Starting off the first excerpt from The Agency of 2022, we have "Inmate 064" which ties in very closely with "Artifact 0145HF" so you may want to go read that one if you haven't already. 

Inmate 064

History & Description

            Inmate 064, known as the Pied Piper only when under the influence of Artifact 0145HF, is perhaps one of the most well-known inmates the agency currently has incarcerated given that he is the multi-billionaire Maximilian Hester. Inmate 064 has been in custody of the agency wardens ever since his supposed suicide in 2020 and has expressed remorse for his actions, except when in the presence of Artifact 0145HF. When exposed to Artifact 0145HF, he becomes panicked and attempts to flee or destroy the artifact while avoiding contact with it at all costs.

            According to all wardens and support team Sigma personnel, Inmate 064 is a model inmate, despite knowing that there will be no parole or release for good behavior. He follows all orders, behaves himself, keeps his cell tidy, and has proven willing to provide information regarding Artifact 0145HF, how it came into his possession, and his experiences with it.

Testimony 2020-06-27

Arch. Doyle: Statement of Inmate 064, previously known as Maximilian Hester, regarding his experiences with Artifact 0145HF and time spent as the Pied Piper.

Inmate 064: Please don’t call me that.

Arch. Doyle: Interview recorded direct from subject by Archivist Miah Doyle with support team Sigma Officer Levi Tolley witnessing.

Inmate 064: I don’t really know where the…the flute came from.

Arch. Doyle: Why the emphasis on Artifact 0145HF?

Inmate 064: Because…because it looks like a flute, sounds like a flute. But it’s not. It doesn’t feel like a flute. Not…not exactly anyway. It feels like something…different. Wrong. It feels unnatural. Wrong on so many levels that it just…it grates on you. It permeates everything. Possesses you. Possessed me. But it’s just a flute. It is a flute. It’s not some kind of demonic artifact. It’s just a flute. An old flute that I must have bought at an auction.

Arch. Doyle: You don’t remember?

Inmate 064: No. I just woke up one day and it was there, on my dresser where I always put new purchases. I must have bought it, but I don’t remember it. No one else seemed to acknowledge it whenever they’d see it. Or whenever they were supposed to see it, like when they were in my room and looking right at my dresser. They’d comment on the other things on my dresser—a pair of bookend statues that I purchased from an antiquities dealer two days before the flute showed up, a samurai sword that was a pain to get through customs, an artistically embellished clock designed to sit on the mantle of a fireplace. But no one ever mentioned the flute. It was as though they couldn’t see it.

I know how stupid that sounds. It was real. Is real. Clearly. You have it. You’ve seen it—

Arch. Doyle: Actually, I haven’t seen it personally. But I do understand what you mean. People from the Agency have seen it, it’s been catalogued and stored.

Inmate 064: Woo, you scared me for a minute there when you said you hadn’t seen it. My point is no one else seemed to see it. I’d bring people over, I’d point it out and they’d just…kind of stare for a moment as though in a trance then talk about one of the other things on the dresser by the flute. It was like…like it didn’t want to be seen.

            I know. I know how stupid I sound. How crazy. It’s just a flute. It can’t think, it can’t want anything. But I know how it felt to be around the damned thing. I was the one it chose. Heh. Again, I sound crazy. It’s just a flute. It can’t physically do anything. Except…it can, can’t it? It changes the engravings on it whenever someone plays it.

I didn’t notice it at first. I tried to avoid looking at the thing, being honest. It…unnerved me. No one noticed it and it…it felt wrong. Just looking at it made me feel ill.

It was 2014 when I noticed it had changed. Initially when I saw it, the engravings were of bare vines. It…vanished from my home on the twenty-sixth of June. Or at least…I don’t remember it being there after that date. I can’t remember seeing it again until four years later. But before it vanished, that morning I looked at it and the vines…there were buds on them. I thought it was strange, but then I ignored it, finished getting ready, and left the room.

It’s all a bit hazy from that point on. I know had important meetings and that I went to those meetings, but I can’t for the life of me remember anything that was discussed or who I met with. I just know that I returned home at the end of the day and the flute was gone.

I was relieved, to be honest. I didn’t have to see that damnable thing again. I thought maybe someone had stolen it, but my mansion has the best security and nothing else was out of place. Nothing else was missing. Still, I was just glad to be rid of the damn thing.

I heard on the news about the children vanishing from the park and thought it strange. So many children just vanishing in plain daylight with their parents right there. Quite an organized kidnapping. Had to be. Kidnapping just one kid in a public area would be hard enough, but to take ten children at once? Very organized operation.

The flute came back in 2018, sometime in May. It was on my dresser again. The engravings were bare vines again. I didn’t pay much attention to it. It still bothered me, still felt wrong. Felt worse now, especially since there’s no way someone could have gotten into my mansion to put it there. It just seemed to appear or disappear whenever it wanted.

In June, I noticed the engravings had buds again. Fifteen this time. I counted because it seemed like more than the last time. I once again went about my day and it was gone when I came back. Again, my memories of what I did that day are foggy, but I know that I went to meetings and made deals with very important people, but I can’t remember who they were or what the deals entailed.

The news that evening mentioned a school bus of fifteen elementary-aged children was hijacked and the kids were missing. I felt bad for the parents. I don’t have children myself, but I like them. I just…well, I never found the right person. Anyway, my heart ached for those parents. To just lose your kids when they’re supposed to be somewhere safe…that’s just a nightmare.

I didn’t see it again until 2020. It came back from wherever it goes when it vanishes. Vines again. I tried to ignore it like I had before, but…I couldn’t this time. It…it was almost like it was calling to me. I know, I know. I sound crazy again, but that’s how it felt. It was calling to me. It wanted me to pay attention. It wanted…it wanted more.

It told me to host a charity event for children at my mansion. It wanted me to play it and…I did. I did everything it said because I couldn’t resist. There was just something about it that made me cooperate. When the day of the event arrived, I donned my green suit that I always wore and, once everyone had arrived, I began to play.

I don’t…I don’t remember much after that. It gets foggy. I just know that when I stopped playing, there were agents there demanding that I come with them. I handed over the flute and they brought me here. I don’t know what happened to the children. I just know that the vines were thornier and there were one hundred and thirty rose buds on it that morning.

Arch. Doyle: Statement ends. Witness statements from receptionists and security footage at Inmate 064’s previous place of employment indicates that he never went into work on days corresponding to the kidnappings in 2014 and 2018. Whatever Artifact 0145HF is, it would seem that it has the ability to remain hidden in plain sight and alter memories, at least of the one it is targeting. The question still remains with how it connects to the first instance of Artifact 0145HF and the original Piper.

 

I hope you enjoyed that excerpt. There may not be any more excerpts from The Agency for awhile, but I'll still try to keep updating.