher in the shape of a skull, adorned with feathers and beads with a rosary dangling from the circle. This one isn’t for tattooing. It’s been haunting their dreams for weeks. 

This was just something I wrote as an introduction to Silver Ridge when I decided that I was going to keep working on it in prose format. Even if the introduction isn't included in the final draft, it helps remind me of important parts of the town, shop names, locations, characters, and gives an overall feel for the town. 

One horror trilogy that I read is the Serenity Falls trilogy by James A. Moore. The first book of his series is spent establishing important characters, locations, and history of the town because this history informs the plot of the whole trilogy as a long dormant curse is finally being unleashed. The town of Serenity Falls has a lot of skeletons in their closets and a lot of blood on their hands, though it's the innocent descendants who now have to answer for their ancestors' crimes. 

Why did I bring that up? Because the Serenity Falls trilogy evokes the same mood that I'm going for with Silver Ridge: unnerving, strange, and filled with buried secrets and bloody history watered down for the masses. I'll talk more about mood in a different post, though, if you'll recall from the world-building post a few weeks ago, "30 Days of WorldBuilding" had a few exercises about mood involved as well. 

My point is, the Serenity Falls trilogy was an example of world-building done right. The author never revealed more than needed but established the history of Serenity Falls, how it differs from the story known in modern day, key locations and characters, all while advancing the plot in the first book which was, again, primarily a history of Serenity Falls. It established all of this and set the mood. 

Most people think of books as being about a character or about an event. Very rarely will they think of a book, let alone an entire trilogy, as being about a place. Oh, perhaps a particularly engaging fantasy or science fiction setting, but not one set in the modern real world. The Serenity Falls trilogy is a trilogy that is about the town. Not a handful of people from there, though they are important, and not the mysterious character that is needed to help save them or his shape-shifting car, but the town. The town of Serenity Falls is a more important character than the human ones because the plot would not exist without it. It is a vital part of the story and thus the world-building was needed to make it seem real and give it a personality that you could feel while reading. 

That is what I hope to accomplish with a prose version of Silver Ridge. 

Since I've talked about how the idea for Silver Ridge all started as a poem, I'll go ahead and share it as well as the sequel. So, enjoy "Silver Ridge" and its sequel, "Night in Silver Ridge."

Silver Ridge 
Sunday evening finds the good pastor Williams
on his barstool at Kenny’s where in hushed tones
they say he was baptized in a brewery.
Laura Beth just walked in, faded sash over
periwinkle bathrobe, and broke down crying
into her gin and tonic when she saw her other
half chatting with the seven-year stranger.
Legends and ghosts leave this whole town haunted.
Mrs. Marley doesn’t know how the town still exists.
Maybe festivals:
the Apricot Festival then the Feast of Wendigos when autumn hits.
Only here would a mine collapse
spark an annual celebration.
The courthouse bell begins its chant and
the woods echo it while Dave on the corner
mumbles, “They’re in the mine…”
and the town gathers on the cobblestone,
all except Lynn, drunk on apricot wine in
the back room of the gas station.
Side by side and silent, they look to the
clock and at once begin to wail.

Night in Silver Ridge 
Lynn sashayed staggering from the backroom, the scent of apricots
and alcohol on her breath, and swayed at the register.
They were back. Third time this week or maybe the fourth—
they always came back more in the fall.
Pale skin stark against the black trees, denim
uniforms tattered and stained
dark with dried blood. Teeth
serrated and gleaming. Sightless
eyes reflecting the streetlight.
She took a drink from her flask,
turned her attention to the door when the bell chimed.
Three kids from the high school sauntered to the cooler,
probably gonna grab a six pack then head up to the lake.
They’re nowhere now, but they always come back.
She’d lock up early tonight, no one else would be by.
Give her more time to go through her stock of wine that no one
ever bought. The kids just wanted their Budweiser and
Miller Lite, and gas to get them there and back.
They paid and left, off to feed the fish.
She saw them watching from the forest and heard crazy Dave
across the street mumbling his eerie refrain.
She’ll go back to her room, back to her bottle of apricot wine.
They’ll go back to the mine.

Those are the revised versions of the poems that started it all. Maybe one day, I'll post snippets of a prose version of the town of Silver Ridge, but for now the introduction is all that exists of that (and you all still got part of it) and then the poems. 

For now, I'll leave with this: Even if something isn't your style and you don't think you're any good, try it anyway. Poetry isn't my forte, but because of Advanced Poetry, the town of Silver Ridge was created. The assignment to come up with 50 assumptions about a town helps get ideas down on paper that you can use as a springboard to write more. They might serve as inspiration. Drawing inspiration from a real place you've lived or visited is helpful for those because then you can have a thing, like the Strawberry Festival from my hometown inspired the Apricot Festival (which took the apricot theme further than the Strawberry Festival does), that makes your place unique. 

Again, even if you don't think something is your style, try it out. If you're more poetic, try to write a little something in prose. If you're like me and prose comes easier than poetry, try poetry anyway. Will you change from prose to poetry and never again write prose? No, but it might help with something you're stuck on. It might, like the assignment did for me, help you create something you like so much that you want to keep working with it and expanding on it. 

Location 024C

 In this week's installment of The Agency, we get to visit one of the many locations the Agency investigates. Location entries have proven to be the easiest for me to write so there are many location entries that I've finished. This is going to be a bit different since location entries are much longer than the other entries I've posted so far so this will just be an excerpt of the entry, "Location 024C."

Testimony 1962-05-27-B

Arch. Johnston: Statement of Collector Samson Gardner regarding the incident in Location 024C and the entities found there, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Peter Johnston.

Coltr. Gardner: We’re calling it a mine fire, yeah?

Arch. Johnston: Yes, I believe that’s what we’re calling it and what the town leadership and media are telling people it is.

Coltr. Gardner: Fair enough. I mean, there is a fire so it’s not as though that’s a complete lie. What are they saying about the entities?

Arch. Johnston: As far as I know, nothing. There’s been an agreement not to mention the entities to the media or the town at large and anyone who has an encounter with them and survives is being directed to give a statement and not say anything to anyone else.

Coltr. Gardner: Yeah, that sounds like the Agency. Don’t warn people about the human-eating creatures that look like their dead loved ones and just take a statement if they survive.

Arch. Johnston: That is our standard operating procedure. If you’ve got a problem with it, you are free to reconsider your employment.

Coltr. Gardner: Not interested in anything else. Just…kinda shitty that we don’t even give them some kind of warning.

Arch. Johnston: The vast majority of humans do not respond well when they are told of things that they can’t readily understand or explain. This lack of knowledge and warning is as much for their protection as anything.

Coltr. Gardner: Right. Well, as long as there are custodians in place to keep Location 024C contained and keep out trespassers, I don’t suppose it matters much.

Arch. Johnston: Now, regarding the entities…

Coltr. Gardner: They’re pretty good at impersonating people, fair mimics. Sound and act the same as the dead person they’re pretending to be. Look identical, at least until they’re hunting. Then they change. Their limbs get a little longer, nails and teeth sharper. Teeth also grow in number and size. Eyes widen and pupils change shape. It’s impressive, really. The Omicrons and Omegas that went with us—right, you want names. Omicrons were Ben Kelley and Joe Clay; Omegas were Elsie Gibbs and Tara Crawford. They were all fascinated and intrigued. God, it took us three hours to get them to stay with the team so they wouldn’t get hurt. It’s like herding cats, but more difficult. Cats at least have a sense of self-preservation. Omicrons and Omegas? Nope. I don’t even think they’ve heard of the word. They’ll go into any dangerous situation, get cozy with anything that wants to take a bite out of them if you don’t keep them locked up in their labs or if you don’t keep a close watch on them when they’re in the field. Constantly trying to get close to things they shouldn’t.

Did you know that one of them, pretty sure it was Kelley, tried to walk into the mine? You know, the mine that’s burning and filled with toxic gasses that burst through the asphalt in places? Yeah. Kelley tried to do that. We stopped him, of course, but still. Between him trying to walk into the burning mine and Crawford trying to take a sample from a steam vent while straddling said vent and Clay trying to get close to the entities to photograph them while Gibbs tried to harvest a shed tooth…honestly, we spent more time keeping the Omicrons and Omegas from getting themselves killed than we did keeping the entities at a safe distance while we tried to convince the town to evacuate due to the ground below their feet literally being on fire.

Anyway, once we managed to keep them corralled, we were able to do our job a lot more successfully. We managed to convince a few people to leave, but most decided to stay because they’d been told it wasn’t that dangerous, that the fire would eventually burn itself out. Gibbs speculates that there’s enough fuel in that mine to keep the fire burning for at least three hundred years. On our way into Location 024C, we saw the remains of the cars that some of the unfortunate residents tried to leave in before they encountered the entities. Saw the entities, too, feeding on the bodies. They ignored us and ignored the few that we convinced to leave.

They don’t try to leave the city limits. They mostly stick to the wooded areas and the mines, but when they venture into town, the residents don’t even realize that these aren’t their dead loved ones. These are predators who are skilled at hunting humans and have been doing it for years. One of the residents, an elderly woman named Eleanor Harrell, was on her front porch and watched us as we went door to door to try to convince people to leave. I’m pretty sure you’ve talked to her by now. She called to us from her porch and told us she was staying, not to waste our time trying to convince her to leave. She said that she knew how to survive there just fine and she wouldn’t be leaving. I asked if she’d at least come back to give a statement and she agreed so long as we’d drive her back, which obviously we did.

About then, one of the Omicrons—not sure which one, I wasn’t paying attention to them—noticed one of the entities near the edge of her house, watching us. It looked like a teenager, male, about five-five with brown hair and blue-black eyes. Eleanor saw us staring at the entity and just said to leave it be as she went inside, then came out with raw steak. She tossed it to the entity and it pounced on it, snapping it up in its jaws and scurrying back away from us. She sat back down in her rocker and said, “It’s easy to live here, once you know how to handle them.”

I’m sure she provided you with more details about how she handles these things.

Anyway, she explained things to us and helped us lure one closer so we could examine it. It was the teenager again and it cautiously approached when she flung another steak towards it. Smaller entities—these looked like children—approached as well, seeming more like feral animals than humans. I don’t think the younger entities have learned how to pretend to be human yet. The smaller ones began gnawing on the first steak she tossed that the teenager took over to them. They seemed the most uneasy with us. I’m sure Crawford recorded that the younger entities seemed to be covered in soot or coal dust, she wasn’t sure which and I was not about to allow her to get any closer, especially as the entities seemed wary of us and not as willing to pretend to be human.

The teenager allowed Kelley and Gibbs to get close enough to photograph it and then Eleanor asked it if it would be okay talking to us. It said, “No.” She nodded and said she understood, then asked if it and the others were okay. It nodded, took the meat, and went back to the little ones. I think they behave sort of like wild dogs. Juveniles stay with the young while the adults hunt. I don’t know why the adults have decided that Eleanor’s house is the perfect area to leave their young, but I’d suspect that Eleanor feeding them would have something to do with it.

Anyway, after that encounter, we headed toward the mines. As we walked, we noticed more and more of the creatures. Some were visibly injured—badly, too, in some cases—while others were just covered in soot and dust. Many of them watched us, but didn’t approach. We followed their lead and kept a safe distance. Upon arriving at the mine and seeing the entrance a wall of flames, we realized it would be impossible to put out the fire. Gibbs reaffirmed her speculation that the fire could burn for another three hundred years and Kelley asked if there was going to be something done about the creatures, capture and relocation or captivity. I told him that was unlikely and then one of the entities spoke up. I hadn’t even heard it approach.

It looked like a man, about middle-aged with dark blond hair and blue-black eyes, standing at a towering six-five. It spoke up from behind me and it was only by sheer willpower I didn’t end up turning around and shooting it. It said that they weren’t leaving. This was their home and they were going to stay. The fire wouldn’t be a problem for them, it said. It would just keep them out of the mines, but there were plenty of other places they could hide. “Consider yourselves lucky,” it said. “We usually don’t talk to strangers or allow them to get so close to the mines.”

After our encounter, we came back and informed the waiting custodians that they needed to quarantine the area, though they could be a bit lax about it since the creatures didn’t seem interested in leaving and, given the fire, it would make sense for some residents to leave. I did tell them that they should make sure to have photographs of anyone who has died within the city limits so that they could verify each person who leaves is actually a living person and not an entity pretending to be one of the dead ones and hoping we don’t notice.

It seems like the majority of the town know about the entities to some extent and just ignore them as though they’re part of the natural environment, like a deer or a rabbit. It’s unlikely that the residents will leave on their own as long as the fire isn’t causing too many problems for them and I doubt the entities will be willing to let too many leave. For now, containing the fire and keeping people out is going to be the best way to handle this.

Arch. Johnston: Statement ends. It would appear as though the entities that call Location 024C home are not eager to leave it, but are now less tolerant of at least some residents. It doesn’t appear as though they will harm the majority of the residents, but I suspect they will be stalking the ones who agreed to the burning of the mine. That does beg the question though of how they found out and how they recognize the complicit ones. Is it the smell of guilt? Some kind of psychic ability? Did one of the residents who objected inform them? If so, who? These are all questions I do not foresee being answered. 

Next week, you're in for a special treat as I share a bit of my poetry and terrible map-making skills. Then after that, join us for another excerpt from The Agency. 

Generators

 Ever get stuck on trying to name a character? Ideally, not the main character, but a character they interact with. A minor character, a background character, someone from their past or someone they just hear about in passing. Ever have trouble figuring out a name for them? What about a shop or a location? Or maybe you've got a character name, but no plot. Or, worse, maybe you just can't make the words get onto paper because you don't know what to write. When I get stuck, I turn to generators. 

There's a plethora of different generators floating around on the internet. I'm going to share a few different ones that I use because each of these give a different flavor. I'm also going to include two websites that are purely names found in the real world for when you want to make sure of the meaning behind a name. These can be found here for first names and here for surnames. There is also a place name site related to them which I just saw today. 

In the case of this one, the creator also includes articles about how to make believable conspiracies and other how to articles that give helpful advice for writers. This website is also useful for people who roleplay and are interested in writing fanfiction, and contains generators related to a variety of fandoms. 

Another website that has fandom related generators as well as name generators that will generate real world names and names more geared toward a fantasy setting is this one. This site also includes description generators and generators that help make maps, constellations, flags, and coat of arms. The American English name generator on here has come in handy for creating names for characters in stories in The Agency since there are so many characters. This particular generator creates names that are common in America and has been helpful in creating several of my favorite characters from The Agency, including Ewan Marsh (it provided the last name) and Imogen Hart (for her, it was the full name). 

One that has been helpful to me for creating planets and calendars for my science fiction idea and dungeons for Dungeons & Dragons campaigns can be found here. This website has a few name generators, but is most useful for creating maps and is best used by someone that plans on running a roleplaying campaign. It does have a few things useful for writers, like the planet generator, the science fiction generators, and fantasy world generator, but again, most of these are for maps. 

A site that has been helpful for coming up with shop names and names for land formations is this one. The modern business names found here have been the most useful to me for coming up names for shops in different settings such as the creepy town of Silver Ridge, nestled in the mountains and filled with far more secrets than people. 

The first generator website I found is this one. Even though I don't use it as much anymore, it is still very useful. Divided into different generator categories, it has everything from a few fandom generators to writing prompts to descriptions for characters and creatures. This website was the one that sparked my interest in dragons in the modern day because of the dragon breed generator. It's also rather useful for fleshing out libraries with potential for extras found in the books. 

There's the Plot Generator which generates a wide array of plots from different genres and allows you to lock in the parts you want while generating new bits until you get exactly what you want. It can serve as a source of inspiration for something for you to write or for something you can say your characters read or watched. 

Last but not least is this one. This is more for fantasy writers, but contains a few science fiction generators and roleplay related ones. The one that has recently gotten my attention, though, is the writing exercise generator. It offers different exercises that involve writing for a set number of minutes or set number of words about a few different things and sometimes will say to focus on a certain part of writing such as describing unusual details or on dialogue. Here's one example of a writing exercise generated: Write for at least 3 minutes about a misstep, a cave, and a border. Focus on distinguishing characters through dialogue.

Whenever I'm struggling and want to write, but don't know what or can't find inspiration, I'll use the generator and write for a little bit about whatever is generated. Usually, by the time the time's up or I've reached the word limit mentioned, I'll have an idea about a character or an event. I'll have a jumping off point that can inspire more. 

Much like how Wikipedia can't be used as a source for academic papers, but can be used as a jumping off point that can lead you to other sources, generators shouldn't be used as the sole basis of your writing, but should instead serve to get the creative juices flowing. Whether it's a short story, a series spanning dozens of books and several generations of characters, or a roleplay campaign, everything starts somewhere and sometimes that "somewhere" is a generator website with a writing exercise. 

Specimen 024SB

 The next excerpt from The Agency is "Specimen 024SB," the first story I wrote involving the Greenhouse and the characters working there. This is also the one that introduces a favorite minor character of mine, Imogen Hart. She may show up more in other stories involving the specimens found in the Greenhouse, but as this is still a work-in-progress, I can't say for sure. 

Specimen 024SB

Specimen History & Description

Specimen 024SB, a fungus known as a Skeletal Bloom by the man who discovered it, Robert Kelly, is quite unique in that no two specimens ever look the same. This mushroom grows exclusively on skeletons as the name would suggest and takes on qualities of the bones that host it: hollow for birds, brittle for the elderly, flexible for children and infants, etc. It ranges from stark white to a pale yellow color similar to that of old bone. After consulting a mycologist, Specimen 024SB is classed as a rare type of shelf mushroom.

What makes Specimen 024SB a dangerous addition to the Greenhouse is what it does when it comes in contact with unprotected skin. Specimen 024SB will burrow into the skin to reach the bones. It will proceed to feed on the flesh surrounding the bones, dissolving skin, muscle, and fat tissues to nourish the growing fungus. This process will continue until the unlucky creature that touched Specimen 024SB is dead.

Currently, the only way to deal with Specimen 024SB once it has begun burrowing into the person is through excising it and dousing the wound with fungicide. Many Omicron researchers, Zeta members, and even a few gardeners bear the scars from a gloveless encounter with the specimen, even though protocol dictates that gloves are to be worn at all times when in the Greenhouse. Masks and goggles are also required due to the nature of some of the other specimens housed there. This hasn’t seemed to stop some from becoming careless, however.

A fairly recent discovery has revealed that it isn’t only bones that Specimen 024SB will attach to. Insects have been sighted with colorful specimens of Specimen 024SB attached to their exoskeletons and, due to the skeleton being external instead of internal, the insects are unharmed by the presence of Specimen 024SB. Thankfully, these hosts have since been eradicated.

Testimony 1999-10-18

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Robert Kelly regarding the discovery of Specimen 024SB, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Kelly: We went to the forest for a hike. It was three of us—me, Benjamin Stanton, and Angela Downs. We weren’t looking for anything in particular, just hiking. Benjamin and Angela were health nuts and invited me for this hike. I figured why not? I needed to go on a hike for this class I was in and document the flora and fauna in the area. Heh. Never would have thought I’d be the one to find some undiscovered species.

            Anyway, we were on our hike and I started noticing that I wasn’t seeing as many animals as before. Like, I didn’t see any squirrels or hear any birds. It was unnerving. Angela even commented that it wasn’t normal, that it was a sign we should go back. Because it means there was some kind of predator around. Benjamin ignored her and said it was probably because of my huffing and puffing to keep up with them. We kept going and eventually stopped for a break near this tall tree—I think it was a conifer, but I don’t know trees—and I noticed a faint smell. Angela and Benjamin noticed it too. Death.

            Benjamin looked around and went through some bushes. He called out and we came through the bushes and found the source of the smell. It was a dead deer—a buck, judging by the antlers. It was covered in these white mushrooms. They looked like they belonged on trees, not corpses, but what do I know about mushrooms? I took a few pictures of them, as you know since your agency confiscated my camera.

Angela was grossed out and talking about how mushrooms don’t do that, how this wasn’t right, there should have been signs of predation, but the deer looked like it had been perfectly healthy when it died. Like it just decided to die right then and there. Except…it looked wrong. The face. It looked like it was in pain, like it died in intense pain and afraid. But it looked otherwise healthy and Angela was right. Nothing else had been eating at it. It was just those mushrooms on it. No sign of anything else in the area and, again, I noticed how quiet it was. It was like nature forgot to be nature in this part of the forest.

Benjamin was the one who decided that he wanted to pose with the deer. He told me to take a picture while he held the antlers like some kind of hunter with his trophy. I got the camera ready, Angela protesting the entire time. Benjamin grabbed the antlers and must have touch the mushrooms on accident. I caught the moment on camera, I’m pretty sure. One minute, he’s posing and grinning, and the next, he’s screaming and clutching his hand. I saw…I saw the mushrooms burrowing into him, like they were alive. He was screaming and trying to pull them out, but he couldn’t get a hold of them without more of them beginning to burrow.

Alice was screaming and backed away from him when he reached out to her. She tripped and fell right on the deer. She screamed louder as the mushrooms began burrowing into her. It was like the mushrooms were a living organism. I mean, I guess they are, kind of, but these were like animals and they just began burrowing into her and Benjamin. I stood there for a moment, then I said I’d go get help. They both screamed and begged me not to go, but I turned and ran. I didn’t…I didn’t want to risk one of them touching me. I didn’t want those things on me or in me.

I ran until I reached the trailhead, then I called for help. I told the operator that I needed an ambulance at the trail, that my friends were hurt. They sent the ambulance and a cop car too. A few moments after the ambulance and cop showed up, a black unmarked SUV showed up. I’m guessing it was one of yours. Don’t know how they knew to get there so fast. Anyway, they followed the EMTs up the trailhead, except one guy—don’t know his name—stayed to talk to me with the officer.

I told them everything that happened. The officer didn’t seem surprised and the guy from your agency just nodded. Like he expected this. A little later, the EMTs returned with my friends in body bags. They were arguing with the other agents who went up the trail about who got custody of the body. The agent waiting with the officer said the bodies were theirs and after a look from the cop, the EMTs agreed and loaded the bodies into the back of the SUV. The agent suggested I come with them to give my statement so here I am.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. Robert Kelly has formally been extended an offer for employment by Superior Read. Specimen 024SB is safely housed in the Greenhouse and being studied by Omicron researches. The gardeners are going to have quite an interesting time tending to this particular specimen.

Testimony 2002-06-24

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Omicron researcher Fabian Dawson regarding Specimen 024SB and discovering its abilities, particularly the ability to take on the quality of the bone it is attached to, recoded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Res. Dawson: This is…I don’t think I can do this job. I…fuck. I’m a researcher, but…fuck. That. That wasn’t research. That was just…just sadistic. Fuck. I don’t think I want this job.

Arch. Hartman: That is certainly an option. You are free to decide to pursue a different career, but bear in mind that you did sign a nondisclosure agreement.

Res. Dawson: Fuck it. I don’t care. No one would believe me even if I did say anything.

Arch. Hartman: Have you discussed this with Luna?

Res. Dawson: You leave Everett out of this.

Arch. Hartman: I just assumed, given how close the two of you are, that you would discuss such a big decision with him beforehand. Or perhaps it’s best that you don’t. After all, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave with you and there would be no contact permitted between the two of you after, not like it would matter too much given the life expectancy of Zetas. It might be better for everyone involved if you simply left without telling him.

Res. Dawson: …

Arch. Hartman: I’m just saying it might be a good idea to consider your options before you come to a decision. Now, I believe you were going to tell me about Specimen 024SB.

Res. Dawson: I was in the Greenhouse, observing Specimen 024SB and following the proper precautions—gloves, mask, goggles, full suit—alongside Gardener Clinton Meadows when he instructed another researcher—Imogen Hart—to bring in the test subjects. I asked him what he meant and he said that we were going to do a little research. She came in followed by two Sigma officers—Michael Lewis and Tommy Burke—as well as Everett. She was carrying something.

            She came over to us and I saw that she was holding a baby, a sleeping, very clearly alive baby. I almost asked what was going on, but then I saw Everett’s face. He just shook his head at me and I kept quiet. Imogen held the baby carefully and Gardener Meadows placed one of the mushrooms on the baby’s forehead. The baby began to cry and scream, but…but it didn’t last long. Soon, the baby just…stopped crying. Stopped moving. God…it…it was still breathing, though. The…Specimen 024SB hadn’t gotten to the heart yet. Just the brain.

            Gardener Meadows asked why I wasn’t taking notes. I noticed that Imogen sat the baby down on the table and was taking notes. I began scribbling notes on my clipboard as Gardener Meadows began examining the newly formed mushrooms. They were more flexible than the others. Like cartilage. I kept writing notes until Gardener Meadows instructed Lewis and Burke to hold Everett still. I…I spoke up then. I told Gardener Meadows not to use Everett. He wanted a reason. I pointed out that Everett was one of the few Zetas who understood and followed protocol. When he didn’t seem convinced, I said that Everett was the one I had the most fun with, and he was the one most familiar with my proclivities. He agreed that Everett wouldn’t be used…this time. He suggested I engage with other Zetas to avoid forming an attachment to any particular one.

            He then instructed us to keep observing the baby. I kept taking notes. I…it was only after three hours that the baby stopped breathing. The mushrooms were all cartilaginous and looked…looked like infant bones do, small and fragile. Flexible, but still so delicate. After…after my shift, Everett and I went back to my quarters and I…I don’t know if I can do this job.

Arch. Hartman: And as I said, you have that option.

Res. Dawson: Right. …I’ll…I’ll take some time and consider my options.

Arch. Hartman: Good idea. Statement ends. With any luck, the potential threat to Everett Luna will keep Dawson from leaving the Agency’s employ as he has quite a bit of potential, judging from the quality of his notes and the way he was able to compose himself despite his issues with the experiment. It would be a shame to see him squander that potential.

Testimony 2011-04-09

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Zeta member Everett Luna with Sigma Officer Michael Lewis observing regarding the discovery of Specimen 024SB’s weakness, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Luna: I was in the Greenhouse with Omicron researcher Fabian Dawson and Gardener Clinton Meadows. I…Fabian—er, Researcher Dawson asked me to hold out my arm and roll up my sleeve. I did what he said and he…he put a sample of Specimen 024SB on me. …The pain was excruciating. I…I don’t know how long it was on me. It felt like days, but it can’t have been. He…he began cutting into my arm where the thing was burrowing and then…he poured fungicide into the wound. It burned and the mushroom…I swear it screamed. It shriveled and Fa—Researcher Dawson removed it. He told Officer Lewis to escort me to the medics to make sure he got it all. They cleared me and then Superior Read radioed to say that I should give a statement. Nothing really happened aside from…from what I told you.

Arch. Hartman: How long has it been since Researcher Dawson moved on?

Luna: …

Off. Lewis: Answer the question.

Luna: A few years now, since 2002. We…still see each other. Just…it’s different now.

Arch. Hartman: Different how?

Luna: I can’t imagine you’re that interested in the ramblings and pining of a Zeta.

Arch. Hartman: I asked you a question.

Luna: He…he looks at me differently. He used to look at me like I was…special isn’t the right word. Human, I guess. But now…now he just looks at me the way the others do. Like I’m…just another Zeta. Subhuman. He…he even said before that I…I’m replaceable. I mean, I know I am. But then isn’t everyone who works for the Agency in one form or another? You’re not the only archivist and he’s not the only researcher. But Zetas…we’re a dime a dozen. Expendable. He…he reminded me of that before he ended things. Not like things ended. Just…changed from romance to…well, I’m just a Zeta. Not like I could count as a partner. I’ve seen him with other Zetas. He treats them the same way he treats me now. They don’t get attached. I did. Heh. Probably because he treated me like a person before he decided I wasn’t one. Funny that it happened after he asked that I not be used for an experiment.

Arch. Hartman: If that’s all, Officer Lewis, escort Luna back to the Zeta barracks.

Off. Lewis: Yes, ma’am. Come on.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. It’s good to see that Dawson reconsidered his options and finally got his priorities in order. And to top it off, he’s shown quite a bit of creativity in figuring out a way of combating Specimen 024SB. This will hopefully curb the losses of careless gardeners, though if they’re so careless as to neglect protocol and safety measures, perhaps their fate is deserved.

Testimony 2013-07-04

Arch. Hartman: Statement of Omicron researcher Imogen Hart regarding a…unpleasant development of Specimen 024SB, recorded direct from subject by Archivist Vivienne Hartman.

Res. Hart: I don’t know why you think it’s such a bad thing. This is truly a remarkable discovery. Just imagine what else we can learn from this. Imagine if we could put Specimen 024SB in contact with a creature like an octopus. What would happen? I mean, given we know how it interacts with humans and other creatures with internal skeletons, and we’ve now learned how it behaves with creatures with exoskeletons, it would be interesting to see what it makes of something without a skeletal structure. I mean, technically insects don’t have bones either, but their exoskeletons behave as bones, but octopi and other cephalopods—

Arch. Hartman: You were saying about the discovery.

Res. Hart: Oh, right. We made the discovery the other night. We were getting ready to clock out for the night. It was me, Researcher Dawson, and Zeta Luna. Being completely honest, it was Luna who saw it first. He called our attention to it. It was a beetle—one of those blue-green things. June beetle. It was walking along the edge of the table, minding its business. Then I noticed the shell seemed strange. As we looked closer, I realized that the beetle had a sample of Specimen 024SB on its back. It wasn’t harming the beetle at all. The beetle didn’t seem bothered by it. Just…kept walking along. Doing what beetles do. Luna captured it in a jar so we could study it and show it to Gardener Meadows later. Really, it was a good thing Luna was there. I think me and Researcher Dawson were so amazed by the sight that we would have let the beetle keep walking and vanish into the Greenhouse.

The sample on the beetle was blue-green, like the exoskeleton of the beetle. I mean, we already knew that it could take on the properties of bones, but I was so used to seeing it as white or yellow. This was just such a surprise. This proves it really does take on all the qualities of the bones it grows on, but it still doesn’t explain the evolutionary purpose. Well, I suppose with the beetle, it does have a very clear evolutionary explanation: mobility. If it takes on the appearance of the beetle’s exoskeleton, it blends in—I had trouble seeing it initially—and then something that preys on the beetle would eat it, unaware of what happened. This will transfer it to another host. Further, the beetle is unharmed by the presence of Specimen 024SB which means it can continue on with its life, traveling and thus taking the specimen to a different location and allowing it better hunting. Truly, this is such an amazing discovery.

Arch. Hartman: It is a containment breach waiting to happen. What happens if one of these insect hosts gets loose?

Res. Hart: That’s extremely unlikely. I don’t know if you’ve been to the Greenhouse, but it is quite contained. There is one of those giant fans on the Greenhouse side of the airlock which blows our pollinators back away from the door. We have the airlock where we strip from our suits and protective gear and it is decontaminated, then put into a container that seals before the door to the outside unlocks. Cracks are sealed and the integrity of the structure is routinely checked. A containment breach from the Greenhouse is improbable.

Arch. Hartman: But not impossible.

Res. Hart: Impossible isn’t something we do here, you know that.

Arch. Hartman: Statement ends. Despite Researcher Hart’s insistence regarding the safety, I will speak to Superior Read and find out what he recommends. Hopefully it will be the eradication of the insects hosting Specimen 024SB, however, I doubt it will be something so logi—

P.A.: Warning. Containment breach, Greenhouse sector. Lockdown protocols initiating.

Arch. Hartman: Damn it.

Next week, I'll post about writing related generators and websites that have helped me with everything from names to writing exercises when I've found myself stalled on writing. After that, expect another excerpt from The Agency.